(FORTUNE Magazine) – ONE OF the worst things about the national media is that we are so concentrated in Manhattan--a fascinating place filled with powerful people and institutions that, unfortunately, warp everyone's perspective on what's happening out in the real world. That warp effect is why Warren Buffett has a rule against buying and selling while on this island; he trades when he's back home in Omaha. And it leads to jokes like the old one about the two entertainment executives flying between coasts.

"What the hell is down there?" asks one, pointing with disdain out the window of his G4.

"The audience," replies the other.

Well, we in business journalism are not immune to this syndrome, though at FORTUNE we try our best to keep up with shifts in power and wealth "between the coasts." In Chicago, bureau chief Ron Henkoff has certainly been doing that. His groundbreaking reporting on the problems at Archer Daniels Midland has so stirred up ADM that the company went to extraordinary lengths to try to make it seem as if the Justice Department were discrediting our coverage. (ADM chairman Dwayne Andreas may live in Decatur, Illinois, but he wields as much influence on government officials as anyone, anywhere.) Despite what you may have read elsewhere, ADM failed to knock down our story. We stand by it. (See News Trends.)

Meanwhile, in this issue, Andy Serwer, who normally digs up some of the juicier tales in our News Trends section, traveled from New York to Boise. Why? Well, Andy just has a nose for a great story. He had first come to know 86-year-old potato billionaire J.R. Simplot last year while reporting on McDonald's (Simplot sells it more than half its french fries), and after noticing the big run-up in the stock of Boise semiconductor maker Micron, he remembered Simplot was a big backer.

Says Andy: "Anytime you see where one guy has made $2.5 billion in 24 months, there's got to be something there." He was right, of course. He and photographer Louis Psihoyos--who has shot Sam Walton, Michael Eisner, and many others for us--have brought home one hell of a good tale. If Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry wrote business stories, he would have loved this one. And by the way, don't miss Louis's photo--a first for FORTUNE, and I suspect for any business publication--of a corporate director skinny-dipping with only his cowboy hat on.

John W. Huey Jr. Managing Editor