Last Updated: December 11, 1997
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The Editors’ Exchange
October-November 1997
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!
Fight for integration retold in Arkansas
In the 40 years since the “Little Rock Nine” entered Little Rock’s Central
High School, many things have changed. And many memories have faded.
That, in part, was why the editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (circulation
172,000) decided to publish the 40th Anniversary Central High Crisis series,
writes Griffin Smith Jr.
“I wanted our coverage in 1997 to be as truthful and accurate a record
of those times as it could be.” After looking through a box of old newspapers,
“Bingo, I thought: this is the way to do it.”
The series, which ran from Aug. 29 to Oct. 4, featured daily reproductions
of the corresponding newspaper pages from the Democrat-Gazette’s two predecessors.
Often, a feature on the crisis and its 40-year observation ran, as well.
Two notable stories from the series:
- A woman in a famous photo taunting one of the Little Rock Nine with
“Go home, nigger!” was reunited with the woman 40 years later — explaining
what trauma that infamy caused.
- A man, now a museum curator, explained why he isn’t sorry he was captured
on film stabbing an effigy of a black man with a penknife, saying, “I cannot
tuck tail on my Southern heritage.”
Newcomers who do good
Not all newcomers contribute to their community, but the Pocono Record
of Stroudsburg, Pa., (circulation 22,000) features those who do. The stories,
which Managing Editor Bill Kline readily admits have been tough to come
up with, were a reaction to the area’s high growth in the past 15 years.
“We are trying to highlight some new residents and what they’ve accomplished
since they have been here. It’s also a way to target them as readers,”
he said. Subjects have included a resident who started a night basketball
league and another who established a cultural enrichment program at a school
district.
Make a copy editor’s day
ACES, the American Copy Editors Society, recently held its first meeting
at the National Copy Editors Conference in North Carolina. In the spirit
of supporting copy editors, consider these tips adapted from Forethoughts,
the Scripps Howard in-house newsletter.
- Purchase memberships in the Society for
Newspaper Design for page designers or the American
Copy Editors Society for copy editors.
- Bring in an outside speaker.
- Send copy editors to seminars.
- Allow wall space for good editing and design.
- Have reporters pull a shift on the desk.
- Credit copy editors in briefs columns.
- Start a monthly contest for the best headline or page design with $50
for the winner.
Weekend guides for p.m.’s
There are some advantages for p.m. papers in competitive markets. The
Reporter of Lansdale, Pa. (circulation 19,500) has taken advantage of its
cycle with its E2 and Game Plan guides, which publish Friday afternoons.
Though the paper puts out a weekend entertainment section, Encore, on Thursday,
the E2 page covers films opening locally, last-minute entertainment bets
and outdoor events. A sports companion to E2, Game Plan, was started to
provide guides to weekend local and professional events, TV and radio schedules
and a focus on a worthwhile game.
Green space vs. play space
It was the preservationists vs. the recreationists when it came to how
to use green space in Santa Cruz, Calif. In a story that could take place
anywhere dealing with a growing population and decreasing space, Bob Linneman,
a reporter for the Santa Cruz County Sentinel (circulation 27,000) explored
the debate surrounding a 63-acre tract. One group wanted the land preserved;
others wanted it developed into playing fields for the 20,000 locals who
play recreational sports. More than 100 people, on both sides of the issue,
called after the stories ran and the paper ran several letters to the editor,
as well.
Redefining general assignments
Photographers and reporters at The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis
News (combined circulation 284,500) have changed the way they do general
assignments. On a schedule, they are teamed together for a week to produce
three or four story packages. They brainstorm on what they would like to
do, then present ideas to a few editors, who refine them. Then they’re
set loose. “We try to put the emphasis on their ideas,” said Nancy Comiskey,
managing editor for features, photography and graphics. “We try to get
ideas that wouldn’t normally be in the newspaper.” Stories have ranged
from spending a day with a school cafeteria worker (by a music critic)
to a reporter pretending to be a tourist to see how helpful Indianans are
(very). “At least half the stories make the front page,” Comiskey said.
The idea is very popular with photographers because they participate in
the story process.
Call-in night gets response
When the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Texas, (circulation 38,000)
asked its readers to call in with suggestions, about 90 did. The paper
set aside an hour by the publisher, circulation director, editor and various
others to answer phones. Later, they met and analyzed the results and the
editor wrote about what was going to change, including restoring the Andy
Capp comic strip. “It sends the right message to our readers: that we listen
to them,” said Editor Carroll Wilson.
Scum Alert! excites readers
A daily column called Summit Up that runs in the Summit Daily News of
Frisco, Colo., (circulation 8,300) ranges from “musings about the mysteries
of life to a mention of a sale at a local business to wedding announcements”
and jokes, writes Editor T. Alex Miller. But one of the most popular items
in the column is the Scum Alert! feature. “We allow readers who’ve been
wronged (robbed, treated poorly) to write or call in to vent,” Miller writes.
“Somehow, even if you have no hope of ever retrieving stolen property,
being able to vent in the newspaper makes people feel better. And people
like reading them. Often, we’ll help the person by coming up with all kinds
of awful names for the Scum in question.” A recent Scum Alert! featured
an eloquent note written to an anonymous driver who wrecked the side of
her Jeep. No names are mentioned.
Reader participation at all levels
Asking readers to comment on items that interest them is nothing new,
but The News Times of Danbury, Conn., (circulation 37,000) has had a great
deal of success with write-ins and a call-in recently.
- First, when The Rolling Stones announced their latest tour, the newspaper
asked readers to write in if they had stories about concert experiences,
impromptu Stones concerts or camping out for tickets so the newspaper could
contact them later. The entries were also used in a drawing for two Stones
tickets. The newspaper received at least a dozen coupons a day during the
promotion.
- Second, ask about traffic and you will be deluged. That’s what the
paper found out when it asked about the worst intersections in the area.
Again, a dozen responses a day were received.
- Finally, the News-Times runs a Whaddya Say column each Saturday and
Sunday that allows readers to spout off anonymously. About 24 of these
are published a week.
Journalism Values material
Editors working with ASNE examined their craft and came up with the
basic tenets of journalism: balance, accuracy, leadership, accessibility,
credibility and news judgment. These are examined in-depth in ASNE’s journalism
values material.
- The Journalism Values Handbook contains tools to help newspaper restore
connections with the public and their core values through exercises and
examples. $15
- Timeless Values: Staying True to Journalistic Principles in the Age
of New Media explores how journalists and the public see core journalistic
values fitting with new media ventures. $7
- Insights on the Values captures the essence of focus-group sessions
ASNE editors held about values and the relationship between the public
and newspapers. $10
Intergenerational jailbirds
Going to the jail is something most police reporters do every day; some
families do it, too. Marcia Savage, a reporter for the Mail Tribune of
Medford, Ore., (circulation 27,000) learned that by talking to longtime
jail employees and records clerks that crime ran in some families, so she
wrote a Sunday package about it. “It was a really hard story to do,” she
said, partly because “the only way I could really find them to was to find
them at the jail.” Family members told it like it was — their father or
mother was a jailbird and that now they were. All had different reasons.
News people use
In redesigning the interior of its feature section, The Courier-Journal
of Louisville, Ky., (circulation 232,500) moved its people briefs and local
calendar to a page, then introduced a new feature there, Bright Ideas:
Tips for Living Life Better. The feature includes tips on home life, food,
technology and other areas the Courier-Journal wanted to feature. For example,
although the paper has a weekly food section, Bright Ideas allows the food
editor to report events happening in the local food scene that might be
over by the time the next section publishes. It also is a good place for
short wire stories that might not otherwise have a place in the feature
section. “We’ve got a page there that is useful to people. It adds a little
beef to the section,” said Greg Johnson, features editor. And it’s well-read.
