All the news that fit to print and then some

A move by the New York Times to more aggressively link its online readers to other news sites is the kind of step that will make the Times even more valuable to its readers.

The move recognizes that Times editors and reporters do pick up information from other news outlets that leads to stories in their own publications and also that other organizations have information that will help their readers access angles and insights that Times itself isn't providing.

Newspapers have been generally loathe to "move" their readers to other sites, afraid of losing the clicks that come from keeping readers going deeper into their own sites. But I'd argue that providing what my former editor used to describe as "guide and direct" resources in fact makes the newspaper's print and web editions more valuable.

It makes newspapers more true "information centers," offering ways for the readers to be better informed, which is truly a public service.

 

 

   

Don't try this while texting

Several us sitting around a breakfast table for a Unity convention event got a chuckle this morning when one of the editors on hand talked about how her paper had enlisted readers to participate in a new real-time traffic feature for their website. The idea is to have readers text message the paper when they see an accident or a traffic jam. That prompted yours truly to say "I hope their car is stopped when their filing."

A few hours later waiting for my plane back to Kansas City, I opened the Wall Street Journal and to my surprise was a front page story about how people have gotten hurt while texting, bumping into lamp posts, falling off of curbs and in one case, walking into a bride while texting. 

Doctors are reporting that people are showing up in emergency rooms with injuries from accidents sustained while they were texting and obviously not watching where they were going. One driver/texter even killed someone.

So, if you're in a position to ask readers to help you with coverage, tell them to stand still or sit still while messaging. Or they may be the subject of your next story.

The booths are buzzing at Unity

The Unity convention in Chicago is the perfect place to recharge your batteries if you're a veteran journalist like me worried about the state of the news industry. It's hard to feel down when you're among the 5,000 mostly bright-faced attendees of the minority journalism conference which is running this week at the McCormick Place convention center.

Many in attendance are young and looking for their first or second jobs, which I take as a very positive sign. They filled the job fair Thursday afternoon and made the CNN and USA today booths buzz with activity. And even the one or two chairs in front of many of the metro newspaper recruiting booths were occupied with eager candidates.

I talked to one young woman who was graduated a year ago from Santa Clara University who has been freelancing as a writer for an NBC affiliate in San Francisco. She was a very poised, web-savvy print major who has learned to write broadcast copy. She would welcome a fulltime job in any good news organization, print, web and/or broadcast and from what I saw of her resume, which she shared with me, she'd be catch.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed she gets a job soon so "we" don't lose her. She's exactly what mainstream journalism organizations need in this multi platform era.

Good for you Katie, and good for us

Katie Couric isn't on my top 10 list of journalists I most admire but I was happy to see that she plans to continue anchoring the CBS evening news. I think she's gotten a bit of what Hillary Clinton got: more scrutiny (read nitpicking) than she deserved. 

But that's something Couric can't control. What she can control is her reaction to it and to a large degree the kind of journalism she wants to be known for. 

With her evening anchor role and with meaty contributions to "60 Minutes," Couric has a great chance to gain her bones and a bigger audience over time. If she hang in there for a few years, I have no doubt she''ll become a beloved and respected figure. 

 

Women still aren't given the opportunities men are given when it comes to top flight news positions. So when some like Couric is given such an opportunity, my hope is that she doesn't step down too soon unless she absolutely has to.

Negative? Turn your energy into a proposal

Someone smart I live with said to me some years ago something to the effect "Rather than be a contrarian, make a proposal." It's a good practice whether you're talking with your honey about which restaurant to choose or to a newspaper editor about what's wrong with his or her paper.

I had the opportunity today to meet with someone concerned about an aspect of preps sports coverage in a local newspaper. By the time we met, he had heard from the paper's editors, very courteously, that staffing and newshole constraints contributed to why the paper couldn't give the subject more coverage.

The editors have agreed to meet with him so he came to me for advice. Here's what I told him. "Pick two or three things that you and the people you're working can provide the paper each week. It may be a calendar highlighting the best five upcoming matches plus one game summary."

 The point is to figure out how to help expand the coverage without causing more work for the editor and his staff. The point is that making a proposal is a way to take a positive approach to problem-solving and starting the discussion in an affirmative direction. It's easier and more productive than digging out of a hole.

 

"Newspaper war" has whole new meaning

It would not be surprising to anyone who knows her that Bobbi Bowman, ASNE's diversity director, would liken the turbulent period the newspaper business is in to World War II. The great war is her great passion, a hobby that has taken her to the shores of Normandy as well as to many museums and historical sites around the country.  She calls it the war that "saved Democracy." 

So in a conference call with would-be panelists for the upcoming Unity minority journalists convention Bobbi tried to provide an inspirational moment by saying this period in newspaper history reminds her of 1943, the first year of the war.

 "There were lots of casualties and the allies were losing ground. Everyone was very afraid and it was tough," she told us. To which one of the callers replied, "That certainly makes me feel a lot better."

   

Cable companies are in for a fight

Chalk one up for the little guy or at least anyone who doesn't want the big cable companies to limit what its customers can do online.

 The New York Times reported Saturday that the FCC is against efforts by Comcast and others to slow down the internet connections of customers who are moving large amounts of data at busy times. The feds say they're inclined to start regulating what the companies can do in this regard.

Efforts to control the flow of information is also one of the big concerns of free speech advocates and others who view the internet as a vital mechanism of free speech and access to information. But the cable companies say their networks have limited capacity, making it necessary to control usage.

This is one of those issues that going to engender a huge debate, lawsuits and a general public backlash. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes at least a minor issue in the presidential campaign. The cat is out of the bag, so to speak, and making it harder for people to share information when they want to is not going to be acceptable.  

  

 

You gotta love this reader

John Drescher, executive editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, sounded annoyed and defensive with the reader who filed suit against his paper for cutbacks in coverage. If I were Drescher, I'd privately be singing the guy's praises.

Most editors I know would love to be able to say publicly that cutbacks are hurting their ability to cover their communities. Of course, they can't say anything without putting their jobs on the line.

I can't remember ever rooting for a plaintiff in a lawsuit against a paper and I probably won't start with this case. I don't know enough about the particulars, and generally, I don't want the courts deciding how papers should be run. 

Still, you gotta love a reader who cares enough to make such a stink. Hopefully, the case will create community conversation and embolden other readers to weigh in on how the N&O can serve them better.

Using your workplace as a lab

An experiment by a CBS affiliate in St Pete to give 20 citizens video cameras and pay them $20 for submissions reminds me of some excellent advice I received a few years ago when I was still managing editor of the Indianapolis Star.

The advice was to use the workplace as a laboratory to try new things. That will feed your soul, the advice giver said, as well as create energy in the newsroom and build the capacity of your staff. From then on, I  had at least one major, far-reaching initiative going at any given time that was not on anyone else's formal agenda.

Some things worked and some didn't. But like the CBS citizens video project, I found there's often a lot to gain and little to lose in trying something bold. And for me, it made work more interesting and fun.

  

The Times is truly a public trust

A new acquaintance of mine is so convinced that Michael Bloomberg is going to buy the New York Times that she recently bought $10,000 worth of stock in the company.

I don't have anything against Bloomberg but I'd hate for the Times to change hands. Despite Jayson Blair, the flawed coverage of Wen Ho Lee and Judith Miller's too cozy relationship with Bush White House officials, I think the paper's editors do a great job pointing their pens at what needs to be covered and try to do it fairly. I worry that in any other hands, especially those of a rich politician like Bloomberg, the paper will not be as good.

I'm hoping my friend's $10,000 turns out not to be as good an investment as she hoped, or that the Times stock goes up because it makes a smart business move other than selling.

Taking some solace in latest newsroom census

One of the hats I wear is as diversity chair for the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Here are the email answers I gave in an online interview with a reporter for Diverse magazine which she decribed as a kind of Chronicle of Higher Education for blacks.


-Do you think that diversity is "the sacrificial lamb" during this turbulent time in the industry?

ASNEs annual census, released in April, found the percentage of journalists of color in newspaper newsrooms was slightly higher year over year. While editors I know wish the numbers were higher, given the loss of jobs in newsrooms, the ones I spoke with seemed to find solace in the report.

-What type of responses did ASNE receive after releasing the study results and how has the committee responded to the numbers?

The diversity committee plans to meet at Unity in July and discuss our projects for the year ahead. There is an idea being floated by another journalism organization we might partner with that would help with retention and promotion. Were also committed to helping editors increase coverage of minority communities, particularly using the web. ASNE is devoted to several other important programs to help increase the number of minority journalists including an extensive high school journalism initiative. The organization also provides annual training seminars for current professionals to build their expertise and confidence which helps keep them in the business and growing. For example, we just hosted a well-received seminar in Denver on immigration issues for reporters and editors. As one might expect, there was a heavy emphasis on the impact on Latino communities.


--Do you have additional comments?

Local newspapers are a great place to work if you want to make a difference in terms of community building, including giving voice to people who are marginalized or neglected as well as those with the wherewithal to make good things happen. We need journalists from all backgrounds to ensure we;re fulfilling our public service role and to accurately reflect whats going on in peoples lives. Our increasing use of the web gives us a tremendous opportunity to reach and reflect even more people and to help them connect with each other.



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What Kool-aid has Zell been drinking?

Wow, all of a sudden Sam Zell is playing Mr. Nice Guy. The Tribune Company owner is all sugar in his latest memo to employees.

It's refreshing to see Zell praise his newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the LA Times. Newspapering is hard enough without being gratuitously slammed by your owner which Zell did in earlier comments to and about his papers. Whether Zell came to the realization on his own or took some good advice, it's nice to see his positive comments .

Next step would for him and his leadership team to make a real effort to include publishers and editors as part of his brain trust, actively soliciting and employing some of their ideas. He talked loud and hard about giving his news properties more local autonomy when he bought Tribune last year but the jury's still out on how comfortable he'll be letting local executives call the shots.