If, like me, you’ve found yourself a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing, you’ll probably enjoy the Washingtonian.com profile of Malcolm Gladwell:

“[Washington Post Business section deputy editor] Steve [Pearlstein] was a very important encouraging force for me,” Gladwell says. Pearlstein had an “open, free-ranging mind” and taught Gladwell that having a beat gave one the “freedom to explore ideas” in the course of day-to-day reporting.

Pearlstein was known for trolling around the newsroom with a clipboard on which he kept a list of reporters, what each was working on, and when their articles were due.

“Early on, we discovered that the best thing to do with Malcolm was to let him be Malcolm,” Pearlstein says. “When you’re Malcolm’s editor, you don’t worry about whether something is important—just that it’s interesting.” He left the box on his clipboard next to “Gladwell” blank.

I’ve often worried—knowing my share of journalism-school graduates—that J-school enforces a mindset of how things should be done. While there’s certainly a fair amount of rigor demanded of good journalism—asking insightful questions, fact-checking, looking at both sides—making sure that you’re checking all the boxes can well end up with the product being very rote and mechanical. Gladwell clearly injects personality into his writing, which is one reason that I really appreciate his work.

[HT to Rex Sorgatz's Fimoculous.]