December 2007

From the Editor: The Bar News Beat

by Bar News Editor Michael Heatherly

My name is Mike Heatherly and I am honored to be the new editor of  Bar News. This job combines the two passions around which my career has revolved: law and journalism. Although I have been practicing law the past 16 years, I was a newspaper reporter and editor for seven years before law school. A couple of years ago, I vowed to reincorporate my journalistic roots into my work. I became editor of our local bar association newsletter and have done some freelancing, including editing a high school textbook on U.S. Supreme Court decisions. When the opportunity arose to apply for the Bar News position, I couldn’t pass it up.

Through such newfangled gizmos as the telephone, the facsimile machine, and that fancy electrical mail on the Internets, I will be able to fulfill my editorial duties even though I live way up here in Bellingham, which — though technically part of the United States — lies perilously close to Canada and the Arctic.

In preparing myself for this job, I have learned that the herculean task of actually producing Bar News every month is carried out by a wonderful staff at WSBA headquarters including Todd Timmcke, managing editor and graphic designer; Stephanie Perry, who writes, proofreads, and assists in editing many of the regular features; Camille Campbell, who handles such things as the subscription list, classified ads, and posting the online Bar News; Jack Young, the advertising manager; and Judy Berrett, director of the WSBA Member and Community Relations Department, who oversees Bar News.

As Bar News editor, my primary job will be to solicit and select the major articles each month and do the substantive editing of those pieces. I will work with the authors, who will include WSBA officers and staff, members of the judiciary, law professors, regular contributors, and WSBA members who submit articles on their own initiative. I will supervise special projects, such as themed editions of Bar News, of which we expect to have a few this coming year. I am also responsible for reporting on the work done by the WSBA Board of Governors at its regular meetings. Meanwhile, I will write a monthly column in which I will attempt to inform and entertain, or do at least one of the two.

I do not expect to revolutionize Bar News. I believe the prior editor, Lindsay Thompson, and the staff have done an excellent job, constantly improving the quality of the publication. Unlike a commercial magazine, Bar News is obligated to devote much of its content each month to important, albeit routine, informational items regarding WSBA operations. This content consumes human resources and pages, both of which are limited by practicality and budgets. With the remaining resources, Bar News strives to provide the more in-depth, creative articles intended to educate, enlighten, and amuse readers. I believe the publication has done an impressive job in that regard, and I feel we can do even better. In particular, I hope to tap into the fascinating human-interest stories that undoubtedly exist among WSBA’s 30,000 members.

Finally, I should note that I do not expect Bar News to shy away from articles reporting and commenting on controversial issues that are of legitimate interest to WSBA members. For at least as long as I have been reading Bar News, it has been the publication’s philosophy to cover such issues. My responsibility as editor is to ensure that the coverage is fair. Although part of my job is to work in conjunction with WSBA’s officers, the Board of Governors, and various groups and individuals within the organization, I am not being asked to serve as a mouthpiece for them on issues. I welcome input from people on all sides of issues and I invite all Bar News readers to contact me with any feedback you have about the publication’s content.  

Bar News Editor Michael Heatherly practices in Bellingham and can be reached at 360-312-5156 or barnewseditor@wsba.org.