'E&P' Names Rowe and Bhatia 'Editors of the Year'

By: E&P Staff Sandy Rowe hired Peter Bhatia at Portland's The Oregonian 15 years ago -- and they've been a winning pair ever since.

Last April, their staff?s efforts earned the Oregonian the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, one of three Pulitzer finalist nods last year (including two nominations in national reporting and feature writing). Such Pulitzer-level work is nothing new for Editor Rowe and Executive Editor Bhatia, the editing team that has run the Advance Publications daily since 1993. In their time at the helm, the newspaper that had won only two previous Pulitzers in 76 years has racked up five more winners and nine finalists in 14 years, with winners in five separate categories.

?It is one of the finest newspapers in the country, easily in the top 10,? declares Richard A. Oppel, editor of the Austin American-Statesman and a Pulitzer Board member. ?That is reflected in part in how well they do in the Pulitzer competition.?

In addition to those awards, the Oregonian has drawn praise for numerous day-to-day improvements during the past dozen years that include an increased focus on specialized reporting; a reorganized newsroom that promotes ?team reporting? concepts over traditional beats; and regular training sessions and seminars that most staffers credit for encouraging fresh ideas and competitive approaches.

For all of their efforts, E&P has named Rowe and Bhatia its Editors of the Year for 2008.

?I?ve stuck with the paper largely because of the job that they?ve done,? says Richard Read, a 26-year Oregonian staffer and a Pulitzer winner. ?Sandy and Peter had always put a great emphasis on a beat
approach, expertise on a beat as opposed to having a lot of GA?s around.?

The full profile of Rowe and Bhatia by Joe Strupp, from our February issue, will be posted on this site In Print section later today or tomorrow, open to subscribers only.