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Miami Herald ombudsman on Jason Taylor coverage

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Speedway, Jun 8, 2008.

  1. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    A lot of beat writers are asked to write edgier stuff in their blogs and then they're disciplined when someone thinks they went too far.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Get the man a chicken dinner.
     
  3. armageddon

    armageddon Active Member

    Frank, equally as critical is that THEY are unwilling to edit it before it hits the web or are unwilling to make sure SOMEONE is available to edit it.

    At our shop it is critical that we get it out there first. Critical that we edit it first, other than the writer?

    Ah, not so much.
     
  4. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    "At our shop it is critical that we get it out there first. Critical that we edit it first, other than the writer?"

    And that is wrong, but often too accepted as the norm.
     
  5. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    The whole "if we edit the blog, it will be boring" thing is moronic. If the editing process is making the newsprint product boring, the problem isn't editing, it's crappy copy editors and managers who are too clueless or gutless to demand better of them. I see no redeeming qualities in just throwing unscrutinized slop out there. It's amateurish.
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    It's not that as much as:

    1. Sports desks aren't staffed to edit copy 24 hours a day
    2. Editing a blog item before it is posted might add 30 minutes to several hours to the time it takes to get online
    3. I would guess most papers have online staff to process copy, post items, get photos, etc., but almost no one hired to actually edit the stuff.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    We had a bit of controversy with one of our writers over a blog entry.

    The editors' response: Well, he filed it before the desk showed up.

    Never mind that five DSEs and the SE were all in the office when it was posted/sent in.

    The policy is that we post immediately to our blogs but we send a copy to the desk at the same time we post the item. If the desk decides there is a problem, they can take down the item or edit the post.

    I highly doubt that 90 percent of those emails are even read.
     
  8. armageddon

    armageddon Active Member

    1) True, particularly during the daylight hours.
    2) The added time generally should be less but still would be viewed as lessening the immediacy of the post.
    3) Ding, ding, ding. We have web folks who, I swear, were asked two questions during the hiring process.

    Can you start up a computer? Do you like sports?
     
  9. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    If newspapers want to move to be Web-based (or centric, or whatever today's cool phrase is), then they should make the effort to staff their newsrooms to be 24/7 in order to edit blogs, online stories and other Web items.

    Saying you want a staff to be focused on the Web and do quality print and Web work, but then saying you don't have the resources or time to do the necessary work of journalism - editing, fact-checking and so on for Web items - is grossly out of step. You can't have it both ways.
     
  10. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    I'm not going to get into the whole blog thing, because I'm in an different environment anyway, and I have opinions on it -- basically, they should be unedited -- that quite a few people here don't share.

    (Well, I guess I did get into it.)

    Anyway, wouldn't we allow a columnist to opine that a public figure is lying? I'm pretty sure we -- print, online, whatever -- give that kind of license to columnists all the time.

    Not sure how it's different in a blog. I guess it's written as a statement of fact, but it's clearly opinion to any reasonable person.

    No?
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Did Salguero high-five anyone before he filed the blog?
     
  12. hurricane

    hurricane Member

    Yes. Cole.
     
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