Jim Cross sounds believable and accurate, and with good reason: He is. KTAR's lead news reporter has been telling us important stories from around the state day after day, pounding that rigorous 3 to 11 a.m. shift with the same enthusiasm now as when he was hired in 1999. Cross especially excels during crunch time, when events are fluid and outcomes unsure. His coverage of the Rodeo-Chediski fire in 2002 and the Southern California firestorm in 2007 was as good as it gets — graphic, yet never maudlin. His description of the first commercial airplane lifting off at Sky Harbor days after 9/11 was riveting and heartfelt. And we also recall his fair coverage of the stunning 2007 arrests of this paper's two principal owners by Joe Arpaio's goons. Good reporter that he is, he drove over to the paper, waited until someone gave him a decent quote, and then put it on the air, all within minutes. What more can you ask?