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Steve Ray -- nation/world editor

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:34 pm

Steve Ray has been the national and world news editor of The Capital Times for 18 years, through wars, national elections, and 9/11. It's been a tough job because Capital Times readers are discerning. They wanted that news, and there was never enough space. Steve also had to pitch his stories every morning to a gathering of well-briefed editors with strong ideas of their own.

Steve arrived around 4 a.m. to strip the wires and review the file of photos and graphics transmitted overnight. After the news meeting he'd farm out the stories for the front page and inside pages, and design the intricate layouts for the Nation/World package. That job will end after this week, when The Capital Times becomes a local Web service and local weekly tab.

"Given the timing of this development, I plan on fishing and landscaping this summer with a couple of road trips on the side," says Steve. "Come fall, I'll get back on the horse. Judy (Ettenhofer, the managing editor) asked me earlier what I was planning to do and my answer still stands: Something else."

But the Ray family journalism tradition may continue. Steve notes: "Both my kids were Evjue Scholars and UW graduates. Katie, 27, recently earned a master's at Northwestern in social science before changing her mind and going another direction. She starts chiropractic school in Atlanta this September.

"Dan, 26, is finishing his master's in journalism at Colorado after earning his bachelor's in physics. Can you say, science writer?"

From Ron McCrea, senior news editor

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:34 pm