PD EDITOR, MOM OF 2, DIES AT 42

Janielle Jobe, the night city editor of The Press Democrat, was described

by friends and colleagues Friday as a tenacious journalist whose commitment to

thorough, accurate reporting was matched by her commitment to the community.

She died of cancer Thursday with her family at her side. She was 42.

As night city editor, Jobe supervised production of the Empire News

section. She also was responsible for late-breaking news, and managed coverage

of several major stories, including the Oakland Hills fire, the arrest of

Richard Allen Davis and the Russian River floods.

Her news instincts were exemplified by her decision on Feb. 4 to send a

photographer after hearing firefighters dispatched to rainswollen Matanzas

Creek. The resulting picture of a teen-ager being pulled from the creek was

reprinted throughout the world.

But colleagues cited her compassion as well as her news judgment.

''She was a very good journalist who cared deeply about her profession,''

said Bruce Kyse, executive editor of The Press Democrat. ''She cared even more

deeply about the community and the people that our newspaper serves.''

Helen Bale, editor emeritus of the Auburn Journal, where Jobe began her

professional career, said ''she was very conscious of people and their

feelings'' and recalled how they ''agonized for hours'' about one particularly

sensitive story, choosing their words carefully ''so we could tell the public

what they need to know without embarrassing anybody.''

Fellow journalists remembered Jobe as someone who took her job seriously

and loved to talk shop, going over stories and whether they were fair,

thorough and unbiased. ''She was a real hustler, always digging after the

story,'' said Reed Fujii, an editor at the Stockton Record and former

assistant news editor of the Journal.

Friends also remembered her hearty laugh, which rang through the newsroom,

her home and anywhere else they gathered. ''It's one of those laughs where you

just can't help laughing with her,'' said Melinda Miller of Reno, a college

roommate and longtime friend.

Jobe was born June 16, 1953 in Keokuk, Iowa. She moved to California with

her family after her father died, attending high school in Roseville and

graduating from Chico State University with bachelor's and master's degrees in

communication studies.

She joined the Journal in 1977 as a reporter, was promoted to news editor

four years later and became city editor in 1982. Jobe helped organize a Placer

County Press Club and edited a special publication marking Auburn's centennial

and commemorating the 100 most influential people in the history of the gold

rush town.

She also taught news writing at Sacramento State University before joining

The Press Democrat as a copy editor in 1988. Jobe was appointed night city

editor two years later.

Along with her regular duties, Jobe participated in several special

projects, including reports on phonics and reading, domestic violence,

juvenile crime and the effects of narcotics abuse. She also worked closely

with young reporters.

While living in Auburn, she met Fred Berry and they were married in 1981.

They moved to Windsor when Jobe joined The Press Democrat and lived there with

their daughters, Liz, 11, and Chrissy, 5. She is also survived by her mother,

Marge Shelton of Citrus Heights; two brothers and three sisters. A third

brother preceded her in death.

She was diagnosed with cancer in early March and was being treated at the

University of California hospital in San Francisco when she died.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Jobe liked golf, tennis, skiing and soccer. She coached her elder

daughter's youth soccer team for the past three years. She enjoyed books and

helped organize a reading circle for her friends. Jobe also was active in the

Windsor Presbyterian Church.

''She had a real impact on this community,'' Kyse said. ''We're going to

miss her.''