Profile: Jim Lee |
 Jim is editor
of the Carroll County Times in Westminster, a position he has held since 1997. He has
worked as a sports reporter, news reporter, and in various editor positions with The Wayne
Independent, Honesdale, PA, and The Daily Star in Oneonta, NY. Most recently he served as
the city editor for the Times-News in Burlington, NC, from 1993 to 1997. Jim serves on the
MDDC Government Affairs Committee and Freedom of Information Subcommittee. He helped plan
the public records audit conducted last summer by MDDC newspapers. In February the Carroll
County Times received the James S. Keat Freedom of Information Award for coverage of the
audit led by Jim.PERSONAL: Education: B.A., The Pennsylvania State University, Journalism, 1987; M.A., American University, Journalism and Public Affairs, 2000 How would you describe yourself? "Organized, demanding and thorough with a warped sense of humor." PROFESSIONAL: Least favorite part of job: "Bureaucracy of managing." Biggest challenge: "Credibility and helping the public understand how a newspaper works." Most serious challenge to newsgatherers today: "Finding and reporting the truth in a complex world where far more groups and organizations have become adept at manipulating the media, and the media, in the public’s eye, has lost much credibility because a lot of the coverage is superficial and disjointed." Main benefit you derive from MDDC membership: "A readily available network of experts from which to draw." FUN: Favorite music: "Pink Floyd" Favorite car and the car you drive now: "1969 Camaro SS convertible; 1999 Chrysler Sebring" Last book read: Stephen King, "On Writing" Last movie seen: "Swordfish" Favorite TV show: "The Weakest Link" Hobbies: "Bicycling, writing, in-line skating." Favorite or last vacation: "Paris, France" How would you most like to spend one day: "Riding the Harley I bought from sale of the great American novel I wrote at the beach." Favorite quotation: "The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." – John Philpot Curran If you could meet anyone else (at any time in history), who would it be? "Thomas Jefferson and the signers of the Declaration of Independence to find out exactly what they meant with what they wrote." |