Journalism: Hail the Dog Days of Summer

In New York City, newsmen raced to keep up with the story of Archie, a dog beloved by Mayor Edward Koch that unexpectedly vanished for three days from the mayor's official residence—and was welcomed back at a city-hall news conference. In Washington, the national press corps reported that a White House cricket, which had disrupted Nancy Reagan's sleep, chirped no more.

The attention to such trivia was a sure sign that the nation was in the midst of that sultry vacationtime when people—and news events—wind down. Some editors claim that the modern news business resists the seasonal lassitude....