"A dozen years ago, I overheard a reporter complaining about a story on a newspaper's front page. So much of the story, she said with a sigh, was trimmed because it was too long. Then, in a matter-of-fact, knowing tone, she said, "Lizzie edited it."

I interrupted the conversation with this correction: "I edited that story."

They blushed -- and confessed. My nickname in the newsroom was Lizzie Borden because stories always got shorter after I'd edited them. Reporters said the stories were "whacked"; 40 whacks, to be precise."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: A short -- well, shorter -- discourse on public opinion and the P-I (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 8/15)

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