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If you can help, I'd really appreciate it

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by CradleRobber, Nov 28, 2007.

  1. CradleRobber

    CradleRobber Active Member

    One of my journalism professors assigned a term paper analyzing the ethical and editing issues presented by an actual story or stories regularly in the news. This can be a general topic about which multiple stories (in one or more media outlets) have been written or aired, or one specific story which raises multiple editing and ethics issues.

    We have to include four interviews of people who have been affected by or are knowledgeable about this story or issue. I've done two interviews, but haven't really gotten going on writing the actual paper. It's max 2000 words, anyway, so if I need to change my topic, now would be the time to do it, I guess.

    I have conducted the two interviews and plan to write the paper analyzing the ongoing debate over whether larger metropolitan newspapers need to maintain costly overseas coverage. And, if they close their overseas bureaus to save costs and focus on local ad revenue, what does that mean for the quality of international information that their readers receive?

    Does this sound like an interesting topic for the paper? The interviews weren't exactly spectacular, so I started to wonder...

    Most importantly, if you read this and the above paragraph pertains to your experience in any way or the experience of anyone you know in the business, PLEASE shoot me a PM in the next week so we can speak briefly.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Walter Burns

    Walter Burns Member

    I think it's interesting. Then again, I'm a nerd.
    But I think it's a symptom of a bigger illness. Newspapers are cutting back, and since they can no longer provide anything better than anyone else, they're content to provide something different and hope that works. Hence the adoption of hyperlocal coverage.
    The international bureaus are one example. There are very few newspapers that have their own state capitol bureaus...even chains are cutting back on stuff like that.
    Some sports sections aren't sending guys out to cover the college in the area, instead relying on the AP.
    There's a mindset at work that says, "If the AP's there, we don't have to be." And I think that shortchanges the reader. The whole point of newspapers is to provide a marketplace of ideas, something that's already lacking given the lack of competing papers in a market.
    That's the way I'd chase it.
     
  3. BillyT

    BillyT Active Member

    I read a story today, maybe on Romanesko, about how AP is actually doing more overseas as individual papers cut back.
     
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