The apex of Scott Kraft’s career as a foreign correspondent for the LA Times, where he ascended late this summer to the prestigious post of deputy managing editor, occurred at the turn of the millennium. It was in connection with his coverage of the release of Nelson Mandela from South African prison, and as a colleague recalls in today’s American Journalism Review piece, it led to a rather amazing presence in one particular LAT edition:

Kraft had six bylines in the paper that day, three of them on page one, recalls Simon Li, who was foreign editor at the LA Times while Kraft was a correspondent. “It was a mastery of his beat and his subject,” Li says. “It was unexcelled.”

Not to mention the fact that it took place at a time when a byline truly meant something. Today, all you need is an Internet connection and the ability to figure out WordPress or Blogspot.

In addition to his time in Johannesburg, Kraft also worked as an LAT foreign correspondent based out of Paris and Nairobi. Before that, he spent eight years with AP. Read the full AJR article here.

[Photo courtesy LA Times]