Fun in Tallahassee   

L orraine Branham could hardly contain her excitement as she set out for her first day of work as the new executive editor of Knight-Ridder's Tallahassee Democrat . Then she realized what day it was, and suddenly her excitement turned into fear. It was April 1, and Branham didn't want to be a victim of an April Fool's joke.

"I was afraid my new staff might submit a mass resignation or something," she says. But her fears were unfounded. Branham – who succeeds Lou Heldman , publisher of Pennsylvania's Centre Daily Times – received only flowers, helpful advice and cooperation upon her arrival.

Previously the associate managing editor for features at the Philadelphia Inquirer , Branham, 42, is the first African American and first woman to lead the Democrat in the paper's 91-year history. But she's confident that neither her gender nor her race played a role in landing the job. In fact, she thought at first that they would be hindrances. "I hadn't seen newspaper companies rushing to give [women or blacks] jobs," she says. "I know that Knight-Ridder has made a commitment to diversity..but the progress is slow."

Branham says she wanted the editorship to influence community coverage and "the way we go about doing journalism... I know I'm naive and idealistic, but I think I can improve this newspaper."

One way Branham plans to improve the paper is by concentrating on local news. "Talking to people," she says, "tells me that it is really local news that they want.

"I want to have a local flavor throughout the newspaper," she adds. "I want people to pick up the paper and see what Tallahassee is all about."

For now, though, Branham says she approaches her new job with the same advice she gives her staff: "It's supposed to be fun."