I was in Los Angeles setting ancient Confucian odes to music when a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown. I earn a living editing a major African American newspaper in Saint Louis, which means that I have to be on guard, at all times, for breaking news affecting our community. Ferguson is right in our backyard. This was our story.

My family’s flight home was the next day, and there wouldn’t have been a way to rebook flights that gave me much more time in Saint Louis. Anyway, I’m a managing editor, a.k.a. a reporter of last resort. The