Last Updated: August 05, 2002
Printer-friendly version
At the Sarasota
Herald-Tribune, everyone in the newsroom takes a weekly turn as reader advocate.
Executive Editor Janet Weaver said the program gives readers a central place
to call, and staff members get an opportunity to hear directly from readers
about the newspaper.
|
“We have
learned through this process that readers don’t think of credibility
as just a newsroom issue. A wet newspaper or an incorrect classified
ad also affects readers’ view of us as a credible, reliable organization.”
Janet
Weaver
Sarasota Herald-
Tribune
|
Readers also
see their feedback in print. Each advocate writes a short column at the end
of his or her stint. Some focus on a problem reported by a reader and how it
was resolved; others discuss what the advocate learned.
Weaver describes
the logistics:
“The staffer
is relieved of his/her regular duties during that week to give full attention
to the advocate job. Each day on page A2, we publish a picture of that week’s
advocate, with a description of that person’s regular duties (police reporter,
columnist, photographer, etc.). On that page, we also outline our commitment
to accuracy, including our corrections policy.
“The program
gives readers one contact number to register any complaint or comment about
the newspaper. In introducing the program, we emphasized that we wanted to hear
about mistakes that needed correcting. But the advocate will take a phone call
on any issue — wrinkles in the paper, delivery problems, an error in an advertisement.
… The advocate has a list of contact numbers in other departments, and he/she
will forward complaints or get answers to questions for callers. The goal is
not to transfer the caller but to take care of the problem directly.”
Wendy Whitt,
night city editor, summed up her experience in a column:
“You kept
me busy this week while I was Your Advocate.
“I received
190 phone calls, 20 e-mails, two faxes and two letters.
“In my regular
job, most of my contact with readers is in the context of local news, but I
was reminded this week that all the services the Herald-Tribune provides are
important to readers.”5
Whitt went
on to detail comments, including questions about television and stock listings,
delivery complaints and suggestions for the weather page.
In addition
to making staff members more aware of public concerns, the program has brought
changes that readers have suggested, Weaver said.
They include:
- Changing the way
daily temperature data is gathered to improve the accuracy of the weather
map.
- Making sports listings
on the TV page easier to find and to read.
- Reviewing advertising
policies to make sure that companies written about for fraudulent behavior
are being flagged to the advertising department if the companies submit
ads.
