The Top Dogs Eat Well at the Post

It could well be the cushiest title in all of journalism: no job description, nice office, good pay, and the resources of a rich corporation at your fingertips. You're encouraged to write books and articles that tickle your fancy. The Washington Post's Associate Editors have it made, writes Erik Wemple in the Washington City Paper.

And what could possibly possess a Postie to pass up an associate editorship? Humility, perhaps. In 1998, 37-year-old Assistant Managing Editor for Style David Von Drehle considered an offer to move into this emeritus class. At the time, the associate-editor roster was headed by Broder, Kaiser, and Hoagland. "Those are some pretty big dogs....I mean, the dean of the paper and the former managing editor...so I though it might be a good thing to aspire to later in life." Von Drehle went to the national desk as a regular reporter.