The Blogging Journalist

Newspaper Editors Having Rough Times Too

CHICAGO, USA -- "If you are a California newspaper editor, you may be shaking a bit more than usual this week," writes Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp in a January 28, 2008, article headlined "Four Top California Editors Out -- More to Come?"

Strupp said, "The past few months, and last week in particular, have been rough times for Golden State newsroom leaders. No fewer than four top editors of the state’s major newspapers have departed their jobs, three of them reportedly against their will."

Here in the Chicago area, Frank Shuftan and Michael Waters, former co-editors of The Southtown Star, which was created from the merger of the Sun-Times Media Group's Daily Southtown Economist and The Star about 11 weeks ago, to save money, revealed January 18, 2008, that they were let go.  See "Co-editors' exit sign of tough times" for details.

A few assistant and editorial page editors at  the Chicago Sun-Tines have been released. See "Sun-Times lays off 17 reporters, editors."

Technorati Tags: Editor & Publisher,Joe Strupp,Editor lay-offs

What Happened to Chicago's 'Newsprint Curtain'?

Martha Rosenberg, staff cartoonist for the Evanston Roundtable in Evanston, Illinois, home of Northwestern University, makes timely observations about the state of newspapers in Chicago in a January 27, 1008, post at OpEd News.com headlined "Once Colored by Mike Royko, Chicago Newspapers Now Shaped by Money Men Zell and Black."

Rosenberg takes a stroll down memory lane and looks at the present. Reading her post took me back 35-years to when Chicago was a feisty and competitive newspaper town. With the Chicago Sun-Times seemingly on the ropes, it could become a one major daily newspaper town, at least for awhile. The Chicago Tribune would be last major daily standing if the Sun-Times bites the dust.

Frankly, we have some nice alternative publication in the city that cumulatively do a good job of covering the city. I like the The Beachwood Reporter, the Chicago Reader, Chi-Town Daily News, Chicago Defender, an African-American daily, to name four.

Of course there are numerous blogs in Chicago on varied subjects and many neighborhoods have weekly newspapers.

Technorati Tags: Martha Rosenberg,Evanston Roundtable,Op-Ed News.com,Chicago Newspapers

The SFN Blog

The World Association of Newspapers, which "groups 76 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 102 nations, 10 news agencies, and 10 regional press organisations," publishes an informative blog called SFN (Shaping the Future of the Newspaper). It's quite bold and aggressive in its design.

Technorati Tags: World Association of Newspapers, SFN Blog

Marci Alboher's Advice on Getting Your First Byline

Today I read New York Times Online "Shifting Careers" columnist Marci Alboher's July 4, 2007, post at heymarci.com headlined "Getting your first byline." What struck me was how she effectively used her blog to offer advice on writing for print publications.

It's good to see Marci blogging. All print journalist, in my opinion, should have a blog. It's a great marketing tool, and an important one in a era when newsrooms are being drastically transformed amid  futile lamenting. Change may be slow but its constant.

By the way, if were just starting out as writer I'd go for my first byline using a blog. I'd use it to show that I could cover community news, conduct meaningful interviews, write reviews, etc. What better platform to use to showcase one's writing?

Technorati tags: Marci Albher, heymarci.com, Shifting Careers, The New York Times, Getting Your First Byline

Multitasking In Journalism: Can It Be Done?

Guardian of London blogger Roy Greenslade reported February 20, 2007 that "There is an assumption by newsprint journalists - and a conviction among gloating broadcasting journalists - that multi-skilling will never work. Newspaper reporters may be good at getting stories but they will never pass muster in front of a video camera. They may be good writers but they will never learn the art of speaking through a microphone."

"Now comes some evidence from the US that suggests otherwise," Greenslade wrote.  To read the entire post, please see "Newspaper vodcasts can compete with TV news"

Mint: The Hindustan Times' New Business Paper

Nikhil Pahwa of ContentSutra, "India's digital news monitor," reported  February 17, 2007, that "the new business paper ‘Mint,’ which is produced by the Hindustan Times, "has 100 percent access" to The Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) "content, from over 1900 journalists across the globe."

"HT is already full up on the 26 percent FDI that print publications in India are allowed, so an equity partnership with WSJ isn’t possible yet," according to Pahwa.

I presume FDI means foreign direct investment. To read more, please see The Minty Way, Even If Slightly Unclear."

Jeff Jarvis: 'Listen, We All Care About The News'

"I keep seeing the same cans of red herrings opened up when big-media guys talk about their future or lack thereof," notes BuzzMachine proprietor Jeff Jarvis in a February 13, 2007 post headlined "Nobody wants less reporting."

"Walter Cronkite says that our need for reporting is only greater today," Jarvis wrote in commenting on a February 8, 2007, keynote address Cronkite delivered at Columbia University. "So who’s arguing with that? Jarvis asked. "Show me the person who says we need less reporting."

 Jarvis also asked:

Is there still a role for news judgment and editing? Yes, but that should not be about control and not about force-feeding us. It’s about finding the good stuff, researching for us, vetting, adding value. To argue that we can’t get that except at MSM’s dinner table is to argue that only they know what’s good for us.

"Listen, we all care about news," Jarvis continued. "We all want strong reporting. We all want help finding the good stuff. We also believe that we all should care about finding new and better ways to get the news. So can we please move on?

I think Jeff' makes a valid argument. I know I don't want less reporting. What I do want is for journalists and editors to stop acting as if they have the last word when it comes to news and analysis.

'Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate'

Author, journalist and assistant professor Alicia Shepard has a revealing excerpt from her book "Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate," up at Poynter Online. To quote Poynter, it "recounts the tale of the 75 boxes of papers documenting their story." The material is at the University of Texas.

To read it, see "Reporter Pads and Book Galleys: Documenting Woodstein.

Jeff Jarvis Offers A Perspective On Magazines

On November 10, 2006, BuzzMachine proprietor Jeff Jarvis posted an interesting perspective on the future of magazine. See Whither magazines?

Jarvis notes that, "Time Magazine just made a rash of brash decisions: cutting its rate base from 4 to 3.25 million (now barely ahead of Newsweek’s 3.1) by getting rid of junk circulation; raising its cover price by a buck to a rather ballsy $4.95; cutting five of its eight special demographic editions; and trying to convince advertisers to buy based on the alleged count of readers vs. the actual count of magazines sold. It’s looking bad for the old beast."

I rarely buy magazines. I did buy the December 2006 Vanity Fair. Why? Simply because I wanted something to read on the bus during the commute home from work, not because of the magazine's content. I prefer to read that online. And I don't know when I last bought TIME or NEWSWEEK. However, I read the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune daily, but for local news. I get most of my international news online. That's because I'm looking for diversity in world affairs coverage.

What's The Big Deal If WSJ Puts Ads On Its Front Page?

"The Wall Street Journal will begin running ads on its front page in September," notes Juan Antonio Giner in a July 19, 2006 post at What's Next: Innovations in Newspapers.

"Big deal, they are doing it right now in the European and Asian tabloid editions!" he asserts.

My sentiment exactly. As long as newspapers exist, they have to make money to pay journalists and others responsible for getting out the paper. And don't forget the investors.

For Giner's post, see "The Ethics of Ads In The Front Page." Thanks to Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine for bringing attention to the article in a post headlined "Paying the bills."

Times Union Exploring "New Ways' To Deliver News

Rex Smith, editor of the Times Union of Albany, New York, told the paper's readers in a July 8, 2006 column:

When I told a friend recently that I had become "platform agnostic," I got a blank look, then a mumbled response that it was probably best not to bring religion into a professional conversation. I had to explain that this particular agnosticism was a matter of journalism, not faith.

That is, I'm convinced that the Times Union must deliver information to you in whatever format you like -- not just in print, but also online. In coming months we will also make more Times Union content available in other media, including radio and television.

  For more on the Times Union's plans, see "New ways to give you latest news." It's better late than never."

Clarion-Ledger: 'Newspapers Offer Valuable Insight'

"The value of small town newspapers in family research cannot be overemphasized," reports Nancianne Parkes Suber in a July 7, 2006 special to the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger. "They offer a wealth of information on births, deaths, marriages, land transfers and other legal transactions.'

To read more, see "Newspapers offer valuable insight."

Richmond Times-Dispatch Tells Why It Fired A Reporter

"Integrity is a core value at The Times-Dispatch, and anything less in gathering and reporting the news is unacceptable," the editors of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch told readers May 27, 2006.

 

What prompted this? It was the May 26, 2006 firing of "Northern Virginia bureau reporter Paul Bradley" for fabricating a "Times-Dispatch article published May 17 about the reaction in Herndon (Virginia) to President Bush's speech on immigration."

 

The editors said Bradley "reported a fabricated interview and portrayed a scene at a job center there as though the reporter had visited it. He had not. "

 

"What I did was wrong and an indefensible journalistic sin," Bradley said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press,"  the wire service reported May 27, 2006. "I cut corners to put some color into a story and I am now paying a dear price."

 

Rest assured, Bradley won't be the last reporter, online or offline, exposed for making up stories and fabricating interviews. If you want to know more about his case, see "To our readers."  Also see "Va. Reporter Fired Over Fabrications."

 

 

The Relationship Between Newspapers and Their Readers

"When it comes to the relationship between newspapers and their readers, the thrill, it seems, is fading," contends Joann Klimkiewicz, staff writer for the Hartford Courant.

I used to read six newspapers daily but not anymore unless they are online. In paper format, I read The New York Times and Chicago Sun-Times. I subscribe to the Chicago Tribune but glance through it rather than read it.

The Changing Times

Joe Lauria, in a September 25, 2005 article in The Business Online, noted that, " The New York Times made two moves last week that could be the shape of things to come for newspapers. It sacked 500 workers and started charging for premium content on its website." Here's more of Lauria's analysis of these changes.

'Goodbye, Birmingham, and Thank You'

The 55-year old Birmingham Post-Herald published its last issue September 23, 2005. Richard A. Boehne, The E. W. Scripps Company's executive vice president and head of the company's newspaper division, said:

The Post-Herald has a long tradition of journalistic excellence and community service, but Scripps was left with no choice but to face economic realities. The Post-Herald's talented and dedicated staff produces an excellent newspaper, but unfortunately the Birmingham market has made it clear that it will no longer support an afternoon edition.

According to Post-Herald.Com, the Post-Herald staff posed for a group picture in their newsroom" on September 22, 2005.

'Are These the Last Days of Print Journalism?'

In a September 25, 2005 article in The Huntsville (Alabama) Times headlined "As journalists, we're keenly attuned to media changes," opinion columnist John Ehinger asked: "Are these the last days of print journalism?"

His answer: "No, but it's a time of adjustment, and what's happening in 2005 has been unfolding for years."

You are right, John, and it's going to get worse unless the press change its habit of dictating to its readers and start engaging in a conversation with them.