If the news out of universities, city halls, school systems and state government gets any stranger, the newspaper may need to develop a special page headlined, "Public officials behaving badly."

In the meantime, it may help readers to understand how editors determine which stories get played where in the newspaper.

The nature of news involves reporting what is new or unusual. We look for stories that show how government works, or doesn't; what public officials and public servants are doing and what connections they may have.

Recent front-page stories about two former Georgia Tech professors under state investigation for fraud have definite ramifications for the public.

Andrea Jones' most recent story about the husband and wife says Julie Jacko and Francois Sainfort paid more than $80,000 in Tech money to a family member hired as a consultant. They have also been accused of taking salaries from Tech and the University of Minnesota. Tech officials, unaware that they had accepted jobs elsewhere, have started the tenure-revocation process.

Tech is a public university supported in part by taxpayers. The newspaper would be remiss in not prominently reporting the investigation.

Several stories of late have focused on inappropriate conduct of those in power —- from the Clayton school board, to battles at Lithonia and Snellville city halls, to the controversial relationship between two top Department of Transportation officials.

Stories about the relationship between DOT commissioner Gena Abraham and former transportation board chairman Mike Evans have appropriately dominated the headlines. DOT policy forbids relationships between supervisors and subordinates. Evans and Abraham say their relationship began a short time ago, but the claim deserves more scrutiny. When Abraham was hired last October, the AJC's Ariel Hart has reported, it was Evans who cast the deciding vote. A few readers commenting on ajc.com have asked why the couple's relationship is anyone's business.

"[The DOT] is one of the most powerful government agencies in the state. We've historically paid attention to it because of the size of the department, the budget they run and the importance of what they do for people," said Bert Roughton, the AJC's managing editor for print.

There is no set formula for determining how stories are played, but the importance of the office is one factor that editors consider. "If the governor is involved in something, it will get more prominence than if it was a city councilperson," said Roughton.

Another key factor is the conduct of the person involved in the story. The AJC's Cameron McWhirter has written extensively about Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis, who raised tens of thousands of dollars claiming his foundation was a nonprofit when it wasn't. The IRS, the Georgia secretary of state and the Atlanta ethics office are now investigating.

"We are interested in things that raise questions about ethical behavior or that impact public policy," said Roughton. "It's one thing for a public official to miss a deadline, it's another thing if they have been doing something that reflects a pattern of behavior."

A Monday front-page story about state Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) reported on the legislator's work as vice president of government relations for a car title and payday lending company. Ben Smith reported that Mitchell visited the Louisiana Legislature recently on behalf of his company to try to stop a bill that would cap interest rates on payday loans. Mitchell said in the story that he is not a lobbyist. He described his work as community relations.

The play of the story may have led readers to believe that Mitchell was in violation of state laws. He is not, since Georgia law doesn't prohibit legislators from lobbying other state legislatures on bills that might affect companies they work for.

"We have a responsibility to be fair and to help the public distinguish between major and minor things," said Roughton. "I think the story raises good questions that are probably broader than Billy Mitchell. There's a good question about whether an elected official should lobby. And if that's their job, should they be voting on legislation in Georgia that their company might have an interest in? It makes me wonder how many legislators may do work like that on behalf of their companies."

Adding context to stories is essential, as is determining the appropriate story play. Readers don't always read the entire story, which makes headlines and story placement even more critical.

> Contact Angela Tuck by e-mail at insideajc@ajc.com, by phone at 404-526-5819, by fax at 404-526-5610 or by writing P.O. Box 4689, Atlanta, GA. 30302.