Readers' and Subjects' Expectations

[Pete Incaviglia]

So, I went to an assignment today. Interviewed four sources for the story. It went well. Very interesting lede and angle. Good all around story idea.

I was expecting "the usual" in terms of space - not a lot, but enough to work with.

However, I get back and I have little, if any, room to write.

I'm almost embarrassed knowing the people/team/coach I interviewed today will pick up the paper and think "That's it?"

Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever worry what the readers and the people you interviewed might think?

I feel like a complete douche right now, knowing I'm short-changing a good story (that must run tonight, by the way).

 

[SF_Express]

It has always happened in this business, but I'm sure it's happening more these days.

No good answers for you. If a subject calls and asks you what happened, tell 'em.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

It has always happened in this business, but I'm sure it's happening more these days.

No good answers for you. If a subject calls and asks you what happened, tell 'em.

It's so bad tonight that I want to email the coach and apologize in advance. Not that I would.

 

[Songbird]

Write a long story and put it on your Web site's blog or something.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Write a long story and put it on your Web site's blog or something.

I'm actually thinking of this. We have a "Web Extra" logo we place in stories to promo slideshows, video, blogs, etc.

I might write a secondary story for my blog.

 

[jps]

yeah ... 'for more, see bumble****times.com'

 

[awriter]

Did the story need to run today or could it have waited?

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Unfortunately, had to run awriter.

 

[SixToe]

I've found the same problem at times and the Web situation offers the "long version" opportunity.

Take advantage of it. Write a good 14- or 18-incher or however long the paper version will be, and then expand on the Web. Gives you a good pop in both places ... er, "platforms."

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

I always wonder how the high school kids feel about being interviewed, then not having a quote in the paper. I've not had one say anything to me, but if one does, I'll explain how I'm looking for the best quote.

 

[SixToe]

And yes, it does suck to do three or four good interviews, get good stuff and have something forming in your head before learning of a space crunch.

I usually tell coaches or players the space thing was out of my control and I appreciate their time.

 

[pseudo]

How about if nothing runs at all?

First playoff game in the short history of the local school's varsity soccer program. Two-hour round trip, 40 degrees -- what the hell, make the drive anyway. Pick up today's paper (two pages lighter than normal, I notice), and ... nada. Better yet, I work with the parents of at least two players, and they know I covered the game. In fact, I stood next to one of them for part of the second half.

What's the over/under on how long it takes for one of them to say something the next time I see them?

 

[friend of a friend]

I've found the same problem at times and the Web situation offers the "long version" opportunity.

Take advantage of it. Write a good 14- or 18-incher or however long the paper version will be, and then expand on the Web. Gives you a good pop in both places ... er, "platforms."

This was the obvious answer.

Kinda sad that more people aren't thinking this way, since newshole ain't coming back anytime soon.

 

[editorhoo]

How about if nothing runs at all?

First playoff game in the short history of the local school's varsity soccer program. Two-hour round trip, 40 degrees -- what the hell, make the drive anyway. Pick up today's paper (two pages lighter than normal, I notice), and ... nada. Better yet, I work with the parents of at least two players, and they know I covered the game. In fact, I stood next to one of them for part of the second half.

What's the over/under on how long it takes for one of them to say something the next time I see them?

They'll have you at "Hello."

This type of thing sucks, but it's the nature of our business. You have to get more information than you can print just so you can cover all your bases. It's a lot worse, too, when it's a four-source story, and you may not get to use one of those sources.

But like others have said, this is where blogs can prove their worth. I've been making a point to blog about games I cover when I get home from work to ad details I just couldn't get to on deadline. It's a great opportunity to provide depth to your coverage. We've also been making it a point to put a footer on our gamers referring to "more information available on this this game at our Web site."

With our ever-shrinking news hole and web size, there have been times when we couldn't fit, say, a soccer roundup in the print edition, so we run a brief on the agate page saying the info is available on our Web site. We haven't heard complaints as long as the info is put somewhere.

I think that's part of our industry's future anyway -- using the Web to suplement our coverage, rather than just rehashing everything in the print edition on the Internet.

 

[friend of a friend]

The flip side is that it gives people one more reason not to subscribe to the paper.

Not only can you get it free on the Web, but we'll give you more for free!

 

[editorhoo]

I know. It's sad.

 

[mike311gd]

This will test you, Pete. I've found it's a lot harder to write concise stories than longer ones.

 

[friend of a friend]

That explains a lot of your posts. 8)

 

[Mark2010]

Yeah, this has happened to me more times than I care to recall. I try to plan stuff so that my 30-inch feature doesn't run the same day as the clinching game of the World Series or whatever. But sometimes it cannot be avoided.

Using the web, or a blog, as a supplement is a great idea. Aren't editors always whining at us to blog more anyway?

Yeah, I've had people I interview wonder why I used someone else's quote and not theirs. Truth is,the majority of high school kids aren't great quotes. They say the same stuff over and over and don't talk in complete sentences. If you're covering a team regularly, you find out who is and isn't a good quote. I learned early on it is always better to have too much info (or quotes) than not enough. But, yeah, there's a tendency to want to stick ALL the good stuff in.

On the bright side, 10 years from now, allof us will be working for the web or magazines when the day comes that newspapers are nothing but a front page and a whole load of classifieds.