War of the words.

• Author: Donsky, Martin
• Position: Mark Ethridge III, publisher of The Business Journal in Charlotte, North Carolina - Includes related article about Doug Clifton, managing editor of The Charlotte Observer

WAR OF THE WORDS

His going-away party featured an Elvis impersonator, an appearance by pro wrestler Sam Houston and his wife, baby Doll, and a good dousing of champagne, courtesy of his boss, Rich Oppel.

It was a pleasant farewell for Mark Ethridge III, a fun way to say goodbye after 16 good years with The Charlotte Observer. But there was an edge to the affair. The official word was that, after nearly a decade as The Observer's managing editor, there were things he wanted to do - publish a novel he had written, get started on a second, do a little consulting.

There were also deeper reasons. A fast-tracker who had elbowed his way into the newsroom's No. 2 job just two days before turning 30, Ethridge, then 39, was itching to move up. But his wat to the top was blocked, and it would remain that way for some time.

The novel is still unpublished, but in August 1989 - 1 months after he left The Observer - Ethridge returned to a newsroom. Compared with The Observer, the largest newspaper in the Carolinas, his new publication is punity. The weekly Business Journal, with 8,400 subscribers, is dwarfed by The Observer, circulation 240,000. Just 30 people work for The Business Journal - a fraction of the number he could throw at a major breaking story or investigative project at The Observer, whcih won two Pulitzer Prizes for public service during his tenure.

But Mark Ethridge is still doing what he's always done best - hustling for news. And under his guidance, The Business Journal has delivered the giant daily a few embarassing licks. It broke the story that Home Federal Savings, an old-line Charlotte thrift, might sell out to a bank. It broke the story that McDevit & Street, the state's largest private company, would be bought by a British conglomerate. It even broke the story that M.S. Van Hecke, The Observer's veteran business editor and columnist, intended to retire and told who his replacement would be.

As aggressive and competitive and plugged into the community as Ethridge is, The Observer is in many ways responsible for its predicament. Current and former staffers say the paper grew fat ans lazy, especially after The Charlotte News closed in 1985. Figuring it had a monopoly on any Charlotte stories taht mattered, The Observer turned its attention to readers and adverstisers in surrounding counties, investing its resources in supplements and beefed-up editions in Gaston County and in York County, S.C.

Publisher Rolfe Neill, 57, who first made his mark as an Observer business writer in ther Charlotte business community, concedes that his paper's business coverage is "inadequate" - hardly worthy, he adds, of a fast-growing regional financial center.

Why?

"Us," he answers, "we're a very large company. We spend a lot of money, but we never have enough to go around. Choices get made." Translation: Business news just hasn't been a priority.

Even Ethridge accepts blame. As managing editor, he should have had his hands in all phases of the operation. But he says his passions were the front page and local news, especially projects - be they on race relations in the Carolinas or the escapades of Jim Bakker. He paid little attention to busniness - "zero interest," is how an ex-staff member puts in.

"He practiced management by wandering around," another adds. "But the rarely wandered back to the business staff."

"Mark knows their weaknesses," a former editor says. "He's responsible for them."

Ethridge had all the right credentials. He was smart, energetic and ambitious. He prepped at Philips Exeter Academy and majored in history at Princeton. He was blessed with a name well-known in journalism. His grandfather had been a famous publisher in Louisville, a friend...