Last Updated: August 18, 2000
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Ask Dr. Ink
Extra pay for cable apearances? Maybe.
Starting with this issue, our anonymous Dr. Ink will offer advice,
serious and humorous, to editors on a full range of problems and issues,
journalistic and managerial. Questions may be real or hypothetical, and
may be rephrased to protect personal and institutional privacy. Send them
to Ask Dr. Ink, ASNE, 11690B Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Va. 20191.
Dear Dr. Ink: Should we pay our reporters extra for their contributions
to our cable news operation?
Answer: Dr. Ink thinks good reporters are most inspired by two rewards:
good play and good pay. Having their work on television is a form of good
story play, so, for some, it may be considered a reward in itself. But
at a time when newsrooms are being raided by new media companies, when
it comes to pay, it’s a good idea to err on the side of generosity. A little
extra pay may also help some reporters overcome their inhibitions and stoke
the urge to converge.
Dear Dr. Ink: What should we do about a copy editor who has such
bad body odor that no one will work next to him?
Answer: This is a surprisingly common problem, especially among male
staffers without girlfriends who developed the habit of not bathing. Obviously,
the best idea is to conduct a discreet conversation with the malodorous
one – preferably outdoors. If this is deemed too demeaning, announce a
restructuring of the newsroom and put him in the corner closest to the
restrooms. A more delicate solution is to give him, as a gift, a large
stack of magazines. The cologne samples inside may help to mask the problem.
Dear Dr. Ink: Numerous readers in the Muslim community have complained
that we run a Bible verse every day on our editorial page. Since we regularly
call on the community to be inclusive and respect diversity, should we
drop the verse or add something from the Koran?
Answer: Dr. Ink likes the idea of those inspirational verses on the
editorial page. Sometimes a reader can get more out of a verse such as
“There is a time for every purpose under heaven,” than another gabby editorial
that ends “Only time will tell.” But Dr. Ink sees no reason to confine
inspiration to just the Bible. Or to religious verse in general. How about
poetry? Or proverbs? Or quotations from great speeches? Or anything written
or said by E.B. White or Yogi Berra. Dr. Ink has his own biases and would
prefer to see nothing quoted from Pete Rose or Kahlil Gibran.
Dear Dr. Ink: One of my sons wants to work as a volunteer in a political
campaign since this is an election year. Would this be a conflict of interest?
Answer: Dr. Ink applauds your son, and any person who is inspired to
contribute to the public good. The stereotype of young people is that they’re
all on drugs and playing video games, so your son is to be encouraged.
We see no reason to commit him to life of civic celibacy just because his
parent is a journalist. It may be wise to see if he’d be willing to set
some limits, especially if you are responsible for political coverage:
no bumper stickers plastered on the family cars, no yard signs on the lawn,
no arrests for dirty tricks.
Dear Dr. Ink: The number of bylines has proliferated out of control.
Almost every story carries a byline these days and many have an italic
line at the end listing all the reporters and editors who contributed to
the report. Now the researchers in our reference department want their
names added if they provide significant material for the story. Help! Where
can we draw the line before the names start looking like the credits at
the end of the movies?
Answer: You may be asking the wrong person as Dr. Ink is hiding his
(or her) identity. But the key word in your question is “significant.”
That seems too low a threshold. Any contribution by a researcher is significant,
or it shouldn’t make it into the story. The better word is “extraordinary.”
The researcher’s work is unsung, and deserves to be sung more often. Maybe,
instead of a credit line, you can sing the virtues of a researcher’s contribution
within the newsroom. And raise her pay too, before the dot.coms get their
hands on her or him.
