Webcasts of daily news meetings open up newsrooms
On the one hand:
"Transparency, that sacred tenet of journalism, is at the core of the idea. No secrets to hide; no mystery about how coverage decisions are made."
On the other:
"In Spokane, some reporters fretted over the camera stifling what can evolve into frank, freewheeling discussions in which participants aren't always concerned about whether something is accurate or potentially libelous."
- Current Mood:
rushed - Current Music:landon pigg - falling in love at a coffee shop
Comments
I think the discussion would be less candid if we knew we were being watched; ultimately, that's bad for a newspaper, because candid budget-meeting conversations often make for better-reported stories.
Yeah, budget meetings are strategy sessions. I don't know that any other business would want their strategy sessions on camera, either.
I think this objective, while admirable, can be achieved by having an ombudsman-type column. My previous paper's editor wrote a column each week in which he discussed the inner workings of the operation, the hows and whys of that week's hot story.
My previous paper's editor wrote a column each week in which he discussed the inner workings of the operation, the hows and whys of that week's hot story.
That's a really cool idea!
I don't know, I wouldn 't feel comfortable doing it if I was working at a newspaper.
Sometimes it's just better for the public not to know the inner workings of certain things. *points to icon*
You've hit the nail on the head, Irish. In those meetings, we make decisions on how much coverage to give a story, and where in the paper to run it.
Those decisions could sound insensitive on the surface, and I would hate for someone who knows a person who was killed to think that we are devaluing the deceased's life. We don't. It's in those meetings that we judge the newsworthiness of a particular story compared to the other stories available to us.