"A sense of community service permeates through the entire organization," Halbreich adds.

The Dallas Morning News sponsors, supports or under-writes more than 150 community programs each year.

When Decherd speaks about public responsibility and civic duty, people listen because he's a calm voice of reason.

Decherd was president of the 100th guard at The Crimson. While tension among executives ran feverishly high in previous executive boards of The Crimson, Decherd was known as a straight-shooting, nice guy responsible for a peaceful board.

"[Decherd] had a kind of air of remarkable calm," says Arthur H. Lubow '73, the managing editor.

"Our year was not [riven with hostilities]. He probably could take more credit than anyone else for that," adds Lubow, a freelance contributor to The New York Times Magazine.

Decherd speaks with a gentle Southern drawl, but his journalistic ideals are as sharp and pointed as any clip-toned New Yorker.

"Our family heritage is well grounded in the community," Decherd says. "It is central to the nature of the business, namely journalism. How we allocate resources ultimately determines our success in achieving journalistic goals."

Earlier this year, the Dallas Morning News published erroneous information about the Monica S. Lewinsky case. The executive editor was left writing an embarrassing apology in the newspaper, and Decherd says the paper learned an important lesson about accuracy and accountability.

"We cannot flourish without the confidence and respect of our viewers and readers," he says. "We need to be very concerned with anything that puts our relationship with viewers and readers at risk."

Decherd experienced a similar mistake during his years at The Crimson. Lubow, he and The Crimson were sued for libel concerning a story Lubow wrote about a tenure appointment. The case was settled out of court in 1973.

Aside from family, Decherd speaks most passionately about the importance of the press and its relationship to the community.

"For over 20 years, we've spent a disproportionate amount of time talking about what are our responsibilities as journalists to the community. Our senior corporation managers spend as much time [on journalism] as financial matters," Decherd says.

"We need to care less about getting there first than getting it right," he says.

During the tumultuous years between the takeover of University Hall in 1969 and the May Day march on Washington in 1971, The Crimson faced tremendous challenges in covering news at and about Harvard.