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Until
recently, Alan Mattingly worked on The New York Times
foreign desk. He is now the editorial director at
Landmark Community Newspapers, where he is charged
with improving the coverage of county fairs in some
12 states. He is a 1980-something graduate of Western
Kentucky University, though he can't remember exactly
what year he finished that last correspondence course.
But he does remember that Harry Allen showed "Nanook
of the North" in whatever class that was, and
it left an invaluable journalistic lesson: if you
pile naked under a blanket together, you can stay
warm in an igloo. After college he became a reporter
at The Daily Independent in Ashland, Ky., and then
moved on to editing jobs at the defunct Hollywood
(Fla.) Sun-Tattler, The Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro,
Ky., The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, The Courier-Journal
in Louisville, The News & Observer in Raleigh,
N.C., the Chicago Sun-Times and finally, the old gray
lady. Seems he can't hold a job.
Along the way he has been a copy editor in both news
and sports, a wire
editor, a copy desk supervisor, a weekend news editor,
an assistant sports editor and other stuff. In his
current gig he recruits naive kids who want to work
long hours for little money, then tries to help develop
them as journalists through coaching, critiquing,
and, when all else fails, brow-beating. He is married
to Susan Wessling Mattingly, who is no longer allowed
to play tennis. He has a 15-year-old son, a 17-year-old
daughter, and a German shepherd mutt, all with attitudes.
On his free days he plays golf. On his free nights
he wonders why he ever started playing golf. He never
met a fried chicken he didn't like.
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