Loyal reader Newspaper Junkie asked a good question a while back, and I didn’t want it to go unanswered. Here’s the question:
Since you worked there, perhaps you could tell us, are the publisher(s) and editor(s) of the Citizen-Times oblivious, unaware, ignorant or indifferent to some of the basic standards of good journalism? Are the reporters given no guidance? Why do they fill the paper with “filler,” like the so-called “Staff Reports,” which are verbatim press releases, and the repeated space expended on “police blotter” items?
If they omitted these and used their reporters to actually cover stories, there might be room for something tor read in the paper that was not readily available elsewhere. I’m embarrassed for a reporter when he cites a Web site and when you click on it, you discover he has taken much of his story verbatim from the site. There are occasional examples of thorough reporting and good writing (John Boyle always seems to do a good job and there are others).
Why aren’t the others mentored and coached? Again, my basic question: is it ignorance or indifference to simple ways (it seems to me) to make the paper, even in its diminished form, so much better without adding costs.
Newspaper Junkie, it’s certainly not ignorance. Everyone at the Citizen-Times knows the basic standards of solid journalism. There are good reporters at the Citizen-Times. You cite the presence of “filler” and the printing of verbatim press releases, as well as an apparent lack of coaching.
The real issue, to me, is time and resources. Everyone at the newspaper is under tremendous stress to fill up the daily newspaper, and to keep a Web site fresh and relevant 24 hours, seven days a week. Add to that the recent lay-offs and the upcoming requirement that everyone take a week of unpaid leave before the end of March.
So do great journalism all the time, in print and on the Web, and do it in 40 hours a week (minus your week of unpaid vacation) and with fewer and fewer resources.
I’m not making excuses for the newspaper. I’m saying I think the newspaper has lost focus. In all the talk about industry woes, the newspaper hasn’t stressed the fundamentals of good journalism. I’ve heard over and over again that morale is lower than low. So with all those factors, finding the passion for quality journalism is going to be tough.
8 Comments
Newspaper junkie, I was in Greenville yesterday and glanced through a copy of the Greenville News. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with their approach to local news. The direction for any publication has to start at the top. Hatchet Hammer has no connection to the greater Asheville area and is only using his position as a stepping stone to get to corporate Gannett in Virginia.
Today’s CT’s cover story is about a development company that wants to build $2 million dollar condos in downtown Asheville. $ 2MILLION Dollars for a condo in Asheville??!! Hammer and Fernandez gave the company some great free ad space. Wonder if they will advertise the development in the CTimes.
I want to know if there is anyone capable in this community to broadcast local news? I try to watch WLOS in the morning to get the weather report and to see if by chance the dumb and dumber trio has any local news to report. Victoria Dunkle can’t read the news. Jay is OK and the Wunder girl muddles through her weather forecast. I do not care about THE BUZZ and celebrity news. If I wanted to watch that stuff, I would watch Entertainment Tonight. Newsflash for them. I can get national news online, on the ABC network and the other broadcast and cable channels. Will someone please tell me what is going on in Western North Carolina?? The reporters at the Citizen-Times and WLOS all suffer from the same disease – lazyitis. If it doesn’t happen outside of Biltmore Park WLOS doesn’t report it. The Ctimes reporters are too busy having their 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m coffee meetings to find stories. Oh, I forgot, the Ctimes needs those forty reporters and fifteen copy editors to put together 4 page A sections.
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I have to agree with Miss Daisy and Boring, again that simple mechanics of good writing are often missed and some interesting, important stories could be covered in a more thorough fashion. I suppose it comes down to leadership. The newspaper, like any institution, can only perform to the standards set by the people in charge. Time for Mountain Express to go daily?
Where are the good reporters at the Citizen-Times? The headlines in today’s paper are another example of sensationalism. I am starting to think that we have our own version of the National Enquirer. Most of the stories on the front page of the Mountains section were covered on Sunday’s WLOS evening news broadcast.
The big turnout for the last day of the skating rink is really big news. My favorite so far this year is today’s story about the pig litter born at Warren Wilson College. Now there is a breaking news story.
Do not defend these so called reporters. How can these people be overworked when most every story is from a wire service or some fluff. Granted traffic reports and calendars take a lot of time to edit. I think that the celebrity briefs are sooo important. If this is all the C**P (literally) that they can right about – don’t bother!
Oh, and don’t forget the "LIghten Up" stories. Something I want to read about everyday, overweight people struggling to be skinny.
I’ll help them out with some topics: Are the local banks like Mountain 1st, Pisgah Community, Southern Community Bank and Trust, and Forest Commerical Bank solvent? How do local Credit Unions fare in this economy?
Are local home buyers able to get mortgages?
What about health care? Have the free clinics seen an increase in patients? What about the local foreclosure rate? I am not interested in the national numbers. What is the current percentage of local foreclosures? Are more people going back to college to earn degrees? Have new students been denied financial aid because of the economic crisis?
Are the local car dealers solvent? Will the locally owned third and fourth generation auto dealers survive this economy?
Hatchet Hammer and his cronies won’t write about any of this stuff. Why? Because all of the banks are potential advertisers as are the car dealers and the realtors. They wouldn’t have the guts to print the local outlook. Some large advertiser might get mad.
Agreed on the spell check. You can always tell that the ACT writes their own captions in that there are often misspelled words. That’s not nit picking. It’s 7th grade journalism.
I think you hit it dead-on … reporters are doing more work for less money; management wants more and more with less people to do it with. Plus, "filler" bumps up the count for ‘local’ stories.
TV NEWS LOST THIS A LONG TIME AGO! TIME AND RESOURCE, TRY WORKING AT WLOS! It’s amazing there able to put a newscast on everyday!
Speaking of grammar check…. 🙂
The who, what, when, where, how and why seem to be missing quite often as of late. In times of scarce resources, spell check and grammar check are two that don’t cost any extra. Then there is this from the web site today: 10k proves running picks up in slow times. Because this weekend’s race was well attended, it PROVES that running picks up in slow times. Source please? It’s nitpicking, but the word proves always makes the hair on my neck stand up.