FOSTER Davis worked more than three decades on three continents in journalism, but his effect on his profession was felt not only in his hometown Charlotte, in the United States, but also in Johannesburg. Davis, 61, died on Sunday in Charlotte from cancer. He worked at The Observer from 1976 to 1992 and in that time had a number of jobs, including metro editor, assistant managing editor and writing coach. He was a warm, adventurous man who carried a passion for storytelling and a belief that newspapers should be direct, clear and graceful. “It is absolutely true that a decade after he left, I still quote him at least once a week in the newsroom,” Observer Managing Editor Frank Barrows said. He won a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1988. With the Poynter Institute, Davis taught at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg.