In case you haven't noticed, we tend to be a tad critical of our hometown daily now and again (see below). But seeing as this is the Best of Atlanta 2003 issue, and we're nothing if not cockeyed optimists, we'd like to give a nod to THE AJC'S COVERAGE OF THE STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. This year, for the first time in God knows how long, our capital newspaper actually acted like the Capitol was worth covering. Thanks in part to new managing editor Hank Klibanoff, more reporters were dispatched to the Gold Dome, story counts went up, and readers were actually provided with real information about issues that matter. Of course, much of the paper remains as light as helium -- see the weekly "Atlanta and the World" section or any Gracie Bond Staples story, for example -- but as cockeyed optimists, we hope the journalism bug will spread to other departments at the AJC.
