Profile: Jean Thompson
Jean has worked at The Baltimore Sun and The Evening Sun since February 1988. She was recently named associate editor for the editorial section of The Sun. From April 1998 to January 2001 she was the assistant managing editor for staff development. Previously she served as a metro reporter covering Baltimore City schools, story editor for The Sun magazine, and features editor for The Evening Sun. Before joining The Sun, she worked at the The Hartford Courant and then The News & Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale. Jean is chair of the MDDC Journalism Education Committee.

PERSONAL:
Born Sept. 26, 1959, in Santa Monica, CA. Married to M. Dion Thompson, a reporter at The Sun. One son, Tevin, 7 years old.

Education: University of Southern California, BA, Communication Arts and Sciences, 1981. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, reporter training program, 1982.

How would you describe yourself: "I’m a people person. I’m artistic and creative, but I’m attracted to very exacting and demanding pursuits."

PROFESSIONAL:
Favorite part of job: "I feel honored to have been chosen to help shape the editorial and opinion pages of The Sun."

List and briefly describe your mentor: "I consider Bill Marimow my mentor. As managing editor and now editor of The Sun, he has always reached out to young journalists and pushed them to strive for excellence."

Biggest challenge: "Since 1982, I’ve been keeping my opinions under wraps (except in the occasional book review). I have much to learn from our talented editorial writers and from our readers."

Most serious challenge to newsgatherers today: "We’re competing with our own readers. Today, anybody can call himself a journalist and with the help of the Internet become a published writer. This puts extra pressure on us all to uphold the standards and ethics that separate us from other media."

Main benefit you derive from MDDC membership: "I’m very excited about the work we are doing to groom a generation of future journalists through the internship and high school journalist of the year program."

FUN:
Fantasy job: "I think I have a fantasy job now."

Favorite music: "I listen to jazz when I need an intellectual lift. I listen to samba to relax. I joined a church choir this year, so right now I’m listening to spiritual music in many genres."

Car you drive now: "I love to drive, especially long distance, but I have short legs. I haven’t yet found a car that combines comfort, elegance and safety for people my size. I’m driving a 1995 Honda Civic hatchback, and my friends and my husband make fun of my Toy Car. It’s reliable and I can reach the pedals."

Last book you read: "The God Who Begat a Jackal," by Nega Mezlekia.

Last movie seen: "‘Monsters, Inc.’ Most original premise I’ve seen in a kid’s movie in a long time."

Hobbies: "I collect vintage sheet music, and I specialize in works by African-American composers from 1800 to 1950. I also make my own jewelry working with beads, semi-precious stones and wire."

Favorite vacation: "We took the auto train to Orlando, for a week at Walt Disney World. My brother-in-law is an animator in the Disney studios, and he gave us a behind-the-scenes tour."

How would you most like to spend one day: "Sleeping."

Favorite quotation: "‘Never trouble trouble ‘til trouble troubles you.’ It’s a line from an old song."

If you could meet anyone else (any time in history), who would it be? "I’d like to have dinner with Frederick Douglass, who lived in Baltimore as a slave and later as a free man. I’d ask him for a tour of the city, as he knew it."

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