People are still talking about last week's American Society of Newspaper Editors convention in Seattle. This includes an eye-of-the-beholder split about whether the overall effect was upbeat or a bummer. My sense is that it depends on which convention you're talking about -- the proceedings on the floor, which were optimistic and forward-looking, or the conversations in the hall, where complaint and anxiety were more likely to be aired out.In my bailiwick -- empirical research on the industry -- there was some modestly good news. The annual census of professional newsroom jobs showed a loss of about 600 in 2005, not the 1,200-plus that I and other watchers of this annual indicator had predicted. That 600 is roughly equal to the announced job cuts of 2005, mostly at large metro papers. The number also suggested that smaller papers did much better, that many papers held their staffs even and that there may have been unannounced pockets of modest growth. ASNE also took a shot at measuring employment at 11 free-distribution dailies and estimated more than 1,000 professional jobs in that sector. It also remains unclear whether the census includes the growing number of editorial jobs in separate online divisions of newspapers. Add it up and, with the prominent exception of metro papers like those in Philadelphia and San Jose, it appears that the industry may be redistributing, rather than shrinking the news workforce.Besides adding marquee value, Bill Gates of Microsoft and Howard Schultz of Starbucks had worthwhile things to say at the convention. Techies told me there was less news than met the eye in Gates' demonstration of a soon-to-be-released newspaper-reading product, enabling easier, better-organized reading onscreen (and offline, should you wish). Still, I was taken aback when both Gates and his New York Times collaborators said that the current state of Web design (where so many papers are focusing hard-charging growth efforts) is no great shakes. It was another reminder of the moving-target nature of online content and display. Today's best may look quaint within a few years.As for Schultz, he claimed to know nothing in particular about newspapers, but his opening anecdote about how good brands can be "fractured" made me wonder. He reached into a manila envelope and produced a box of Raisinets he said he had purchased on a recent trip to the movies with his daughter. It looked like a good-sized box of candy and even came with a cellophane window through which you could glimpse the product. But once he opened the package, he found the Raisinets themselves wrapped in a second cellophane bag -- a lot smaller than the dimensions of the box. Hmmmm -- looks like a real newspaper, but once you dig in, there is not much there -- sound like any of the products of our industry?
A prayer for DarfurWASHINGTON -- Ten years ago, Apajok Deng was in a refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing civil war-ravaged Sudan in eastern Africa. Yesterday, she stood in front of the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by tens of thousands of demonstrators calling for the international community to help her native country."I'm really grateful" for the large crowd, said Deng, 21, who relocated to Richmond about five years ago when a Catholic organization sponsored her move to the U.S. "If something changes, that would be good. We need to save lives."
Boycott's Economic Impact Evident, Mixed Far from the boisterous streets where hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters marched Monday, many of the restaurants, factories and construction sites they boycotted stood silent.Kitchens that normally serve food were empty. Meat-processing plants came to a halt. Fields were barren of workers. Truckers avoided the nation's largest shipping port, and tens of thousands of students skipped school.Despite divisions over whether "A Day Without an Immigrant" sent the right message to lawmakers mulling reforms to federal law, the impact of the economic boycott was evident, though hardly uniform, at workplaces nationwide.
Four persons were killed and at least 11 others shot as National Guardsmen fired into a group of rock-throwing protesters at Kent State University today. Three of the dead were tentatively identified as William Schneider, Jeffrey Miller, and Allison Krause. The fourth was an unidentified girl. ......Gunshots rang out about 12:30 p.m., half an hour after Guardsmen fired tear gas into a crowd of 500 on the Commons behind the university administration offices. Demonstrators hurled rocks and tear gas grenades back as they scattered ... an eyewitness to the shooting, said the gunshots were fired after one student hurled a rock as Guardsmen were turning away after clearing the Commons. 'One section of the Guard turned around and fired and then all the Guardsmen turned and fired,' he said. According to the witness, some of the Guardsmen were firing in the air while others were firing straight ahead.
On Thursdays, we ask Poynter faculty and staff for their impressions of the week's news. By Friday morning, their musings can be found here.
The industry conventions this week -- The Radio-Television News Directors Association and the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas and the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Seattle -- offered journalists something that's been hard to find, even on the industry's home turf: optimism.
Rocked as the media has been of late by self-inflicted scandal, a fickle and hyper-critical audience, destabilizing technological shifts and the dire, near-daily predictions of mainstream journalism's demise, it's been invigorating to spend a week watching the industry rise from its knees.
When NAB's new president, David Rehr, took the podium on Monday morning, his bold rallying cry, urging broadcasters to "go on the offensive" seemed to catch the crowd by surprise. They applauded his five-point plan but it was his chutzpa that energized the audience. Two days later, outgoing ASNE president Rick Rodriguez, who made "Watchdog Journalism" the buzz phrase of his presidency, called for newspapers to "step forward to lead as never before."
Where recent conventions have been overrun with panels that picked at the sores of the year's misdeeds or explored ways of fending off the Internet juggernaut and wooing an audience back to appointment viewing and the morning paper, this year's offerings included sessions like ASNE's "Embracing the Web: Doing better journalism in the 21st century," and RTNDA's "Citizen Journalism: Embracing the New Power of Your Audience."
Book-ending the week were profiles in vital, courageous journalism emerging from coverage of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina struck. RTNDA's convention opened with the stories of reporters, news directors, network and chain leaders, and a helicopter pilot who all recognized that everything from competition to the bottom line had to go out the window when public need met journalistic purpose. The National Association of Minority Media Executives recognized print and broadcast journalists for their courage in covering the carnage of war and nature. ASNE’s last panel would be about Katrina.
We've spent a great deal of time and energy in recent months and years bemoaning our shrinking circulation numbers and ratings shares, worrying about how the blogosphere is dissing the so-called legacy media and joining sometimes giddily in the indiscriminate bashing and degrading of journalism when things have gone wrong. So it was heartening this week to be somewhere where people spoke for a change about staring down the economic and technological challenges, embracing new modes of delivering news, and fighting to protect journalism's democratic birthright.
By Scott LibinLeadership & Management Faculty
If you think kids are doing the darnedest things with iPods these days, you should see what some of their college professors are doing. I moderated an educators' breakfast session on podcasting at this week's RTNDA@NAB convention. I began packing an iPod myself just within the last couple of months, prompted by the opportunity to lead this week's session. That made me not only the least knowledgeable person on the podium, but probably in the room. The panel was a rich mix of academics and professionals, offering insight on podcasting's potential, its limitations -- at least so far -- and the differences in the way newsrooms and classrooms are using the new medium. Here are a few highlights:Professor Sasha Norkin of Boston University pointed out that, despite the iPod-inspired name, podcasting consumption occurs these days mostly at desktop and laptop computers, rather than with MP3 players. The ratio, Norkin said, stands about 80-20, computer to iPod. Marcus Riley, managing editor of nbc5.com at WMAQ-TV in Chicago, said his station was one of the first in the country to podcast on a regular basis, beginning a year ago. Riley said nbc5.com's podcast content is all original and designed to supplement WMAQ's on-air product, rather than to repurpose that product. (Conversely, some stations represented in the room, including KCRW-FM in Santa Monica, California, podcast only broadcast material.)Riley said he first heard about podcasting in a report on National Public Radio. That's encouraging, said Jay Brodsky, director of digital media at NPR Online, because NPR didn't begin podcasting for another six months after airing that report. Brodsky said in the six months since then, listeners have downloaded 25-million podcasts. Larry Gillick, assistant professor at American University in Washington, D.C., is responsible for at least a few of those 25 million. He told the room how much he enjoyed the public radio programs "On the Media" and "The Business," and how he heard each of them only a couple of times a year when he happened to be in his car at the time they were on the air. "As much as I enjoy the programs," Gillick said, "I am not going to schedule my life around them." However, since the two shows became available as podcasts, he says he hasn't missed a week. Gillick and Al Stavitsky, professor and associate dean at the University of Oregon, use podcasting to complement their classroom lectures and as an outlet for their students' work. Stavitsky said he has had strong student response to his weekly "Alpod" -- a podcast he produces himself and assigns as homework for his classes. Shortly after assigning his first "Alpod," Stavitsky says a student who found the production values lacking provided him with an original music mix for the open of each week's podcast, with a music bed to run under the professor's verbal content. Stavitsky buries bonus information in each week's "Alpod," such as questions he will include on the class's next test.
Yet another ethical implosion from the world of book publishing surfaced this week: the case of Kaavya Viswanathan, a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate who snared a $500,000 two-book contract, as well as a DreamWorks movie deal.Unfortunately for the author, a reporter for Harvard's student daily, The Harvard Crimson, exposed a case of serial plagiarism. The young literary hotshot -- who was gloried in puff-piece profiles by mainstream media -- is now at the center of a dispute between rival publishers and reams of negative publicity. Sadly, she seems to suffer the same self-delusion of James Frey, the fabricating memoirist whose "Million Little Pieces" shattered on the "Oprah" show. Her only crime, she says, is "inadvertent" and "unconscious borrowing." The only positive news to come out of this story so far: an impressive piece of enterprise reporting by Crimson reporter David Zhou, who provided side-by-side comparisons, revealing Viswanathan's blatant word theft from author Megan McCafferty.
Are Yankees courting their own curse?The house that Babe Ruth built by hitting balls out of the park now has a date with the wrecking ball, and demolition plans have set off a backlash that has little to do with the loss of parkland or increased traffic, and everything to do with nostalgia.Having cleared all but a few financial and legal hurdles, the Yankees are planning to build a new stadium across the street from their 83-year-old home. The structure should be finished for the 2009 season, and the most tangible symbol of four generations of Yankees fans will be eradicated soon afterward."If there are baseball gods the Yankees will be punished for this," said Jim Bouton, a Yankees pitcher from 1962 to 1968. "The curse of Babe Ruth is going to come visiting on them, saying, 'You've paved over my hallowed ground for a few bucks.' "
Series of Mishaps Defeated Rescue in IranRuined aircraft and the charred bodies of eight servicemen smoldered in a remote Persian desert yesterday, sad symbols of a new American humiliation in Iran. A bold operation to rescue the 53 hostages in Tehran had ended in disaster 12 hours after it was launched with the highest hopes of success. The survivors of the clandestine American military force escaped from the desert at dawn, leaving dead comrades and equipment behind. They had been defeated, not by the Iranians, but by the mechanical failure of their own aircraft.
Flowers and tears mark Chernobyl anniversaryCHERNOBYL, Ukraine (Reuters) -- Mourners laid red carnations -- symbols of grief -- in the shadow of the ruined Chernobyl power station on Wednesday as they marked the 20th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. Hundreds filed past a memorial wall engraved with the names of the local fire crew. They were among the first to perish when Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 blew up on April 26, 1986, spewing radioactive dust across Europe. One old woman in a headscarf made the sign of the cross as she stooped to lay a single carnation at the foot of the wall. Ukraine's President Victor Yushchenko said it was time to start healing the scars left by the disaster.
Buyer Steps Up for Mercury NewsMediaNews' agreement Wednesday to acquire the Mercury News, Contra Costa Times and two other Knight Ridder newspapers in a $1 billion deal would transform the Bay Area media landscape.Whether that is ultimately good or bad for journalistic competition in the region is being debated by everyone from readers and reporters to advertisers and competitors.Denver-based MediaNews is acquiring the papers, including the Monterey County Herald and St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota, from McClatchy. The Sacramento company decided to sell 12 Knight Ridder newspapers after agreeing March 13 to purchase Knight Ridder for $4.5 billion.The details of the MediaNews deal are fairly complex: MediaNews will purchase the Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, and Hearst, which owns the San Francisco Chronicle, will acquire the Monterey County Herald and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. For tax reasons, Hearst has agreed to trade the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Monterey Herald to MediaNews in return for an investment in MediaNews' assets outside the Bay Area.
On Thursdays, we ask Poynter faculty and staff for their impressions of the week's news. By Friday morning, their musings can be found here, at www.poynter.org/thisweek.
To add your own thoughts to the week in review, click the "Add/View Feedback" link at the bottom of a post. To receive "This Week in Media" by e-mail, click here.
By Jim RomeneskoSenior online reporter/ROMENESKO
Pulitzer day always has me thinking about the two winners I've worked with. One, who won for her reporting, ended her career writing cutlines on the photo desk. The other -- also honored for his reporting -- spent a lot of time writing weather stories many years after winning the prize. The award seems to be a career-killer for some.
I took last Friday off to make my annual trip to St. Paul. (I worked at the Pioneer Press from 1996 to 1999.) I saw that a few sites took notice of my absence, including Gawker and Snarksmith. A blog called Pod Rows of Hell had this headline on my vacation day: "Where have you gone, Joe Romanesko?" Joe? RomAnesko? I guess I'll be working on my brand on my next day off.
By Rick EdmondsWriter/researcher
By Scott LibinLeadership & Management faculty member
Conversation continues this week about the use of video news releases by local television stations. The controversy caught one of the country's leading media critics off guard on national TV. The story highlights how marketing material masquerading as news ends up on the air, below the radar of even some industry experts. Last week, the Center for Media and Democracy released a study saying it had caught 77 stations using VNRs and satellite media tours, or SMTs, in newscasts without disclosing their source. Last week, the Center for Media and Democracy released a study saying it had caught 77 stations using VNRs and satellite media tours, or SMTs, in newscasts without disclosing their source. Sunday, on CNN's "Reliable Sources" host Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post spent several minutes interviewing Daniel Price, co-author of the report "Fake TV News, Widespread and Undisclosed," and FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. "Your local TV reporters wouldn't repeat corporate press releases word-for-word, would they?" Kurtz asked in the "tease" leading into the segment. "These are taped packages that are nothing but PR for corporate clients," Kurtz continued after the commercial break. "But now a media advocacy group has documented how local TV stations across the country are using these tapes without identifying where they came from, passing them off as the station's own work."
What neither Kurtz nor his guests mentioned is that CNN itself is in the VNR business, distributing such materials to the more than 800 affiliates of CNN Newsource, the network's syndicated news service.
"The 'Reliable Sources' segment on Sunday should have included that CNN distributes video news releases to its affiliates through CNN Newsource," CNN spokesperson Laurie Goldberg told me by e-mail. "The omission was noticed immediately prior to airtime, but since the show was taped, that information was unable to be included." Kurtz himself explained it somewhat differently: "It was clearly a misstep on our part. We never shy away from criticizing CNN on 'Reliable Sources.' Had I known of the network's role in distributing these questionable news releases, I would have mentioned it. I should have looked into it more deeply." And Kurtz says he is doing just that, looking into the practice for an update on this Sunday's "Reliable Sources." It will air live, as the program normally does. But Kurtz says the unusual practice of pre-recording is not an adequate explanation of the omission. "We were a little rushed pretaping a show for Easter weekend, but that's no excuse," he said. "I wish we had gotten this info before the broadcast." Kurtz clearly is no fan of VNR use in newscasts without disclosure. "I found the practice so outrageous that I suggested the segment," he told me. Network spokesperson Goldberg says "CNN clearly identifies such material -- which are third-party segments not produced by CNN," so that affiliate stations will not mistake VNRs for news. She acknowledged that the distribution of VNRs generates revenue for CNN, but would not go into detail.
The producers of VNRs do pay us but we do not disclose financials," Goldberg said. "It is fair to say it is not a material impact one way or the other." CNN is not alone among networks in distributing VNRs. The Web site Pathfire, which provides digital distribution systems to CNN-affiliated television stations, lists ABC's news feed system and CBS as customers too. Pathfire's online company profile prominently lists delivery of VNRs as one of the ways its system "delivers unprecedented control for both content providers and stations."
By Sree SreenivasanWeb Tips contributor
To me, a story that didn't get enough coverage this week was the death of Don Fitzpatrick, veteran television talent scout. Long before blogs and wikis and podcasts, Don understood the true power of electronic communications and used it to shed more light on the goings-on in the TV business.His daily take on the world of broadcast news, through "Rumorville" and, later, "Shoptalk," was a must-read for anyone who wanted to know the latest. "Shoptalk" was the first truly influential e-mail newsletter of the media business because it went to everyone's mailbox -- not just to the top brass. Be sure to read the tribute to Don, by Larry Kane and George Case, on the RTNDA site.He also understood the importance of diversity and reaching out to minorities and helping them get into broadcasting. This he did long before it was popular to do so.Back in 1995, Don was kind enough to come and speak to my Columbia students about the TV news business. He was supposed to talk for an hour but stayed for more than two, answering every question -- almost all of them with a small smile.I asked broadcast writing coach Mervin Block about Don's passing, and here's what he wrote: "Don's death is a loss to broadcast professionals, broadcast students, and to me personally. Count me among his admirers -- and mourners."Amen.
By David SheddenLibrary Director
Monday, April 17:
Journalists started clicking their Web browser "refresh" buttons after 3:00 p.m., EST, to find out the winners of the 2006 Pulitzers. Here is an excerpt from a story in the next day's (Biloxi, Miss.) Sun Herald:
Sun Herald Wins Pulitzer GULFPORT, Miss. -- The Sun Herald on Monday received a Pulitzer Prize for public service, and three of the newspaper's editors were listed as finalists for a prize in editorial writing. "Today is your day, Sun Herald family," executive editor Stan Tiner told employees gathered in the newsroom shortly after they erupted in applause at the announcement. "You are truly the best. And to this newsroom I say this: Never have so few worked so hard and so long to tell such a story -- an unending story, as you all know."
Sun Herald Wins Pulitzer GULFPORT, Miss. -- The Sun Herald on Monday received a Pulitzer Prize for public service, and three of the newspaper's editors were listed as finalists for a prize in editorial writing.
"Today is your day, Sun Herald family," executive editor Stan Tiner told employees gathered in the newsroom shortly after they erupted in applause at the announcement. "You are truly the best. And to this newsroom I say this: Never have so few worked so hard and so long to tell such a story -- an unending story, as you all know."
Tiner dedicated the Pulitzer Prize gold medal to the people of South Mississippi. "Finally, this Pulitzer Prize, this gold medal, is dedicated to the people of South Mississippi whose magnificent hearts and spirit moved us every day that we have been privileged to tell the story of their struggle and triumphs," he said. "They will not be defeated, not by Katrina, or anything." Publisher Ricky Mathews told employees: "It's been a hell of a journey, you guys, and this is the ultimate honor." Mathews said the newspaper has been "a reflection of our community: the pain, the joy, the unbelievable agony and everything that comes with that" and added that "Our best journalism is still ahead of us because this Sun Herald is in a community that has never been in the situation that we're in right now. We're in no-man's land."
Tiner dedicated the Pulitzer Prize gold medal to the people of South Mississippi.
"Finally, this Pulitzer Prize, this gold medal, is dedicated to the people of South Mississippi whose magnificent hearts and spirit moved us every day that we have been privileged to tell the story of their struggle and triumphs," he said. "They will not be defeated, not by Katrina, or anything."
Publisher Ricky Mathews told employees: "It's been a hell of a journey, you guys, and this is the ultimate honor." Mathews said the newspaper has been "a reflection of our community: the pain, the joy, the unbelievable agony and everything that comes with that" and added that "Our best journalism is still ahead of us because this Sun Herald is in a community that has never been in the situation that we're in right now. We're in no-man's land."
The following report in The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune announced their Pulitzer awards:
TP wins two Pulitzers, in public service, breaking newsWith reporters and editors in the newsroom of their battered city cheering and crying at the same time, The Times-Picayune won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, including a gold medal for meritorious public service, for the newspaper's coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The newspaper also received a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished reporting of breaking news for Katrina coverage. Both prizes were awarded to the newspaper's staff.
TP wins two Pulitzers, in public service, breaking newsWith reporters and editors in the newsroom of their battered city cheering and crying at the same time, The Times-Picayune won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, including a gold medal for meritorious public service, for the newspaper's coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
The newspaper also received a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished reporting of breaking news for Katrina coverage. Both prizes were awarded to the newspaper's staff.
In addition to the paper's two awards, Chris Rose was honored as a finalist in the commentary category for his columns about the devastating psychic and emotional toll of the storm on the community. The commentary award was won by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. The Times-Picayune newsroom erupted in applause when the awards were announced Monday afternoon. But with much of the New Orleans area still in ruins, and with dozens of staff members among the tens of thousands of residents who lost homes and possessions in the storm, the celebration was more subdued than what normally attends the achievement of journalism's pinnacle. "Our celebration today is tempered by the knowledge that we lost so much -- more than 1,000 people dead and our communities so deeply wounded," editor Jim Amoss told the staff as many quietly wept. "If there is a saving grace here, it's the love that tragedy lays bare -- our love for each other, our love for this newspaper, our love for this community. We must love it back to life, and that's what we celebrate today."
In addition to the paper's two awards, Chris Rose was honored as a finalist in the commentary category for his columns about the devastating psychic and emotional toll of the storm on the community. The commentary award was won by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times.
The Times-Picayune newsroom erupted in applause when the awards were announced Monday afternoon. But with much of the New Orleans area still in ruins, and with dozens of staff members among the tens of thousands of residents who lost homes and possessions in the storm, the celebration was more subdued than what normally attends the achievement of journalism's pinnacle.
"Our celebration today is tempered by the knowledge that we lost so much -- more than 1,000 people dead and our communities so deeply wounded," editor Jim Amoss told the staff as many quietly wept. "If there is a saving grace here, it's the love that tragedy lays bare -- our love for each other, our love for this newspaper, our love for this community. We must love it back to life, and that's what we celebrate today."
Tuesday, April 18:
The Great Quake: April 18, 1906From Smoke and Ruin, A New City Why is it important to remember the Bay Area's biggest disaster? Because the 1906 earthquake and fire was a terrific story -- a force of nature that shook a famous city without warning, a fire that destroyed the ruins, a story that was both a tragedy and a science lesson, with myths and legends, and even with survivors, living relics of another time.
The Great Quake: April 18, 1906From Smoke and Ruin, A New City
Why is it important to remember the Bay Area's biggest disaster?
Because the 1906 earthquake and fire was a terrific story -- a force of nature that shook a famous city without warning, a fire that destroyed the ruins, a story that was both a tragedy and a science lesson, with myths and legends, and even with survivors, living relics of another time.
Wednesday, April 19:
11 years ago today:
On April 19, 1995, the news media reported that a bomb had exploded at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City bombing was an early example of a major news story reported on the Web. Here is how Jim Lehrer, from the PBS "NewsHour", began his report:
There was a bombing at a federal building in downtown Oklahoma City today. Much of the nine-story office building was destroyed. Twenty people have been confirmed dead, including seventeen children. At least 200 people were injured. Scores are missing. The building housed offices of the Social Security Administration, the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms, among other federal agencies. It also contained a day care center. Officials said the bomb detonated in a car outside the building. They said they were looking at the possibility of a terrorist attack. No one has claimed responsibility. President Clinton spoke this afternoon at the White House. (Video of his 1995 report)
There was a bombing at a federal building in downtown Oklahoma City today. Much of the nine-story office building was destroyed. Twenty people have been confirmed dead, including seventeen children. At least 200 people were injured. Scores are missing.
The building housed offices of the Social Security Administration, the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms, among other federal agencies. It also contained a day care center. Officials said the bomb detonated in a car outside the building. They said they were looking at the possibility of a terrorist attack. No one has claimed responsibility. President Clinton spoke this afternoon at the White House.
(Video of his 1995 report)
Thursday, April 20:
Friday, April 21:
Not surprisingly Wall Street just keeps getting unhappier. Share prices, which lost an average of 20 percent of their value in 2005 are still sinking, typically another 6 to 8 percent so far this year. McClatchy has fallen from $60 to just over $45 -- reflecting both an unexpectedly bad first quarter and typical investor skepticism about digesting a big acquisition.
However, I wouldn't convene a pity party for several reasons:
Monday, April 10:This year’s Masters golf tournament came to an end Sunday. Here is an excerpt from a story in The State:
Mickelson swings his way to victoryAUGUSTA -- The last time Phil Mickelson won the Masters title, he reacted with a height-challenged victory leap after his clinching birdie putt on the final hole at Augusta National.
Late Sunday afternoon, after capturing his second green jacket in three years, Mickelson was able to enjoy a considerably more leisurely celebration.
Tuesday, April 11:
Thousands of people marched for immigration rights this week. Here is an excerpt from a story in USA Today:
Immigrants, backers demand citizenship Hundreds of thousands of people demanding U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants took to the streets in dozens of cities from New York to San Diego on Monday in some of the most widespread demonstrations since the mass protests began around the country last month.
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, wearing white shirts and carrying banners reading "We Have A Dream Too" staged rallies Monday in cities across the USA to demand citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
"I would love to be a citizen," said Alex Vega, 45, at a rally in Santa Ana, Calif. "I've been in the shadows for a long time."
Wednesday, April 12:
Italy was in the news Wednesday. Media organizations around the world reported on the contested election between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his opponent, Romano Prodi.Another Italian story that received a lot of attention was the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, the head of the Sicilian Mafia, who had escaped capture for 43 years. He was found near the city of Corleone. (You might remember this small town as the birthplace of Don Vito Coreone.) Thursday, April 13:
The news media reported that Flight 93’s cockpit recording was played to jurors in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. Here is an excerpt from a story in Newsday:
31 minutes of terror in the skyALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Thirty-one minutes and 12 seconds of chaotic, bloodcurdling horror.
The raw, evocative sounds of the final half-hour onboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, from a stewardess begging for her life to passengers assaulting the cockpit, resonated in federal court here yesterday as prosecutors closed their death-penalty case against Zacarias Moussaoui by playing the plane's voice recorder for the first time publicly.
Friday, April 14: Each weekday, Poynter highlights the front page of a newspaper somewhere in the world. You can view the current ones at Page One Today / April.
Saturday, April 15:61 years ago today:
On April 15, 1945, CBS broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow reported from World War II's Buchenwald concentration camp. He visited Buchenwald shortly after the camp was liberated by Allied troops. Here is an excerpt from his CBS radio news report:
During the last week, I have driven more than a few hundred miles through Germany, most of it in the Third Army sector -- Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Weimar, Jena and beyond. It is impossible to keep up with this war.
....Permit me to tell you what you would have seen, and heard, had you been with me on Thursday. It will not be pleasant listening.
....I propose to tell you of Buchenwald. It is on a small hill about four miles outside Weimar, and it was one of the largest concentration camps in Germany....As we walked out into the courtyard, a man fell dead. Two others -- they must have been over sixty -- were crawling toward the latrine. I saw it but will not describe it.
In another part of the camp they showed me the children, hundreds of them. Some were only six. One rolled up his sleeve, showed me his number. It was tattooed on his arm. D-6030, it was. The others showed me their numbers; they will carry them till they die.
....Murder had been done at Buchenwald. God alone knows how many men and boys have died there during the last twelve years. Thursday I was told that there were more than 20,000 in the camp. There had been as many as 60,000. Where are they now?
As I left that camp, a Frenchman who used to work for Havas in Paris came up to me and said, 'You will write something about this, perhaps?' And he added, 'To write about this you must have been here at least two years, and after that -- you don't want to write any more.'
I pray you to believe what I have said about Buchenwald. I have reported what I saw and heard, but only part of it. For most of it I have no words. Dead men are plentiful in war, but the living dead, more than twenty thousand of them in one camp.
....If I've offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I'm not in the least sorry.
Keller stopped well short of answering each and every question on the minds of Times critics and readers (850 questions were submitted), but his accumulated answers represent a significant investment in a new approach to audience. Other editors will get their turns in what Keller termed "the dunk-em seat" in subsequent weeks.
There's plenty of room for improvement, with ample suggestions from bloggers who accompanied their links to the new feature with tips to make it better. Should Times editors decide to pull back the curtain just a bit further, in fact, they could make use of a Technorati tool and invite those bloggers right onto the page.
Where's Romenesko?
Finally this week, you may have noticed that Jim Romenesko took a rare (and well-deserved) day off Friday. Gawker noted his absence here. On Thursday, journalism professor Mindy McAdams charted the impact of Romenesko like this. Jim will be back Monday.
Monday, March 20:
The week began with the news media looking back.
Here is an excerpt from a story in the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News:
Iraq Boils, Three Years Later BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Clashes between U.S. forces and suspected insurgents -- and fresh allegations of American troops killing Iraqi noncombatants -- marked the third anniversary Sunday of the start of the '03 American-led Gulf War II. President Bush marked the anniversary by touting the efforts to build democracy there and avoiding any mention of the daily violence that rages three years after he ordered the invasion.The president didn't utter the word "war."The war began on March 19, [2003], Washington time -- early morning March in Baghdad -- when Bush authorized an early strike by U.S. fighter-bombers and offshore Tomahawk cruise missiles on a Baghdad bunker where Saddam Hussein was reported to be sleeping.
Tuesday, March 21:41 years ago today: On March 21, 1965, the news media reported that Martin Luther King Jr. had begun a civil-rights march in Selma, Alabama. The Washington Star and Haynes Johnson would win a 1966 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished coverage of the civil rights conflict in Selma and particularly the reporting of its aftermath.
Wednesday, March 22:The Tokyo, Japan newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, reported on its country's win over Cuba in the World Baseball Classic final. Here is an excerpt from a story on the paper's English-language Web site:
WORLD CHAMPIONS!World Baseball Classic: Japan 10, Cuba 6 SAN DIEGO -- National honor restored, and then some! After a dismal showing at the recent Turin Winter Olympics, Japan's baseball team did the nation proud Monday, beating Cuba 10-6 in the final of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Thursday, March 23:
A big international news story from Spain dealt with the Basque separatist group ETA's declaration of a permanent ceasefire. The Madrid newspaper, El Mundo, has a special section about ETA on its Web site. (You may need to use a language-translation tool.)
Friday, March 24:
Each weekday, Poynter highlights the front page of a newspaper somewhere in the world. You can view the current ones at Page One Today / March.
For the week of March 6-10, 2006:
Gov. Mike Rounds signed a bill Monday making nearly all abortions illegal and putting South Dakota at the top of a short list of states challenging the 30-year-old law of the land. The bill flies in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade and is almost certain to be challenged in what could be a long and expensive federal lawsuit or a direct referendum at the polls.
Three Birmingham college students charged in a spree of church burnings set the first two fires at rural Baptist churches "as a joke" and, thrilled by the sound of firetrucks, torched three more, investigators say. Four days later, on Feb. 7, four more churches were burned in an attempt to distract investigators, a federal complaint says.
This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The actions of the junior senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it -- and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
Good night, and good luck.
For the week of Feb. 27 - March 3, 2006:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A newly released transcript from a video conference the day Hurricane Katrina struck seems to reinforce arguments that governments at all levels identified the potential dangers from the storm but were under-prepared for the devastation.
WASHINGTON, March 1 -- A newly released transcript of a government videoconference shows that hours after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, federal and state officials did not know that the levees in New Orleans were failing and were cautiously congratulating one another on the government response.
A newly leaked video recording of high-level government deliberations the day before Hurricane Katrina hit shows disaster officials emphatically warning President Bush that the storm posed a catastrophic threat to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and a grim-faced Bush personally assuring state leaders that his administration was "fully prepared" to help.
OTIS CHANDLER -- 1927-2006A Man of Many Passions Transformed The Times By David Shaw and Mitchell Landsberg Had Otis Chandler never worked a single day, his would have been a memorable life. An Olympic-caliber athlete, a champion weightlifter, an accomplished race car driver, big game hunter, surfer, cyclist, antique car and motorcycle collector, Chandler, who died Monday at 78, was a man whose avocations alone were the stuff of legend.But Chandler did work, and in a remarkable 20-year span as publisher of the Los Angeles Times -- from 1960 to 1980 -- he reshaped this newspaper to an extent that has few, if any, parallels in the history of American journalism.
For the week of Feb. 20-24, 2006:
Jill GeislerLeadership & Management Group Leader
Didn't you love the meatpackin' millionaire lottery winners from Nebraska? Now THAT was reality television -- or was it? My friend Lori Waldon, assistant news director at CBS-13/UPN-31 in Sacramento, Calif., sent me a note about one winner's quote, since it resonates with leadership teaching.Here it is, excerpted from a story by Jeff Zeleny of the Chicago Tribune:
Not all of the winners, though, stepped immediately into early retirement. At least three said they would stay on the job -- for now, anyway."They would have been short of help," said David Gehle, 53, a supervisor who has worked at the plant for two decades. "The managers, we think a lot of them. We couldn't just leave them."Four hours before the news conference, Gehle had finished working the overnight shift. He said he planned to report to work Wednesday for his 10 p.m. shift and politely asked not to be disturbed until then. "I need to get some sleep," he said.
As Lori pointed out, they must have some pretty good managers at the plant! Wonder what the quotes would be like in your newsroom if eight of your staff won the lottery today?
For the week of Feb. 13-17, 2006:
Last week, I mentioned the contents of the last telegram transmitted by Western Union as an under-covered story. I received a note from former Poynter summer fellow Hina Alam:
I did try to find out what the contents of the last telegram sent were. I was told that due to privacy purposes that could not be disclosed. But I was also told that there were 10 telegrams sent on Jan. 27, some were birth announcements, some congratulatory messages and others the employees trying to be the last person sending each other a telegram. I did a story about this. It will be published in The Lufkin Daily News this Sunday.
Here is a link to the story. I am saddened that a final (public) message was not constructed for the history books (OK, wikis); maybe that kind of celebratory message is a relic of a bygone era. After all, does anybody know what the first Google search was? So, in light of this failing, I have constructed my own ficticious "last telegram" that I feel would have been appropriate. Please feel free to submit your own.
First telegram message: "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?" My ficticious last telegram message: "It served us well, but a new day has come. May we never forget these communication footprints in the soil underneath the information superhighway that carries us today. Godspeed."
First telegram message: "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?"
My ficticious last telegram message: "It served us well, but a new day has come. May we never forget these communication footprints in the soil underneath the information superhighway that carries us today. Godspeed."
Every Thursday, we ask Poynter faculty, staff and online contributors for their impressions of the news of the week. What surprised them? What was overplayed? Underplayed? What does it mean for the media? What will they be watching for next week? You can find this week's answers below and answers from previous weeks here. To contribute your own thoughts on the week in review, click the "Add Your Comments" link at the bottom of a post. You can also subscribe to receive "This Week in Media" by e-mail: just click here.
For the week of Feb. 6-10, 2006:
Newspapers won't be able to attract new audiences unless they change their organizational structures. They need to create autonomous entities to produce innovations for changing audiences with changing technologies.
Professors Clayton Christensen and Clark Gilbert and researcher Scott Anthony schooled about 50 media leaders Wednesday and Thursday at the National Press Club in the "The Newspaper Next Symposium," a session sponsored by the American Press Institute.
Christensen, author of "The Innovator's Dilemma" and "The Innovator's Solution," used case studies from other industries to show how leading companies often failed after misjudging the threat of smaller innovative organizations. Cases included the steel industry, retail stores, the airline industry and the automobile industry.
One of the "principles of disruptive innovation" is that the new product or technique "draws a whole new market of people who find the innovation inexpensive and convenient," he said.
Yet established industries tend to focus on big changes with high profit margins.
Another propensity of industry leaders is to recognize the need for major change too late, Christensen said. "They begin by cramming aspects of the innovative product into their traditional business instead of creating something new."
Case in point, some newspapers dump their printed content on their Web sites instead of creating meaningful new online services.
Christensen, professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, said he found one example in which an industry leader survived in a time of innovation by spinning off a new entity. The Dayton Hudson Corporation, once a leading department store company, traces its roots to 1902. In 1962, as the industry changed, the company designed a large discount store called Target. In 2000 Dayton Hudson's corporate name was changed to the Target Corporation. In the ongoing evolution of businesses, Target now faces the challenge of innovative online retail competitors.
In developing the new newspaper, leaders need to find out what jobs newspapers fill or could fill in the lives of readers and non-readers, Christensen said. That's different from asking what attributes of the newspaper appeal to them or what qualities they want or don't want.
Scott Anthony, a managing director of Innosight, suggested four steps in determining the job for newspapers:
Anthony and Clark Gilbert, assistant professor at the Harvard Business School and Innosight director, led the group through a 10-question "report card" on the newspaper industry with a scale of A to D. The group, and earlier a Task Force, gave the industry high marks for recognizing the need to change and avoiding needless overhead and wasteful investments. They gave the industry lower marks in several areas, including looking beyond the traditional revenue model and communicating the industry growth story externally.
After discussing the business on Wednesday, on Thursday morning the topic turned to journalism.
As newspapers straddle the line between the present and the future, many voices wanted to be sure journalistic values are not lost.
John Carroll, former editor of the L.A. Times, urged colleagues to do a better job combating ongoing negative comments about newspapers -- and reminding readers of their importance.
"Newspapers stand for a certain value," said Carroll, a Knight Visiting Lecturer at Harvard.
"I realize that we need money to stand, but we've got to stand for something that is more noble and more important than making money."
The conference is part of an extended project to help develop new business models for newspapers, API President and Executive Director Drew Davis said. The project includes a Task Force to help shape the study. Davis said results of the study will be presented in the Fall.Related: Newspaper Next Project Wants to Steer Business to Digital Shores (Ad Age)
Claus Christensen is the managing editor of TV2/East Jutland, which is part of TV2 Denmark, one of the country's two main broadcast networks. His station covers Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark and the home of the Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that commissioned and printed the cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad.
Christensen, 35, has an extensive background in reporting and editing. He attended a Poynter seminar I led on anchor leadership in 2001. I conducted this e-mail Q&A with Christensen this week, as he continues to report from the epicenter of the story. Christensen's English is very good, but he nonetheless requested that we copy edit him for clarity.
Jill Geisler: How are you covering the story locally and abroad today?
Claus Christensen: This story is by far the biggest news story in Denmark this century. Every news medium is covering the story very closely –- hour by hour. At TV2 there has been a series of special news shows discussing the perspectives of the story. And of course lots and lots of breaking news -- attacks on the embassies in the Middle East, demonstrations in countries all over the world, boycott of Danish goods, threats at the Danish soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.
Geisler: When the story first broke, months ago, what discussions did you have in your newsroom about using the cartoons in your stories? Christensen: We showed the cartoons after some debate in the newsroom. But the cartoons were part of a news story. One of our first stories was on some of the cartoonists being exposed to threats. We felt we had to show the cartoons to cover the story. I still find this to be correct, as do the vast majority of the Danish media.
Geisler: Are the cartoons still being shown as part of news coverage in Denmark? Do different news organizations take different approaches to showing them?Christensen: No. The crisis has taken a turn where showing the cartoons should [happen] only after much thought. But some news media in Denmark still run the cartoons when there's a very important reason to do so. We might never show them again, and for the time being it's fair to say that the viewers know what we're talking about.
Geisler: How are Danish citizens responding to the stories and your coverage?
Christensen: The reactions in Denmark are very different. But one thing almost all Danes have in common is disbelief. Denmark as the center of world attention? We just can't believe it. Denmark on CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera for hours and days and weeks as the leading story? Not in a lifetime. But we are. It's not the same story in any two countries around the world.And we still look at each other thinking: What is happening? We understand now that the cartoons have offended Muslims around the world. But people still wonder: What's the big deal? The gap between our lifestyle and way of thinking and life in the Middle East has been made very clear. And I think the Danish people are learning a lot in the process. Many Danes are looking for answers, trying to understand the reactions from the Muslim communities. An American newspaper editor just said on television here in Denmark: "This is Denmark's introduction to the complexity of modern life." So true.
Geisler: What are you hearing from Muslim citizens?Christensen: In Denmark most Muslims are calling for peace and understanding. The Muslim members of parliament are trying to make Muslims in Denmark and around the world stay calm, insisting on dialogue as the only way to solve the crisis. In the streets of Aarhus, Muslims and ethnic Danes are demonstrating quietly side by side in an attempt to show the world that dialogue and friendship should be preferred to violence. Some Muslims have been traveling to the Middle East, explaining the Danish point of view. Some of them have been accused of lying to the Muslim world in an attempt to make Denmark look bad in the rest of world. If this is true, we don't know yet. Geisler: You live near the Jyllens-Posten newspaper. How has that affected your life and your journalism?Christensen: The newspaper Jyllands-Posten is a highly respected and very modern newspaper. It's an important part of the community and the most-read morning paper in our area. Jyllands-Posten was the first to show the cartoons –- five months ago. It was part of a news piece on self-censorship. During the last week security around the paper's building has tightened, there are lots of threats aimed at reporters and editors at the building, [and it has] been evacuated due to bomb scares. These are all news stories that we cover on a daily basis. Geisler: What do you want U.S. journalists to know as they cover this complex controversy?Christensen: Just this: Self-censorship is the worst kind of censorship. As reporters we should fight it. This story isn't about 12 cartoons in a Danish daily anymore. It seems to be a story about the way the Western world and the Muslim world interacts. This is the real story, and the lesson to be learned, I think. But it's not the same story in any two countries around the world. You must find the American version of the story and tell it to the world. I think the rest of the world can learn a lot from a multi-ethnic society such as the American [society].
Claus Christensen can be reached for comments or questions at clch@tv2oj.dk.
The impact of images is on my mind these days due to the continuing controversy over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims and non-Muslims condemn the violence that erupted after re-publication of the caricatures. Still some people struggle to understand why the Danish government can't or won't apologize for the actions of a free, independent press -- a concept quite foreign in certain parts of the world, including many where the violence has occurred. For American news organizations working to cover the controversy responsibly, the first guiding principle Poynter teaches journalists comes immediately into play: seeking truth and reporting it as fully as possible. That speaks strongly in favor of showing readers and viewers the images at the very center of the story. Yet to do so might well cause further offense and trigger further violence -- which surely qualifies as the kind of harm Poynter urges journalists to minimize. But should journalists give greater weight to the concerns of those who have demonstrated a propensity to riot, burn and attack than to those who express their grievances using more peaceful means? Does withholding the controversial cartoons reinforce the rioters' behavior by sending the message that their violence is effective -- that it works to suppress content they don't like? This complex case is a classic example of the imperative to examine a lot of alternatives, and not to get caught in the false dichotomy of asking "whether or not" to publish or broadcast the cartoons. One polar extreme would be to publish the caricatures out of context, in their entirety and above the fold, or to drop them into broadcasts carelessly as teases, wallpaper video or B-roll. The other extreme would be not to cover the story at all. Between the two ends of the spectrum lie plenty of responsible approaches that include describing the images, but not showing them; linking to them in such a way as to provide context before readers can see the cartoons themselves; showing some, or parts, but not all of the drawings; and many other options. There is ample precedent for this sort of thing. From Fallujah to funerals picketed by Fred Phelps and his followers, journalists often confront unspeakable images that are central to important stories of the day. Often the best question is not whether to use such images, but how, in what ways, to what extent and under what circumstances should they be a part of coverage in order to advance the understanding of readers and viewers? I'm not surprised that this story has gained momentum over the past week, and I believe we will be talking about it for some time to come. We should. That will help us be better prepared for the next such challenge.
Related: Poynter Podcast -- Covering the Caricature Controversy; Plus, E-Media Tidbits and Romenesko coverage
Cartoon protests: I really want to learn more about the roots of the protests and riots over the Danish political cartoons. The week should bring some good analysis on the political and religious forces at work. Next week I hope we can talk about how vital it is that the media probe for better sources and deeper understanding, rather than sticking with the surface-level reaction stories that we saw for most of this week.
Overplayed: The chatter about "Dateline"'s third episode of "To Catch a Predator." This is the show where volunteers posed as 12-year-old girls in online chat rooms, hooking up with men, who then agree to meet them in person and have sex. Only when the men show up, it's not a girl they meet, it's "Dateline" correspondent Chris Hansen and a hidden camera. Then the bad guys get arrested and the journalists pat themselves on the back for making the world safe little children.
It's a tried-and-true gimmick, guaranteed to get people riled up. It does very little to teach the public about the true dangers of sexual predators and how to protect children. Several radio and television talk shows devoted time and energy to wringing their hands and asking if journalists should be teaming up with the cops like this? Answer: No. It's an irresponsible use of resources and it's done primarily to provoke an emotional reaction.
Too funny: Kristof vs. O'Reilly. When you dig beneath their barbs and name-calling, you expose the central divide in America these days. The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof wants Americans to look at the impossible human crises of the world and recognize our own culpability and ability to improve the circumstances. Fox's Bill O'Reilly wants Americans to see and hear themselves first and recognize their power to control their own lives and circumstances.
Here's my fantasy. A reporter from any of the news networks says: "No, I'm not going to do a two-minute story on Britney Spears driving with her baby in her lap. If you want to mention it on the morning show, mention it. But for Pete's sake don't assign me to do a full-blown package on something so trivial, something that ends up with me interviewing tabloid reporters and pop-culturistas about 'what it all means for Britney.' We know what it really means. It means WE'RE the tabloid disguised as serious journalism. Think of the stories we could be covering instead. I have a list here, starting with kids driven from their homes by Katrina..."Here's my hope. Whenever viewers hear "Britney," they'll demand "Katrina" instead.
A call from an alt-weekly reporter in Pittsburgh this week alerted me to something afoot at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its sister paper, the Toledo Blade. The two-paper Block Communications chain closed its six-person Washington bureau, leaving a single reporter on Capitol Hill. The move was announced by business-side, corporate executives without even the fig leaf of buy-in from editors of the two papers.
That's not all. The Post-Gazette is opening talks with 10 unions on contracts that expire at the end of 2006. As is typical, management is seeking flexibility and a lower cost structure, going so far as threatening to sell if that is not achieved. The company was run by old-school, public-service-oriented octogenarian Bill Block until his retirement in 2001. The new generation is getting urgent about better financial performance. A sign of distress: the company continues to issue debt offerings at a stratospheric 9 percent-plus rate, most recently in December 2005.
You may recall that the Blade won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for an extraordinarily ambitious investigative piece on a massacre during the Vietnam War. Just last month, the Post-Gazette was one of very few East Coast papers to get the West Virginia miners story right (i.e. all but one died), in part because they treated it as an extended regional story and had reporters and photographers on the scene. It is, of course, logically possible that both papers can maintain the top-end of their news efforts despite these and future cuts. As a matter of fact, though, the Pulitzer story, done by two Toledo-based investigative reporters, only happened because a Pentagon whistle-blower provided a well-documented tip to one of the Washington bureau reporters.
The Newspaper Association of America has been at pains lately to talk about readership, total audience reach, news economic models and other signs of vitality in the industry. John R. Block, Post-Gazette publisher, apparently didn't get the memo. "I hope to reopen a Washington bureau sometime," he told Editor & Publisher, "but the conditions of the newspaper business stink right now."
Undercovered and Overcovered
Undercovered this week:
Over/undercovered:
By Larry Larsen Multimedia Editor
You'll find the following as part of my contribution to the current Week in Media feature. As the suggestion of one of my editors, I've broadened this challenge from "comprehensive article" to conversation in the feedback area. If you have ideas for coverage of this issue -- the historical context of domestic spying approved by the White House -- please add them to the feedback area attached to this item. Depending on what develops, we'll explore some virtual luncheon possibilities.
For the week of Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2006:
That's like saying the Times and other newspapers consider their field reports a circulation strategy, which is true only in that their readers, like TV news viewers, expect, you know, news, like what's going on in Iraq.
People are so cynical. If he stays tethered to the anchor desk, he's ripped for being another blow-dried prompter jockey. If he goes out and actually tries to report a story, he's slammed for grandstanding.He was doing a job. He got hurt. His life and livelihood are at risk. Period.
We asked Poynter faculty members and Poynter Online contributors for their impressions of the news of the week. What surprised them? What was overplayed? Underplayed? What does it mean for the media? What will they be watching for next week? At the end of every week, we'll ask the same questions and you can find their answers here. To contribute your own thoughts on the week in review, click the "Add Your Comments" link at the bottom of a post. You can also subscribe to receive "This Week in Media" by e-mail: just click here.
For the week of Jan. 23-27, 2006:
James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" of Truth Roy Peter ClarkVice President and Senior Scholar
Roy Peter Clark appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Thursday, Jan. 26, along with author James Frey and several journalists. During the show, Roy emphasized the importance of transparency and truthfulness in memoir. Here's what he said:
I think there needs to be -- most importantly -- truth in advertising. When James writes, "Remember the truth -- it's all that matters," that's such a powerful statement in addiction, in recovery, in journalism, in race relations and personal relations ... I think the important thing that you're doing today is taking the pendulum that says memoirs are truthful, except for the parts that are lies ... and you're challenging publishers to label what's going on in the book. I think that there should be a statement of method in the beginning of every memoir that describes the degree of accuracy and practical truth and the degree of fiction ... Oprah, this is very important for two reasons: the first is that when you learn some significant piece of a story is not true, you begin to doubt everything in the story, and when you learn that a memoir turns out to be so fictionalized, you begin to doubt every memoir ... There are people in this world, including heads of state, that are standing up and declaring that the Holocaust never happened. We need to believe in verifiable truth, and that has to be represented in publishing, as well as journalism.
I think there needs to be -- most importantly -- truth in advertising. When James writes, "Remember the truth -- it's all that matters," that's such a powerful statement in addiction, in recovery, in journalism, in race relations and personal relations ... I think the important thing that you're doing today is taking the pendulum that says memoirs are truthful, except for the parts that are lies ... and you're challenging publishers to label what's going on in the book.
I think that there should be a statement of method in the beginning of every memoir that describes the degree of accuracy and practical truth and the degree of fiction ...
Oprah, this is very important for two reasons: the first is that when you learn some significant piece of a story is not true, you begin to doubt everything in the story, and when you learn that a memoir turns out to be so fictionalized, you begin to doubt every memoir ...
There are people in this world, including heads of state, that are standing up and declaring that the Holocaust never happened. We need to believe in verifiable truth, and that has to be represented in publishing, as well as journalism.
Here are some of Roy's reflections on the show and the issues it provokes for journalists. Listen to Roy Peter Clark talk about his appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Poynter Online Manager Editor Julie Moos: Roy, how did it come to be that you appeared on "Oprah" today (Jan. 26)?
Roy: It was very surprising. About a week ago, I was sitting, I have to say, in a Poynter meeting -- a little bored -- and I wound up writing about a 400-word satirical essay about creating a grading system for memoirs. The grading system would be, instead of ... for mature audiences: it would say "B.S.," standing for "Beyond Common Sense," and the descriptions would be things like, "Everything in this book is true, except the parts that are not true."
Through the help of Dean Baquet, it wound up in the Los Angeles Times. It was really part of a mountain of strong critical commentary about the book, about the publishing company that published it, about the lack of standards for memoir and about Oprah's quick defense of the book and her declaration that there is some kind of difference between -- let's call it "actual truth" and "emotional truth." And she clearly came to regret it, and today she did something that I thought was quite amazing and admirable.
Julie: So did somebody on Oprah's show read your article in the L.A. Times?
Roy: I have a feeling they may read everything that has Oprah's name in it -- but yes, a producer called me, and she interviewed me at length and asked if I would be willing to come on a moment's notice. I said yes, probably so, and then they invited me, and they dis-invited me, and they re-invited me.
Julie: Why did they dis-invite you?
Roy: I don't know, but I thought maybe ... there was the risk that the show was getting too cluttered with opinion. But they re-invited me because they thought that even though I'd written satire -- that, unlike the other commentaries, that I had an idea -- several ideas -- about what should be done to reform the way memoirs are considered and published.
Julie: James Frey has never been a journalist as far as I know, and his book is not considered journalism, so what is the journalistic interest in this controversy and in memoirs being maybe misinterpreted or misunderstood?
Roy: Well, I think that in journalism, in the last two or three years, every time there's been a major scandal -- and there's been several of them -- there's been a stepping back and a sort of reconsideration of standards and practices.
And the word that has been drummed into our consciousness is "transparency." We seem to want to know as a culture, more and more, about how evidence is gathered, how news decisions are made. And there's this tremendous disconnect, and you could feel it in the audience today. The audience gave James Frey a standing ovation when he came in, but by the time he was answering Oprah's questions about some of the made-up or exaggerated details, you could literally hear these women ... give a collective groan of disappointment and disillusionment.
The general public thinks that the details and elements in memoirs are real. There are academic debates, there are publishing debates, there's a spectrum of opinion that defines memoir from, I would say, what we would call autobiography with journalistic standards, from fiction laced with some facts drawn from real life.
What I come out of this experience with is, number one: the importance of Oprah's voice. Number two: the exemplary way in which she assumed responsibility for a misjudgment, a miscalculation. Three: I thought her amazing ... Oprah has this sort of "celebrity personality" and she has this "journalism personality." And I thought it was one of the most grueling interviews of a friendly subject -- a subject that she was friendly to at one time -- that I've ever seen. Now I think the next thing to do -- something Poynter could do -- is a summit conference: a gathering of wise men and women to see if we could better articulate what standards we expect for memoir.Let me put it this way: I'm not sure this particular story -- in the long run -- the fact that it was faked or not, has any real significance; it's relatively petty. But it represents a kind of -- almost the ultimate disillusion of traditional notions of truth, objectivity.
We've spent about a generation now, chipping away at objectivity, and maybe rightly so, but the pendulum has swung so far that there's so much cynicism in America about anybody's ability to render the truth on the government level, in journalism, and so I think what opened it today allows us all to say, more strongly, more fervently, with passion: enough is enough. Let's restore and redeem some enduring values that have been lost as we drifted more and more towards subjectivity, and "as long as I say it's my story, it is."Julie: Is there anything you wish you had been able to say to Oprah and her viewers that you didn't have the opportunity to say?Roy: I didn't know I was going to be on the show until the day before, but I brought with me lots of things to read. I wrote down a lot of ideas, and surprisingly, I thought they were all represented -- either in the show, or what they call the after-show ["Oprah, After the Show"]; and if not by me, they were represented by the two other journalists on the panel, [Frank Rich and Richard Cohen], who are very important and, I think, influential figures and have very strong points of view.I guess, what I would say -- you know, this is a popular television show. I didn't want to give a lecture on genre definitions, and sub-genres. But, I think that there is a lot of work to be done on redefining the memoir; maybe making some distinctions between different kinds of memoirs, and then creating some apparatus that either demonstrates the accuracy and truthfulness of the account, or that declares methods that are more fictional in their basis. Things like: "Does the writer use any composite characters or not?" "Did the writer invent anything?" "Does the writer really have a dog?" There's one memoirist who wrote a dog into a memoir, [a dog] that she didn't have. I don't understand that. She at least could have bought the dog first... "Are you faithful to time -- or do you take three meals with a key character and compress it into one?"With new technologies, with Web sites, you could footnote the memoir. I mean, you could basically give chapter explanations of where this information came from. If you had a root canal without any painkillers -- Novocaine -- and you have a medical record to that effect, you wouldn't put it in the text of the memoir because that would muck it up. But, why not make that available so that you can really create the sense that this is true?The one thing that offended me, I would say, by what Frey did, as opposed to other memoirists, is Frey declared -- in the book -- a level of truthfulness and of candor and of honesty and of no B.S. that is very much associated to behaviors that are part of recovery from addiction. If you go to an AA meeting with that book, and tell the people in one of those meetings all the fake things that are in it, they are going to call you onto the carpet. So in a way, it's a betrayal of the very culture he's attempting to honor and celebrate.Julie: OK, I have one last question. As you're describing footnoting, it reminds me of strategies that journalists use with narrative: to be very transparent about how they got the information -- "I was with them as they crossed the finish line"; "I spoke with this person and this person and this person" -- is that the kind of strategy you're suggesting might be worth considering for memoirs?Roy: Absolutely. I'll give you an example. When I have written about my grandmother -- how my Jewish grandmother married my Italian grandfather -- back, I think, in 1917, I believe. It wasn't unheard of, but it was a very rare thing, and it defined my family for generations to come.There are no photographs of that. But I went back, and I got whatever I could find. And so, what I did find was the marriage certificate. The marriage license, I believe, and the marriage certificate had the names of all the characters who were present. Then I could use those names to say to my mother, "Hey, did you know so-and-so, did you know Nick D'Abrizio?" And she said, "Oh, well let me tell you about him."
So, I'm not sure whether I would mention the wedding license, but why not? Not necessarily in the text, but in some sort of documentation. Especially if you could do it online, where you have an ocean of space. Julie: Thank you very much -- that was Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar and vice president of the Poynter Institute. Thank you for listening.
Gillmor Not an Entrepreneur; Google News Takes Down Beta SignSteve OutingSenior EditorA significant headline this week in the world of new media was that Dan Gillmor announced that he is abandoning his for-profit citizen-journalism venture, Bayosphere. Gillmor, of course, is the author of "We the Media," and regarded by many as the brightest light in the Citizen Journalism (citJ) space.
What the globe-trotting citJ pioneer is doing instead is focusing on his new non-profit Center for Citizen Media, which is being funded and supported by the University of California Graduate School of Journalism and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University Law School. (Disclaimer: I'm on the advisory board of the Center for Citizen Media.)
What should we make of this? When a leader of the citJ movement can't figure out a business model, does this spell doom for the whole concept? While those traditionalists who cling to the notion that citizen media is a bad idea may take heart, I don't think this development means much. As Gillmor himself admitted in his letter to Bayosphere users, he may be more of a "dot-org" kind of guy than a "dot-com" one.
And I know from my own conversations with Gillmor that he's as committed as ever to the idea that citizen involvement in media is the way of the future. He'll be taking an academic approach to furthering citJ rather than an entrepreneurial one.
Another significant development this week was that Google took the "beta" sign off its popular Google News service -- after three years! (It's not unusual for Google to keep some of its projects in beta mode for long periods.)
This will be worth watching. Speculation is that now that Google News is "for real," Google might start putting ads on its pages. Don't be surprised to see AdWords contextual text ads show up.
It will be interesting to see how news publishers react to such a move since Google News will be making money from their content, in effect. I think any protest by publishers would be much ado about nothing. News-search services like Topix.net make money from Google AdSense ads, and no one complains much about that. But historically, there are always a few publishers who don't see the long view and complain about stuff like this; I suspect we'll see the same thing if and when Google places ads on Google News.
My advice: Be happy that in these days of unbundled media, Google News and other news search-engine/aggregators are driving substantial traffic to your various bits of content.
Black History MonthDavid SheddenLibrary Director
Feb. 1 is the beginning of Black History Month. During February, and throughout the year, many media organizations will be looking for local stories about the civil rights movement and other events in African-American history.
As we wait to see what new stories will be presented next week, we might want to look back at some examples from the past few years:They Changed the World: The Story of the Montgomery Bus BoycottMontgomery Advertiser, 2005Back in the Day: Indiana’s African-American HistoryThe Indianapolis Star, 2002Portraits in Black History and The DeucesSt. Petersburg Times, 2002Voices: Hear the Voices of Savannah’s Black Heritage Savannah Morning News, 2001Through Spokane's Eyes: Moments in Black HistoryThe Spokesman-Review, 2001Central High: 40 Years LaterArkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2000Greensboro Sit-Ins: Launch of a Civil Right MovementNews & Record, 1998, updated 2004
For more information about Black History Month, visit: Links to the News: Black History Month
What was underplayed or overplayed this week?
Underplayed: The story of the Minnesota high school journalists who outed a sex offender claiming to be royalty. Teens who take out their iPod earbuds and do real reporting deserve a lot of attention.
What are you looking for next week? What will we still be talking about?
What coverage or industry developments surprised you this week? Why and how?
The Jill Carroll story. I'm not sure what to make of the coverage of the kidnapping of the Christian Science Monitor freelancer. A lot of the stories focused on the blackout of news, at the request of the CSM. A few stories highlighted her earnest reporting style, the fact that she traveled without security and seemed enamored of the Middle East. But there is a bigger story to tell about the financial and logistical nightmare newsrooms must endure to get journalists into Iraq and the impossible task they face (once they arrive) in telling stories. Newsrooms must purchase high-risk insurance policies and hire security details for their staffers. The locals who help these journalists by working as interpreters and guides are more at risk. It's almost an impossible story to tell. And of course, telling this story is the only way to ensure any sort of accountability at the highest levels of American government. We don't do a very good job telling our story to the public.
What was underplayed or overplayed? Why and how?
The story about Audry Lewis, the Birmingham Times reporter who said a PR firm paid her $10,000 to write favorable articles about Richard Scrushy, the former CEO of HealthSouth, who was being tried for fraud. Scrushy was aquitted of all charges. Lewis said she was prompted to disclose the payments because the PR firm owes her more money. I'll bet this story explodes in the blogosphere over the weekend and becomes the fodder of talk radio and late night TV by Monday.
I hope we talk more next week about the Washington Post's decision to shut down public commentary on post.blog. For all its positives, the Internet has drawn attention to our ability as a nation to engage in dialogue. When responsible organizations feel like they cannot host such discussions, it leaves the conversation in the hands of those with nothing to lose. The quality of the conversation will take a predictable turn.
Bill MitchellDirector of Publishing and Editor of Poynter Online
I was struck by these two Romenesko items:
The long, twisting march of American journalism into the digital future got knocked off course in a couple of important spots this week.
Thursday afternoon, WashingtonPost.com executive editor Jim Brady announced that the site had removed the ability for readers to comment on post.blog, the paper's window into its inner workings. Brady said the site removed the comments function "indefinitely" as a result of "personal attacks, the use of profanity and hate speech."
Both moves have been denounced by bloggers as ever more evidence of the cluelessness of mainstream media. But there's a more interesting story here. Consider these moves from the perspectives of the news organizations involved.
The Times has provided little explanation for its hide-the-e-mail maneuver, but some plausible motivations might include its interest in building a subscriber base for TimesSelect and rendering what must be a torrent of e-mail to its columnists a bit more manageable. At WashingtonPost.com, executive editor Brady posted an update in response to the criticism of its decision Thursday night, explaining: "We removed hundreds of these (offensive) posts over the past few days, and it was becoming a significant burden on us to try and keep the comments area free of profanity and name-calling."
Call it cluelessness if you like, but the reality is that mainstream media are still struggling to find ways of publishing (and interacting) online that will generate significant revenue, uphold standards that rule out profanity and personal attacks, and manage the resources required to get the job done.
With those goals in mind, hiding e-mail addresses and blocking comments look a lot more like stop-gap measures than long-term solutions. But what are the solutions? More effective (and automated) filtering of e-mail messages and blog comments? More demanding registration (free as well as paid) requirements? Enlisting users as content cops willing to help site managers enforce reasonable rules? Please post your ideas via feedback below or send them to bmitch@poynter.org.
What coverage or industry developments surprised you? Why and how? I was surprised and interested in the Wall Street Journal story on Google turning to advertising opportunities in traditional media. Their model for money is impressive in that they are thought of as a search engine but they are so much of an advertising venue for so many. After making it big online, they are now looking at opportunities for new advertising models in traditional media.
James Frey was overplayed. His nonfiction was largely fiction. What more is there to say? Why pump up sales by keeping him in the spotlight.
How about misplayed? The selection of women as leaders in Liberia and Chile came off as a "big hats" story. These were the first women leaders in the regions and in several stories you saw more of Laura Bush than the new leader. You saw more of Bush and Rice in hats than discussions about expected policy changes. The story was played as a tea party.
What are you looking for next week? What will we still be talking about?In media news we will continue to speculate about Knight Ridder's future. In general news we will continue to examine the work of the Supremes, including the influence of Roberts and Alito's future.
Bob SteeleThe Nelson Poynter Fellow for Journalism ValuesWhat coverage issues are on your mind?
Now that there's another coal mine story out of West Virginia, we'll watch how news organizations cover this situation. What lessons did we learn from the coverage of the tragedy two weeks ago? What's the proper tone and proportion to the coverage on this story to give it the proper weight? Will we scrutinize the comments of mine officials and government officials more rigorously this time? Will the cable news channels show more restraint in their coverage?And, there's another of those cases where newspapers take a hit for what I'd call "back-room deals" by writers. Here's the Romenesko piece on the AP story:
The Birmingham Times contributor who was paid to write positive stories about the former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy says: "I sat in that courtroom for six months, and I did everything possible to advocate for his cause." Audrey Lewis received $11,000, but "Scrushy promised me a lot more than what I got."Birmingham Times publisher James E. Lewis says he was unaware of Lewis-Scrushy deal. "Had I known the young lady was being paid by someone, I'd have called Richard Scrushy and told him he could have bought an ad for a lot less money."
Clearly the writers who are taking money to spin stories are failing ethically. We also have to question what has happened to the "quality control" system at those news organizations. Do they have clear, strong guidelines that say this is wrong? Do the editors apply some level of vigilance to try to detect these ethical concerns before they become problems? The coverage of the Jill Carroll story has been intriguing, from the original decision by The Christian Science Monitor and other news organizations to delay reporting her kidnapping to how journalists across the country have covered this unfolding story. I've heard many journalists say they've done nothing unusual in holding back on the original revelation of her kidnapping at the request of the CSM; that we would have done the same thing if the kidnap victim was a nonjournalist. That's a position worth examining.Have journalists been as agreeable to holding back certain stories and certain information in the cases where nonjournalists have been at risk? And, what criteria should we apply if someone asks us to hold back on a story? What threshold applies in terms of the consequences that go with reporting such a story, the value of timely and accurate reporting versus the risks to a person's life?
We asked Poynter faculty members and Poynter Online contributors for their impressions of the news of the week. What surprised them? What was overplayed? Underplayed? What does it mean for the media? What will they be watching for next week? At the end of every week, we'll ask the same questions and you can find their answers here.To contribute your own thoughts on the week in review, click the "Add Your Comments" link at the bottom of a post.
For the week of Jan. 15-22, 2006:
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