Editor's note.(LETTERS)

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THE THUMBNAIL MAGAZINE COVER ABOVE IS SOMETHING WE'RE PROUD TO present--the first issue of Columbia Journalism Review Chinese, to be published and distributed in China. CJRChinese will consist primarily of articles from this magazine translated into Mandarin, along with new material created by our Chinese partner, World Executive Group, a private company that specializes in information research. This is our first foreign-language edition.

The first issue of CJRChinese includes pieces such as "Love Thy Neighbor: The religion beat in an age of intolerance," by Tim Townsend (May/June 2008); "May I Speak Freely: Anthony Lewis on the First Amendment's march to victory," a review by Aryeh Neier (January/February 2008); and "Red Ink Rising: How the press missed a sea change in the credit-card industry" by Dean Starkman (March/April 2008). The Chinese section of this issue of CJRChinese includes material on "The World's 500 most influential brands of 2008." The company will initially distribute copies to key members of the Chinese media and also sell single copies.

Not that you would confuse the two, but the thumbnail on the top right is our other new publication, a book called Correct Me If I'm Wrong. It is a gathering of the best of The Lower Case, CJR'S ongoing archive of misfired headlines (see page 64). Gloria Cooper, who curated The Lower Case until her retirement in 2007, edited the book and, I have to tell you, it is much funnier than CJRChinese. Correct Me is on sale ($9.95) through a partnership with the Newseum, via the Newseum's Web site, its gift shop, or by calling 202-292-6300.

Finally, I want to introduce two new beats at CJR.

Clint Hendler, picking up from his cover story in our January/February issue, will cover the transparency beat. He'll report on the nexus between the press, the public, and the issue of government transparency, including how these play out in both the stimulus and bailout efforts of the Obama administration. This is possible thanks to a generous grant from the Sunlight Foundation, for which we are grateful.

Megan Garber will cover the news innovation beat, thanks to a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. (That generous grant supported a cover package on information overload in our November/December issue as well, and also additional online-only material on the topic.) Garber will explore the upheaval under way on both the economic and editorial fronts in our business, how quality journalism must change--and is changing--as it attempts to engage readers in our distraction-rich society, and the ongoing conversation between old and new media as they both seek a viable future. This is a crucial beat, and we are seeking funds to add firepower to it. For more on this, please see our editorial on page 4.

Hendler and Garber's work on these vital beats will appear regularly online, at CJR.org, and occasionally in this magazine.

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