New Anniston Star editor on design

I sent new Anniston Star editor Bob Davis an e-mail yesterday after noticing he was a former design editor from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I wanted to know how his design experience would play a role in leading the Alabama paper. Here's what he had to say:

Yes, I was a design editor, which has proven to be extremely valuable experience in my jobs since. So much of what I learned to do (and not to do) was honed while I was on the Design Desk at the Star-Telegram.

How will that translate in his new job?

I'm a huge proponent of thinking about design at the start, when we're first kicking around story ideas.

I'm also the sort who pushes the infographic -- have it present data that will (a.) inform the reader and (b.) lead them to probe deeper into the story. Even more valuable - I hope - is the fact that I have some working knowledge of what it takes to accomplish all those presentation flourishes that make the newspaper better.

Two other design cliches I employ are:
1. The easiest thing for a reader to do is to stop. Yes, that means write it interesting, but said another way, it means that the best-written story in the world will not attract all the readers is could if the presentation is weak.

2. Avoid the things that irritate newspaper readers. Sometimes I look at newspapers (not naming names) and I think, there's no way the person who designed that could ever be a regular newspaper reader. Otherwise, they would never have jumped a story after a mere two graphs, used unreadable typography, buried a jump page into a sea of gray type, etc.

Hooray! Let's all congratulate Mr. Davis and hope one day everyone who leads newsrooms will be as well-rounded.