I don't pretend to know how a lot of people do their jobs.

I take it as a matter of faith that my insurance agent, for example, makes sure my policies are in effect and the money I send each month covers those policies. I figure it is being done because when I have had a claim, it was taken care of promptly.

Same thing applies to the local grocery store. We show up on Saturday to shop and there is fresh produce available, the meat case is packed and the shelves are otherwise full. I assume they are working to make sure the store is that way every day of the week.

I may be naïve in thinking that - and someone who works as an insurance agent or a grocery store manager may think I am clueless about their professions - but I generally try not to tell my insurance agent or the grocery store manager what he or she should be doing.

I use that as a transition into talking about those people who have a preconceived notion about what it takes to be a newspaper editor.

I think of an editor as someone who coordinates coverage of events, plans content for sections, answers questions from the public as well as the staff and generally serves as a traffic cop to help reporters and other editors do their jobs.

A few people have a contrary view. There is a faction of people who read the Herald & Review who think my job is as an agenda setter and my schedule goes something like this:

-9 a.m.: Conference call with President Obama's staff about which wire stories we should choose for the next day's paper.

-10 a.m.: Consult with Democratic National Committee to get stories straight when pesky readers call about ACORN.

-11 a.m. Session with People for the American Way officials to discuss strategy to stem the comeback of right-wing conservatism.

There is another faction who is convinced my schedule goes something like this:

-9 a.m.: Conference call with the staff of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about which wire stories we should choose for the next day's paper.

-10 a.m.: Consult with Bill O'Reilly to get stories straight when pesky readers call about Obama's health care plans.

-11 a.m. Session with Heritage Foundation officials to discuss strategy to stem the comeback of left-wing liberalism.

I hate to break some illusions, but we generally have an informal meeting among editors in the morning to make sure planned coverage for the day is set. We assess any gaps in coverage and make sure our bases are covered. Rarely do we talk about wire stories and their placement in the newspaper in the morning. We do have a news meeting at 4 p.m. where many of the decisions about story placement are made.

Seriously, a newsroom is a lousy place to launch a conspiracy. Have you tried to keep a secret in a room full of suspicious people who are undeterred at ferreting out the real story? Plus, people are too busy working to organize regular conspiracy meetings.

The push and pull of liberal versus conservative came crashing into me a few years ago when I wrote a column that elicited angry e-mails from two readers. Based on the same column, one person said they couldn't believe what a right-wing reactionary I was. The other guy called me a lefty liberal pinhead. Truth be told, I'm somewhere in the middle.

But that's the way things fall sometimes in the old paragraph factory.

ddawson@herald-review.com|421-7980