On Tuesday in our front-page meeting, one editor challenged another:

"Why is the Connecticut Senate race a front-page story for us?" was his line of questioning.

Nation & World editor Ann Kennedy offered a quick and cogent response: If Sen. Joseph Lieberman lost the Democratic primary (which he did that night), it connected to a bigger story about politics and public opinion.

Lieberman's opponent had attacked the incumbent's support for the U.S. war in Iraq, Kennedy noted, and both major parties were watching this race as a barometer on war politics.

The story made the front page Wednesday.

Debate and banter season our daily Page 1 discussions. What seems like a clear front-page story to one person might strike another as dull or trivial.

The front-page editor leads a decision process that can strike outsiders as messy and confusing. He works with a constantly changing list of options and stories, collaborating over many hours with colleagues and conferring with senior editors on major decisions.

Those choices reflect The News & Observer's strengths and priorities.

For instance, with so much news available from television and Internet sources, including our own Web site, our front page must do more than simply recite events of the previous day.

We emphasize coverage readers won't get from other sources. Some of our best work is what we call "enterprise," stories that are developed over time through intensive reporting, mostly on state, regional and local issues.

We also know that people here come from all over and represent all kinds of interests. They are parents, workers, employers and enthusiasts of all sorts. They are local residents and citizens of the United States and some other nations.

That's why our front page draws from a variety of topics, aiming for news from many corners of life. Page 1 also is the "face" of the paper, guiding readers to material inside.

For eight years, the vision and guidance for this effort most days has come from front page editor Eric Frederick.

A veteran journalist, Frederick has brought keen news judgment and a steadying hand to many unforgettable stories: Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the election and recounts of 2000 and '04, the searing first days and continuing weeks of the Sept. 11, 2001, coverage and more elections and sports championships than you can count.

This year he led an update to Page 1 that added the "More News" index and other information.

Frederick was our first front page editor. Now he steps into another new role as managing editor for online news.

He will be replaced in the Page 1 chair by Steve Merelman, who has been an assigning editor here for several years after joining us from the Birmingham News.

If you'd like to take part in our front-page meetings, held weekdays at 4:30 p.m., contact Becky Beach at bbeach@newsobserver.com or 829-8949.