Otterblog

appalachian.jpg

We talk a great deal more about the “news cycle” than in the past. The idea—of course—is that news is perishable and that in a world where information is being bombarded at us 360/24/7, things get stale quite quickly.
So discussions about what to put on our front page and how to present it are different than in years past. When picking stories for the front, I try to consider importance (locally and elsewhere), presentation possibilities, and its place in the news cycle. In other words an important story that has been the discussion of the cable TV stations all day may have less value as a front-page item than something that is equally important but less covered to death.

This is a rather lengthy preamble to our discussion about whether we underplayed the diagnosis of Sen. Edward Kennedy with brain cancer. We used a photo of the senator on the front page and teased to a full story inside the A section. In making that decision, I felt that this was a story that had been in the news cycle—no, it had been the news cycle—for most of the previous day and would be found by readers regardless of where we put it.

At our meeting yesterday, several editors respectfully said we should have put it on A1. National story, etc. etc. I disagreed then and still do. But as I try to do when reasonable people make reasonable arguments, I did some checking. Most regional papers did what we did. They teased to the Kennedy story inside the paper with a photo. National papers tended to make it an A1 story. The most interesting placement I saw was in the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page has often made Kennedy its personal whipping boy through the years. It was their lead story, stripped across the top with a two-deck head.

I’m interested in your thoughts on how this story ought to have been played.

Followup: On Monday, I discussed Winston-Salem’s inclusion in the geographic definition of Appalachia and asked why that is so. I’ve attached a story from 1965 that attempts to answer that question. 

It’s that time of the year again,when a bunch of the best and brightest college students invade our newsroom for three months of work and learning. As I’ve said in previous posts, this is one of the true pleasures of the job, helping smart and ambitious college journalists advance in their careers. Many of our interns have gone on to big-time journalism jobs, and I’d like to think that some small part of their success was based on their 12 weeks at our paper.

Our four newsroom interns are Erik Spencer Hill, Winston-Salem State University; Liz DeOrnellas, UNC Chapel Hill; Maura O’Rourke, University of Virginia, and Jamie Chevillet, University of Ohio (she graduates next month).

So, you will likely see some unfamiliar bylines during the next few months. Give them encouragement and let them know what you think.

One of my favorite sites is something called The Rural Blog. It’s really a collection of news about rural America, but the folks who run it do a good job of culling stories and packaging. The most recent installment has an interesting debate about Obama and Appalachia. One thing that caught my eye in the included map is the boundary of Appalachia, as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Winston-Salem is in the region, but curiously enough, Roanoke, Va. isn’t. Will have to look into that.

Other views: It’s been a while, but about two years ago, I posted a bit about what to call people who aren’t in the country illegally. It’s an issue at newspapers across the country. Here’s what Ted Vaden, the ombudsman at the News & Observer of Raleigh has to say about the issue.

You should see some subtle but important changes in our business section, beginning tomorrow. What we’ve done is redesign the mast to make it smaller. The idea is to give us a little more room on the page for display and for getting in business news that is important to readers. We’re making a similar change on the religion pages as well.

It’s pretty clear that our business coverage isn’t as hefty as it once was. Part of that was the decision to eliminate extensive stock listings and with that change move the section into the metro section. Tough moves, clearly, and reflective of the changing ways that readers get information and what our staff can best devote its time to.

Anyway, take a look at the change and let me know what you think.

Nobody asked me, but here’s my top 5 list of Cheap Eats, inspired by our relish story today on same. If you have favorites, let me know.

1) Prissy Polly’s in K’ville. Two types of BBQ and free banana pudding if you get the trivia question right. I liked the old location better, but it’s hard to fight progress.
2) Lighthouse. Two generations of Doumases know their way around the kitchen. I have eaten more hamburgers there than I can remember.
3) The Thai place at the H-T on Cloverdale. You can rent a movie while you wait for them to cook your food.
4) Cookout. I don’t know how they make that many flavors of milkshakes in there, but they do.
5) IHOP. I am partial to their pumpkin pancakes.

And there you have it…

I apologize for the extended absence. Friday was a blur, with tornado coverage, and yesterday I was sick.  I know there are people who blog in their pajamas, but I am not one of them.

So where are we. Where were we?

One of the things I’ve been trying to wrap my head around recently is what I will call “disaster equivalency.” It is the horrid calculus of newspaper editors everywhere, in trying to equate tragedies at home with tragedies abroad. Now we have three. First is the damage from our May tornadoes in the Triad. Second is the tsunami disaster in Myanmar. Third is the earthquake in China. On a human scale, what happened here is a drop in the bucket compared to the unfolding tragedy in Asia. But as far as newsworthiness goes, it is a much bigger story, and one that people are still talking about. The high winds here yesterday kept the conversation going.

I know this: There is not enough time in the day nor column inches in the paper nor screens on the Web site to account for and take stock of all the suffering in the world from war and weather. So we pick and choose each day. This is not a cry for help or to yell “enough!). It’s simply a recognition that as our world shrinks, and more and more things become “local” stories, it is incredibly hard to find places for it all, in our hearts and minds and in our pages and Web sites. It’s not a desire to tune it out, either. Just a wish that there was less of it to worry about.

Twelve pizzas, three big bags of chocolate-chip cookies and one primary later, we are still here. It was a wild night at times—and our computer system nearly came unhinged between editions. Presidential coverage stretches mid-sized newsrooms in incredible ways, but you can see why the newspapers in Iowa and New Hampshire would fight to the death to keep their status as first in the nation primary/caucus. It’s just plain cool to be a part of something so important. Not that covering the zoning board isn’t rewarding, but you know what I mean.

The key players in our newsroom are both really talented redheads. James Romoser, of Trail Mix fame, is our Raleigh correspondent. He’s scored a string of exclusives during the campaign, no mean feat given the hyper-competitive nature of political coverage and the breadth and depth of this state’s political reporters. Second is Sean Mussenden, who covers the federal side of North Carolina and South Carolina politics and government from Media General’s DC bureau. Sean parachuted in and hit the ground running. He has great instincts and an ability to cut through the fog of politics to get to the story. We’re lucky—and by extension you all are lucky—to have them.

As an observer rather than a journalist, the road map to the White House doesn’t seem any cleaner or clearer for either of the Democrats after yesterday. But the thing that interested me the most is the fact that about a quarter of the votes cast in the GOP primary (yes, there was a GOP primary) were for somebody or some principle other than John McCain. Not quite sure what it means, but it must mean something. 

I am rising right now—for a limited time only—to make an important commercial announcement. It is this:

VOTE.

From the presidential primary all the way down to county commissioner, there are important races for both Republicans and Democrats tomorrow. Good candidates with diverse views across the board. They deserve your attention and a few minutes of your time in the voting booth. Yes, there’s the old saw that if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain, but I think it’s deeper than that. It’s about having a stake in the system and about being part of something that is larger than yourself. There are real and important differences between the candidates, so who gets elected does matter to each of us. But that said, one of the real long-term dangers to our system of government —to me at least—comes from disinterest. So VOTE.

Now, I am putting the soapbox in storage for a while.

Good read: A friend recommended the book Goodbye to a River, by John Graves, which is an eloquent tale of the Brazos River and the history of Texas and life and learning in the 1950s. Part travelogue, part personal journey, part elegy to a vanishing landscape, it is heart-breaking and uplifting, sad and joyous. 

I had two radio appearances in the past two days, confirming once again that I have a face for that sort of business.

First, I was interviewed yesterday on WQMG by Busta Brown. He was talking about the photo that went with Day Three of our series on The Murders at Grassy Creek (It’s the 5th photo in the slide show). The shot shows Ron Hudler with First Lady Hillary Clinton when he was presenting the official White House Tree to the Clintons. There were two questions. One, were we making a political statement by running that photo? and Two, what was our intent with the two black men who can be seen in the background? To Busta, there was something a bit demeaning about the servile positions of these men. He’s a nice guy and a good and fair interviewer, so I enjoyed talking with him. My take is that A) the series was in the works long before we knew that there was a primary to worry about or that candidates would be in W-S that day, and B) the photo is about Mr. Hudler and Ms. Clinton. We received two photos from the presidential library, and this was the only usable one. The impression or pereception is bothersome, but not enough to not use the photo.

Second, I was interviewed on Talk of the Nation this afternoon by Neal Conan about the disappearance of local movie critics. As some of you may know or still remember, the Journal’s movie critic was let go during a downsizing several years ago. WFDD didn’t broadcast this half of the show, but it’s available online, although may not be available until later in the day. The summary of my comments: Tough decision, but ultimately the best of several bad scenarios. And movie watching and info about movies keeps changing. Citizen journalism includes criticism.

I received a request for help about archiving newspapers. I asked Julie Harris, our research director and library manager, who is an ace at all things regarding preserving the printed word: Here is her response:

It depends on how much newsprint to save, how often the papers are going to be used, and how elaborate you want to be in preserving the paper. Library of Congress has a discussion on preserving newspapers online. It discusses such things as microfilming and digitization but the main items are about preserving the printed paper itself.

Hope this helps.

I hope that you have had time to read the first two parts of our five-part series, The Murders at Grassy Creek.

It’s an incredible tale of true crime and lives colliding. The multimedia is very impressive and moving. Monte Mitchell, our NW reporter, is especially gifted at pulling these sorts of stories out of folks, and he understands the mountain communities better than anyone.

In many newspapers, the word series has become a dirty word. The idea is that readers are too pressed for time and too self-absorbed with YouTube videos of dancing monkeys and the like to want to devote scarce time to reading a long story, elegantly displayed over several days.

We disagree. We think there is still a place for this sort of journalism and that it still matters to the heart and soul of our readership. That said, there are strains and costs for doing these involved pieces. We pass on other stories or write less about them. It’s not a perfect world or one of endless resouces. But the way I look at it is: You can get information anywhere and everywhere. But news and stories like this, they’re in the paper.

Market watch: A friend sent this story to me, about the stock-market gyrations and the verbs that financial writers love to use.

If you read our Letters to the Editor, you’ve probably seen a fair number criticizing our columnist Scott Sexton. What started the ball rolling was a column about layoffs and executive pay at Hanesbrands and the company’s contributions to the proposed downtown arts complex. The gist of their comments are that corporate philanthropy is worthy, regardless of the giver or the timing of the gift, and that people who don’t recognize the value of downtown arts projects are shortsighted Philistines.

But more to the larger point that I sense in these letters and conversations around town is the idea that a columnist for a newspaper or a TV station (where Jesse Helms earned his stripes) or a Web site should be a cheerleader for and never ask hard questions for the folks in power. That they shouldn’t jab or poke or prod or tease.

That’s precisely what they should do, as well as praise if they think it’s warranted. Interpret facts and state an opinion. It’s not the newspaper’s opinion. It’s their opinion. We provide a columnist a forum (and a paycheck) because we think the voice is worth hearing, if not always agreeing with.

Now Scott works for the Metro Editor, who reports to me, and I report to the Executive Editor who reports to the Publisher. So, yes, there are a lot of people who could tell Scott what to write about (or more likely what NOT to write about.) But it’s a false Eden. The result is pablum. Once you start telling an opinion writer what their opinion has to be, pretty soon the whole thing falls apart. You can’t have a guard dog protect only one half of the yard.

Do I agree with everything Scott writes? Of course not. But that’s not the point. Or my job. It’s to make sure that he plays fair, reports accurately and states his opinion in a way that’s easy to understand and hopefully enjoyable to read.

I’ve gone back and looked at my political entries for the last four months and all I can say is --- I blew it. The idea of North Carolina being the keys to the kingdom, the last dance/waltz/chance, the Alamo, the dagger through the heart, our finest hour (your metaphor goes here.) ... was preposterous. But here we are. Two weeks from a primary that is crucial to both candidates. It’s silly to suggest that at this stage of the game that the whole campaign comes down to Murphy to Manteo, or is it Murphy vs. Manteo. But North Carolina’s mix of urban/rural, black/white/brown, lunch bucket and lab coat, etc. is a true proving ground for Sens. Clinton and Obama.

Journalistically, it’s incredibly energizing for our newsroom, if somewhat exhausting. The reason is simple: We matter. Yes, candidates can take to the airwaves, and they have blogs and email blasts and Web sites to reach their core supporters and the like, but you will see in the next two weeks a courtship of the NC print press that you haven’t seen in years. My sense in Iowa and New Hampshire is that the candidates are working two crowds. First and most important are the local reporters, whose customers will vote. But second are the national press, whose stories define the race and help drive fundraising. Of course, you’ll see that here as well. But the national dynamics are largely set. Now, it’s all about the votes here. My guess is that you have to go all the way back to 1976, when Jesse Helms resuscitated Ronald Reagan’s campaign in the NC primary to find a time when our primary vote was ultimately so consequential.

Down the road: A heads up of sorts. This Sunday, we will be starting—in print and online—a special five-part series on the killings at the Christmas Tree Farm in Grayson County in January. It’s the work of many outstanding folks on our team, principally Monte Mitchell, our NW reporter. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think. It is a heckuva tale.

Jim Crawley, whose byline was a regular feature of our Washington coverage when he covered the military for Media General, died last night. He was 51. Jim was a class act. Smart. Connected. Passionate. Helpful. A journalist’s journalist. And a friend.