Modern News Editing: Chapter 2

After reading Chapter Two (“Deciding What’s News”), I had a bunch of thoughts swirling around in my head that I will now formulate into a coherent presentation. Hold on to your hats (scarves, gloves, and other belongings that may not be entirely secure)! These thoughts encompass two overall points that I took away from the chapter: 1) changing demographics concerning newspaper readership, and 2) shifting views in regards to what news matters to readers.

One area that has newspaper executives worried is demographics. According to the text, “their audiences are getting older, and younger people are not replacing them” (32). Therefore, newspaper executives are faced with the daunting task of appealing to a new generation of readers. To do this, they have to understand the difference between these generations. I think, personally, one of the best things a newspaper (or news organization in general, such as MSNBC or CNN) can do is have a web based component/supplement for their main news source. This is because the generations and demographics that news executives are now trying to reach are the ones that are more mobile than ever. We are always on the go. Specifically, people of my generation can be found juggling many things at once –everything from work, school, and families to hobbies and volunteering. So, we need a news source that we can access instantly for the latest coverage. We may not have time to pick up a newspaper, but we may have time to check the news on our BlackBerry or sneak a peak at CNN.com on our lunch break.

Another reason that I think news organizations would attract new readership with web supplements is that that generation has practically grown up with the Internet and see it is as something that connects them with others in their community, across the nation, and across the world. We are use to the interactivity the Internet offers, and we no longer want to be a passive audience that simple receives the news. We are no longer complacent with linear communication. We are children of mass and web communication where we receive the news, but then expect and want to be able to interact with it, to share our opinions on it, and then send the news further to other in our social circle. Social media sites, like Facebook and MySpace, have been especially helpful in this endeavor.

Similarly, the book talked about how young readers “wanted stories that helped them connect with the world. This involves both increased international coverage and stories about people around the world, to help them relate to a global community” (32). That was not surprising at all because we have used the Internet to foster interconnectedness with people around the world that we never otherwise would have met. Therefore, international news has become more important. Also, I see our changing economic times as possibly leading a shift in what news readers see as important.

There has always been a battle between wants and needs. And that is no different within news organizations. Editors have been at odds about whether their audiences want serious, sold news or whether they simply crave celebrity and entertainment. I was always fast to say that editors need to stop spoon feeding our nation sensationalism. And I do agree that “editors should try to help (readers) see and understand (the) significance” of any news story (29). Nowadays, I believe that people are starting to realize that they need to know and understand what is going on around them, not just locally, but nationally and internationally as well. They are seeing the interconnectedness of things. Our nation stands amidst a historic presidency that has the ability to affect positive change in our uncertain economic times. I think, the American citizens now realize that they, too, have the power to affect change. Therefore, their concerns may shift towards learning about serious news issues rather than dabbling in celebrity gossip. I think Americans see what hiding within in sensationalized, celebrity dribble disguised as news has gotten them, and now they are ready to face the challenges and beauty that this country and world has to offer. (That could be too poetic, but I think my point is clear.)

And, so as not to ramble much longer, I offer one final thought. News organizations are given the challenge of deciding what constitutes news. To do this, they consider things like “timeliness, proximity, conflict, impact, prominence and novelty” (30). And while they do not tell their audiences what to think, they certainly tell them what to think about. That is why as readers we need to be able to trust in our news organizations that they will make the best decisions they can. We also then need to be able to discern bias in the media and be able to acquire our own sources of reliable news media, when ones we are used to fall short. There has to be give and take. And just as there needs to be serious, solid news stories, there should also, always, be room for Snoopy.

Modern News Editing: Chapter 1

In reading the first chapter of Modern News Editing, I was struck with a few different thoughts. One involved the level of committment each news orgnization had to serving the interests and demands of their specific audience as well as the importance of keeping up with the convergence of technology. Secondly, my thoughts focused on the pressures of the newsroom.

News reporting and putting out a newspaper is more than just writing, editing, and compiling stories for print and web distribution. In fact, there is almost an art form (or at least, an awareness) that must go into selecting which stories to cover and which of those stories ends up where within the paper and/or their companion websites. And a major factor in deciding what is "news" depends on how it impacts their readers. With the News-Sentinel from Northern Californa, they selected their stories for the front page based on which ones were most appealing and informative to their readers. In one section, the assistant city editor, Jennifer Bonnett, reminded a reporter to "keep in mind why the new school is important to readers" (7).

In Mercury News's newsroom, they accomodate their readers' needs by acting on trends they find within their readership. Specifically, the track the vistors to their website and found that there is a spike in visitors after the stock market closes (1pm on the West coast). In finding this out, they developed new columns and bits of news for the website to give more news to their web readers. Another way that Mercury News focuses on its readers and giving them what they want came about when the television reporter fought to get the city hall story on the air "because of its importance to taxpayers in the city" (19). I thought it was great how reader impact was such a huge factor (instead of say . . . sensationalism) in deciding the importance of news. And, I thought it was in the best interest of both the paper and readers to really take action when they found something interesting in their website visitor statistics. Another really cool thing I liked about this organization was that some specially tagged stories will automatically post to their website. That is definately using technology to their advantage to save time and reach their audience in a timely manner. YAY!

SFGate.com is an online news source that also uses statistics to its advantage in reading readers. Each day the morning editor checks the each story's statistics to which story was viewed the most. This is crucial to finding out what sorts of stories your audience is interested in. Another thing that is interesting about this publication is that the centerpiece (main story) is flipped throughout the day, so that readers can be informed of breaking or important news as it happens throughout the day. They, the readers, can really use this web publication to stay abreast of what is happening.

Finally, one thing I thought about after reading this chapter is that I would rather be an editor than an actual reporter. While I have no doubt that I could write the stories, I think the situation would be too stressful. I would, however, not mind being a copy editor. I would still be working with the paper and would be a vital part of the team. And, I could get to read a variety of stories, which I am always up for. All in all, I wouldn't mind working with a newspaper in some capacity, just not as a reporter. Copy editing might be more my speed, and more my style.

So, this chapter taught me: Know your audience (and there are cool, statistical ways to do that) and, then in turn, use that knowledge to give them the best quality news possible in the format that best suits them (i.e. print or tv or online).