Should this be interpreted as a red flag ...

[Tom_Brinkman01]

I just started at a midsized daily that, prior to my arrival, stopped all pro and college coverage -- we only cover preps. We exclusively use AP stories and press releases even though pro and college games are only a few miles away -- my SE even had me do write-ups off the television and radio. First of all, is using unattributed television and radio reports for print news briefs (no byline, of course) ethical? Secondly, how common is it for midsized newspapers (about 40,000 circ.) to abandon all pro and college coverage in their own town and exclusively use wire stuff?

 

[SF_Express]

If it's right in town, that's very strange, I think.

We've debated the TV/radio ethics thing extensively here. Nobody likes it, but we pretty much agree no datelines. We're more divided on the byline issue.

 

[Bears00]

No datelines and no bylines.

 

[Columbo]

No datelines and no bylines.

BS.

If you write 10" of original material, it deserves a byline. Period.

 

[DyePack]

No datelines and no bylines.

BS.

If you write 10" of original material, it deserves a byline. Period.

Pube/hole/whatever your name is:

I'm all for strong opinions. Believe me, I am.

But are you seriously saying there's no gray area about bylines on a story someone didn't cover in person?

 

[Starman]

No datelines and no bylines.

BS.

If you write 10" of original material, it deserves a byline. Period.

If they're having you plagiarize and use stuff without attribution, you don't WANT your byline on it.

 

[JME]

I would say it's DEFINITELY a red flag. Has the SE given you a reason why you don't cover all of this stuff?

 

[SF_Express]

I'm all for strong opinions. Believe me, I am.

But are you seriously saying there's no gray area about bylines on a story someone didn't cover in person?

If you have your main beat guy do a story remotely, based on information obtained electronically, I think your readers should know that your beat writer wrote it. No dateline, just a byline.

If you want a disclaimer on the bottom -- radio and TV were used to compile this report, or whatever -- fine. But I want the readership knowing their local "expert" is writing the story.

There's great disagreement on this board about this, and that's cool. This is my opinion on it.

 

[Starman]

I'm all for strong opinions. Believe me, I am.

But are you seriously saying there's no gray area about bylines on a story someone didn't cover in person?

If you have your main beat guy do a story remotely, based on information obtained electronically, I think your readers should know that your beat writer wrote it. No dateline, just a byline.

If you want a disclaimer on the bottom -- radio and TV were used to compile this report, or whatever -- fine. But I want the readership knowing their local "expert" is writing the story.

There's great disagreement on this board about this, and that's cool. This is my opinion on it.

If the "local expert" writing the story uses radio, TV and Internet sources more than very, very rarely, then he isn't an "expert." He's just another Joe Blow fanboy surfng the Web.

 

[SF_Express]

So, Starman:

You're saying if I have a college beat guy, and he's with the team all week, he covers every home game and has great contacts, knows the players and coaches ... but the budget won't allow travel ... that he's reduced to a fanboy if he writes something about a road game using all that knowledge, and those sources -- and the TV, radio and web?

We're in complete disagreement then.

 

[Starman]

Any rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball* is prohibited.

* Or just about any other professional or major-college sports organization.

Writing a game story off TV or radio constitutes a "reproduction" of the account of the game.

It's Illegal.

Not to say I've never, ever done it, but I would never, ever put a byline on it.

And anyway, you've got AP.

If your publisher wants readers to think your beat writer is the absolute expert on all subjects concerning a particular team, here's a novel concept: Send the beat writer to cover the games.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

At my first full-time job we did this. We staffed NFL home and away, the other pros just at home. We'd write off TV, but no byline, no dateline. We were giving readers more than the wires but less than the competition, so I don't know that we accomplished much.

One night the TV was broken. Someone found a key to the publisher's office and sent the staff pig to watch the game and write running. He brought a tub of KFC with him. Next morning, the publisher arrives to find chicken bones on his desk as if someone had performed an animal sacrifice in his office. When he tried to call security, his hand slipped off the greasy phone.

 

[SF_Express]

Any rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball* is prohibited.

* Or just about any other professional or major-college sports organization.

That has never been interpreted to apply to this kind of thing in the history of sports. You might not agree with the practice -- but this is not a reason.

 

[JME]

f your publisher wants readers to think your beat writer is the absolute expert on all subjects concerning a particular team, here's a novel concept: Send the beat writer to cover the games.

Hard to argue with this.

 

[SF_Express]

No, JME, respectfully, it's pretty easy to argue with this.

Times are tough in the newspaper business. There's a lot of bottom line pressure, travel costs are rising, etc.

It's easy to smugly say, "Hey, you want to do it right, travel with the team."

Well, some places can't afford that. So they do the best they can with what they've got.

And if that means using your beat writer to fashion something unique off a game as opposed to running an AP story that can be found in dozens of places around the Internet, then you do it.

Saying "that's just not done" is short-sighted as hell.

 

[playthrough]

I just started at a midsized daily that, prior to my arrival, stopped all pro and college coverage -- we only cover preps. We exclusively use AP stories and press releases even though pro and college games are only a few miles away -- my SE even had me do write-ups off the television and radio. First of all, is using unattributed television and radio reports for print news briefs (no byline, of course) ethical? Secondly, how common is it for midsized newspapers (about 40,000 circ.) to abandon all pro and college coverage in their own town and exclusively use wire stuff?

To get back to the original post...wow. I've never heard of a paper cutting off all hometown coverage like that. What was the reasoning? When I worked at papers much smaller than this I'd occasionally get tossed a bone and cover a game for the local U. or the pros, and I'd gladly take it even if I had to do it on a day off. And the SEs liked having the bones to throw. To not have those opportunities would have really sucked.

 

[SF_Express]

Yes, returning ... the dropping of local college coverage makes no sense. That's not a resource issue, or shouldn't be.

 

[JME]

No, JME, respectfully, it's pretty easy to argue with this.

Times are tough in the newspaper business. There's a lot of bottom line pressure, travel costs are rising, etc.

It's easy to smugly say, "Hey, you want to do it right, travel with the team."

Well, some places can't afford that. So they do the best they can with what they've got.

And if that means using your beat writer to fashion something unique off a game as opposed to running an AP story that can be found in dozens of place around the Internet, then you do it.

Saying "that's just not done" is short-sighted as hell.

True, true. I understand your point. It just seems to me that if a paper isn't going to make the expenditures to give firsthand coverage, they shouldn't try to fill in the blanks. If you just run the AP, there is no gray area where someone could think you are pretending to be there or where something from the game is mis-interpreted by the guy doing the phoner.

 

[blackmuddyriver]

A red flag?
About the size of Rhode Island, yeah, but the biz seems to be headed in that direction -- give 'em less and make 'em think it's more.
Why not come up with a plan if the hapless, sad exercise of writing off TV is the best that can be done (really, better than AP?).
How about a byline, but no dateline? Something like:

Written Off TV

The Hillbillies lost to the Crusaders Tuesday night 28-0 in a Can 'O Worms Conference game, but WORM play-by-play broadcaster Biff Nerdly said the game looked a lot closer than the score indicated.
yadda yadda

 

[SF_Express]

It just seems to me that if a paper isn't going to make the expenditures to give firsthand coverage, they shouldn't try to fill in the blanks.

And my point is that you SHOULD try to fill in the blanks. I'm not a big all-or-nothing guy. Times are tough; you improvise.