Welcome aboard the N&O, with stories and photos to educate, engage and entertain you

Readers of a certain age will remember “The Love Boat,” a 1970s romance-comedy television series about the crew of the Pacific Princess and their ability to fix every passenger’s problems in less than 60 minutes.

Mike Wallace brought the pain on “60 Minutes.” Doc fixed it on “The Love Boat.”

I’m in full Captain Stubing mindset today because that’s the mission for any editor:

1. Navigate the boat into calm waters.

2. Keep the passengers educated, engaged and entertained.

3. Find your Gopher.

We’re all churning through rough surf lately. It’s understandable why people may avoid the news. National and international news outlets have been in a constant loop of bombings and trauma.

Plus, many folks seem to be in mad mode. About politics. About the cost of living. Even about the color of a jersey.

An All-Star story from an All-Star team

The News & Observer’s All-Star team of writer Andrew Carter and photographer Robert Willett team up for another classic must-read, must-see — this time on the captivating story of Erin Matson, a generational field hockey star now coaching her alma mater at age 23. Here is how Andrew described the NCAA’s youngest head coach: Among her greatest challenges in year one: The team she inherited lost its best player. Herself.

The N&O has written about her accomplishments before. Erin’s name gets mentioned often with another famous Tar Heel, but leave it to Andrew to diplomatically make the comparison:

Some might be quick to describe her as the Michael Jordan of field hockey. It’s apt, perhaps, except for one detail: Compared to Matson, who first became a member of her sport’s national team when she was 16, Jordan was not as accomplished an athlete during his three years at UNC.

Someone — because someone in the stands always does — griped that we did the story because she’s from UNC-Chapel Hill. Erin has become a national story because of her leadership, talents and will to win — themes that would resonate regardless of where she went to school. If you live in the Triangle, you have had a chance to see the greatest athlete in a sport that looks so easy but plays so hard.

Robert and Andrew are reasons enough to join our local-news cruise ship. More often than not, we’re keeping you educated, engaged and entertained.

Oh, and looking after your interests.

Check out our Dean’s List

Meet Korie Dean, our higher education reporter, who is launching Dean’s List, a weekly roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina. You can read Korie’s first rendition on newsobserver.com digital products and sign up for the upcoming newsletter.

Korie recently reported how the level of matching funds the state provides for distinguished professorships now will be restricted to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), setting up much debate on what happens in areas such as history, languages and the arts.

Newsletters are a fine way to ease back onto the lido deck and engage with what’s happening in the Triangle and North Carolina. Go to the newsobserver.com home page and look for the menu on the left. Under the “Stay Connected” headline, you’ll find a link to an extensive variety of newsletters, ranging from ACC sports to real estate to local communities.

We’ve also made changes to our expanded e-editions, which typically number 100+ pages, from the replica version of the printed newspaper along with subscriber-exclusive extra sections and our overnight Triangle Now edition (with stories that publish after the print deadline).

An avid (and friendly) reader, Steven from Durham, had questions about where the index was on the e-edition. “With frequently over 100 pages (including the “Extra Extra” section), it is now nearly impossible to navigate the newspaper without scrolling through every page, especially with their over abundance of animated advertising! If the index is now hiding somewhere, I would appreciate a hint as to its whereabouts,” Steven wrote.

Good news! When you call up the e-edition, look for the word “Pages” in the lower left corner. Click on it and you’ll see an array of labeled pages, including the Comics pages. I’ve done the horizontal scroll through this new index several times and found the appropriate pages each time.

A story for the ages, a truly educational newsletter, and a successful search of the e-edition.

I’m feeling like the Captain now. Or maybe Gopher.

Bill Church is executive editor of The News & Observer.