Gita M. Smith grew up in Montreal, Quebec and now lives in Montgomery, Ala., which shows, if nothing else, that she is adaptable. She covered news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Montgomery Advertiser, and she wrote/edited medical newsletters for American Health Consultants at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic when clear, factual information was as needed.

For a time, she taught in Auburn University's journalism department and ran the History-Geography lab at Alabama State University, where she taught students to write research papers . She believes the following to be true: The power of the free press may appear to be a weak reed to lean on, but it separates democracies from juntas.