Saying goodbye to our former editor
December 3, 2008 at 3:09 pm by Mara Shalhoup in News
AIM HIGHER: Edelstein was the yeast in our Loaf.
It’s safe to say that Creative Loafing owes its reputation as the city’s smartest, edgiest, most endearing rag to Ken Edelstein, who up until last week was the paper’s editor for a decade.
The man lived and breathed the Loaf. From his disheveled mess of a cubicle, he’d impart his detailed recollection of a state Senate race circa 1998, or his vision for an Arts & Entertainment mega-section, or his adoration for a clever turn of phrase, a perfectly composed photo, and a well-crafted blog post. He was eager to talk, longwindedly at times, about the philosophy of newsgathering and his strategy for drawing readers to the Web. He obsessed on the grammar of every sentence he edited, calling out writers for their overuse of gerunds and each superfluous “that.”
As editor, Edelstein had high standards and a resume to match. His knowledge of Atlanta – its politics, infrastructure, and history – runs as deep as his desire to improve the city he calls home. In a column he wrote last year, he characterized Atlanta as an impetuous young woman, and he offered her a bit of advice:
“Too busy to hate, too busy to wait, too busy for anything but the next hustle. … You gotta clear your head of all the baggage from your past and aim a whole lot higher.”
Nearly everyone who knows him would agree that “aiming higher” is Ken’s mantra. He pushed his staff as hard as he pushes himself.
Leave a Reply