Last Updated: November 09, 1999
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Listening to readers
The concept of a newsroom liaison with the public was batted around
for years at the Los Angeles Times, to no avail. Top editors weren’t fond
of the idea; they were hesitant to publicly acknowledge mistakes and misjudgments
or to incur negative reaction from the newsroom.
But Editor Michael Parks believed the newspaper was too distant from
its readers. He asked me last fall to see what other newspapers were doing
to connect to their readers. I contacted virtually all ASNE editors, and
scores responded (thank you!). We learned what worked and what didn’t.
From that information, we crafted our readers’ representative position,
which Parks announced March 18 in a story on page A3. (One reader quipped:
“If this job was so important, how come it wasn’t on Page One?”). In the
announcement, Parks noted: “We need to draw closer to our readers, to serve
their interests and meet their needs more fully. We also need to demystify
our practice of journalism and to hold ourselves more accountable to our
ideals and professional standards.’”
The first call came in that day at 4:54 a.m. from a reader wanting coverage
of college lacrosse, and since then, we have received more than 15,000
calls and letters. Some are full of praise (“You’re one of the greatest
newspapers anywhere”); many are critical (“I have noticed a glaring lack
of attention to matters which may shed a bad light on the Clinton administration”);
some offer story tips (“I’m calling from (jail) and there’s a riot going
on here”); others point out factual and grammatical errors (“...a necessary
criteria”). A few are amusing (“Would you please ask someone in the science
department how long it takes for a pigeon egg to hatch? It was laid yesterday
and I want to know how long I am going to lose the use of my balcony”).
Readers are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about having someone at the
Times hear them out. Whether or not attributable to the readers’ rep office,
subscription cancellations for editorial reasons dropped from 77 in the
second quarter of 1998 to only 11 in the comparable period this year. Maybe
it’s more satisfying — and just as easy — to pick up a phone and rant at
someone than to call to cancel a subscription.
A box on A2 invites readers to contact us. It carries all my contact
information and asks for questions or concerns about anything in the newspaper
or the Times’ journalistic standards and practices.
I write an occasional column explaining our practices or commenting
on issues that have generated reader comment. Examples include our coverage
of the Balkan war, “The Boondocks” comic strip, and how we missed covering
a large Iranian demonstration in Los Angeles. Future columns will deal
with anonymous sources, bias, tobacco ads, and other areas where we have
a credibility gap.
The readers’ rep staff prepares a weekly report for Parks and the publisher
and a bi-monthly newsletter for the staff.
The main responsibility is to listen to readers — about 125 a day call
and write. We also answer calls and letters forwarded to us from other
departments if they have to do with readership issues. My best advice to
anyone starting such an endeavor would be to be prepared for a massive
response. When we announced the position, I was overwhelmed. My staff now
includes a deputy, a temporary assistant, a part-time editorial assistant
who returns calls 4 hours a day, and a secretary who processes letters
and returns calls. Calls are taped and transcribed. It took three months
to catch up to the backlog of calls and e-mail.
The job has paid off. Readers have challenged us and made an impact.
Complaints about a new crossword puzzle prompted us to throw it out and
send its authors back to the drawing board. Because of readers, we’re considering
publishing bill numbers in legislative stories and case numbers in legal
stories. We’re more sensitive to complaints of bias, and criticism of errors
led Parks to create a team to examine why we make so many grammatical errors.
We are also drafting a new corrections policy.
Some readers complain about noneditorial issues — print quality, circulation
and advertising — and we forward those complaints to the senior vice presidents
responsible for those areas. They respond to readers and send us copies
of their responses. We forward many reader queries to the editors who can
best handle the response. This is critical to the success of this operation
— that everyone in editorial — not just the readers’ reps — realizes a
responsibility to be responsive to readers.
How does the staff respond? Remarkably, while a few staff members have
criticized aspects of the columns, the overwhelming response is highly
supportive. The most uttered phrase I heard from editorial folks after
the announcement: “It’s about time.”
Zacchino, associate editor of the Los Angeles Times, is also its
reader representative.
