Editing Story with George Solomon

Former Washington Post assistant managing editor George Solomon joins Brian Levenson to discuss the challenges of editing. During his tenure, he got to work with sports journalism legends including Michael Wilbon  Tony Korhnheiser, and Sally Jenkins. George also served as the 1st ombudsman for ESPN. He now works at the University of Maryland as a sports journalism professor and was inducted into the Washington Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

In this episode they discuss how he developed an interest in journalism as a kid (5:15), how important feedback from others and reading can be to improving writing skills and hiring the right people (14:00), how technology has made the newspaper industry more about surviving than content (24:45), what the role of a good editor is (26:20), the difference between a reporter and a columnist and what it was like editing for some of the best columnists in the business (30:30), what makes Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon special and how it helped them transition to radio and TV (37:30), the importance of having elite female voices like Sally Jenkins and Christine Brennan in the newsroom (41:20), what he enjoys about teaching and lessons for students (43:35), and finally they talk about how he is able to keep his memory so sharp and how curiosity helps make a great story (53:05).

Thanks to George Solomon for coming on and make sure to learn more about Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism

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Thanks for listening.

--Brian