The Editors’ Exchange

The Web edition of The Editors' Exchange offers a compendium of interesting and imitatable innovations from the world of daily newspapers. In posting it here, ASNE makes the ideas available to the general public for use in all sorts of publications, including newspapers. The printed version of The Editors’ Exchange includes the names of editors who are willing to share information with other editors. However, because the Web version is archival — and not current — Internet readers should not contact the contributing newspapers or ASNE for examples or illustrative material. Thanks... and enjoy!

What is The Editors’ Exchange?

The Editors’ Exchange is a newsletter sent to newspapaper editors throughout the United States made up of items sent in by editors who agree to share their best ideas with their colleagues.

Please send in:

• Editorial and organizational innovations that help improve readership.
• Clips and tearsheets demonstrating these good ideas.
• In-house newsletters for newsroom employees that focus on good work.

Bubbling race issue tackled in series

In some communities, race tensions boil quietly for a long time, then explode. Like Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict or St. Petersburg, Fla., after a shooting. In other communities, like Wichita Falls, Texas, the tension bubbles quietly, but persistently.

Carroll Wilson, editor of the Times Record News (circulation 38,000) wanted to talk about it after watching for more than a decade the separate worlds of the town’s blacks and whites. “They weren’t really interacting with each other at all,” he said. This was months before the president’s call for race reconciliation.

At the same time, a series of gang-related episodes and a report card on the school system woke the community up to the different points of view of blacks and whites. “All this ill-will that was bubbling beneath the surface came out,” he said.

In a nine-day series, the newspaper discussed aspects of race and culture in the north Texas town, including its role in religion, business, education, crime, the military — and the newspaper itself.

The paper wasn’t an exemplary citizen during the civil rights movement. The newspaper laid bare its own shameful history. Before the 1970s, photos of black people were forbidden to be printed, as were weddings, births and other aspects of African American life in the town. Only black criminals were mentioned.

The project drew reporters from across the newsroom, who wrote about one topic each day.

Has it made a difference? Wilson wishes it had made more of one. “It’s the best thing we’ve done in the 14 years I’ve been here,” he said, but there hasn’t been much of a call for change.

He said he isn’t sure there is a role for “public journalism” in this case, such as a town meeting, especially without a community partner. The local NAACP branch has a full plate, including completing the school district’s desegregation order.

Regardless, Wilson is proud of the work. “I didn’t do it to foment great change, but to say ‘Here’s where we are in 1997.’ And if nothing happens, we’ll come back next year and mention it again.”

Place names around town

During the founding of cities and towns, spelling just wasn’t that important. Take place names: In some towns, there are multiple spellings of the same name, depending on where it’s found. The Delaware County Daily Times of Primos, Pa., (circulation 52,500) explored this in a photo package with a short story on the name Crozer (or is it Crozier?). With a little history and an enterprising photographer, it made a nice package.

Movie ratings in 2 flavors

Movie reviews are staples of newspapers, but often there isn’t enough space to print them all. One innovative solution to this is to run a chart like one Gannett News Service produces (other services offer similar graphics). In it, a list of movies is cross-referenced with the number of stars awarded by reviewers from various newspapers. Editors can add their own reviewers’ stars and remove films not showing in the area. Another idea from GNS is the “Can you take the kids” chart, in which current releases are assessed for violence, nudity, sexual content and profanity through checkmarks.

Going after Texas kids

The Arlington Morning News (circulation 20,000) pursues young readers by showcasing their work in a weekly section called Write Now! The section, which is composed of artwork, stories and poems, is alternated between elementary and secondary students. The program is conducted through local schools, which are credited for each piece. Schools of the students chosen each week receive 100 free copies of the newspaper and a laminated copy of the page for display in the hallways. In addition, extra copies are stocked in newspaper racks near the schools.

CAR links in Washington

Washington state is in a class of its own when it comes to computer-assisted reporting. That’s primarily because David Cuillier, assistant city editor of the Tri-City Herald (circulation 40,000), publishes tips on the subject in a newsletter he sends to more than 100 people — including 22 newspapers in the state. In it, he summarizes stories newspapers have written with CAR and details how the stories were done. A story using restaurant inspection records in one Washington city led to two newspapers inspecting their cities’ restaurant records. Cuillier says he isn’t worried about a competing reporter beating him on a story. “Down the road there is stuff that he will learn that will help me,” Cuillier said. “Plus, I love competition.” There are other benefits, as well, he said. First, a cooperative spirit has developed between several reporters in the state on CAR (they trade computer disks and tips); second, it gets bureaucrats’ attention when several newspapers start asking for the same information. Next stop: the World Wide Web. Soon, Cuillier will have a page on the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Web site.

Trash story talks to readers

Dumpster diving isn’t just for bums, anymore. Your newspaper just might find a story there. The 15 weekly TAB Newspapers of Massachusetts did. Managing Editor David Trueblood said the newspapers sent reporters to various well-known establishments in town and picked through their garbage. A hospital, a private school and the courthouse were among the targets. What the reporters found was interesting: private e-mail messages people had printed out, jury duty opt-out forms, bank deposit slips, etc. Names were made anonymous — “Dr. K,” “a famous Boston private school,” etc., so there weren’t any libel issues. In addition, according to Massachusetts law, once trash is on the curb, it’s on public property, so there weren’t any invasion-of-privacy or trespassing issues, either. But it got people talking. Trueblood said it was his favorite kind of story: “A lot of reaction, a lot of calls, a lot of comments. But no lawyers.”

Chicken soup contest

Chicken soup aficionados were up to the task when The Press-Enterprise of Bloomsburg, Pa., (circulation 21,000) sponsored a contest. The judging of the 11 entries was done by a panel of amateur and professional local cooks at a shopping mall. It resulted in a story the next day including the winning recipes. The contest was set up by the newspaper’s food writer and advertised in the food section.

Graphics department handbook

To make the staff more knowledgeable about working with graphics, the artists of the York (Pa.) Daily Record (circulation 43,000) put together the Graphics Department Handbook. The stylebook/graphics guide is written so people with little Macintosh experience can follow the steps to pull down weather maps or stocks, access graphics or print a logo.Aside from being a training tool, it comes in handy when artists are out of the office.

Youth pages find an audience

ASNE 1997-98 minority job fairs

Job fairs offer a practical way to interview dozens of journalists of color at regional sites.

• Chapel Hill, N.C., Oct. 3-4, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and The News & Observer, Raleigh. Contact Jay Eubank, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UNC, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3365; phone: 919/962-4518; fax: 919/962-0620; e-mail: jeubank@e-mail.unc.edu.
• Columbia, Mo., Oct. 30-31, University of Missouri-Columbia. Contact Ron Kelley, University of Missouri-Columbia, 120 Neff Hall, Columbia MO 65211; phone, 573/882-4198; fax: 573/884-5400; e-mail: jourrbk@showme.missouri.edu.
• Detroit, Nov. 13-15, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and Detroit Newspapers. Contact Joe Grimm, Free Press, 321 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit MI 48226; phone: 313/222-6490; fax: 313/222-5981; e-mail: grimm@det-freepress.com.
• Baton Rouge, La., Jan. 30-31, The Advocate. Contact Frances Johnson, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge LA 70821-0588. phone: 504/383-1111, ext. 428; fax: 504/388-0371; e-mail: fjohnson@theadvocate.com.
• Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 5-7, Albuquerque Journal and The AlbuquerqueTribune. Contact Nancy Baca, Journal, P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque NM 87103; phone: 505/823-3926; fax: 505/823-3998.
• Providence, R.I., Feb. 19-20, Providence Journal-Bulletin. Contact Marcia Russell-Cintron or Patricia O’Donnell, Journal-Bulletin, 75 Fountain St., Providence RI 02902; phone: 401/277-8149; fax: 401/277-7529; e-mail: marcia_russell_cintron@projo.com.
• Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 26-28, The Patriot-News, Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Contact Susan Morgan, PNPA, 2717 N. Front Street, Harrisburg PA 17110; phone: 717/234-4067, ext. 232; fax: 717/234-0746; e-mail: susanm@staff.pnpa.com.
• Seattle, March 5-7, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Contact Katherine White, Post-Intelligencer, 101 Ellicott Avenue W., Seattle WA 98119. Phone: 206/448-8066; fax: 206/448-8069; e-mail katherinewhite@seattle-pi.com.

Charts can be dominant art. Good dominant art. This is something The Oregonian, Portland (circulation 338,500) has learned in its Living section. Three recent pages make great examples. One day, two weeks worth of local news broadcasts were taped and analyzed for content (promotion/advertising, news, sports, etc.). It was an eye-opener. Another day, a writer channel-surfed the religious broadcasts and gave mini-critiques of the production values, themes and content in an amusing way. Finally, a review of child-protection programs for the Internet broke down the features of each.