The recent news of allegations against several Troopers brings alot of questions to the media's coverage.
On Monday December 11th the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office confirmed on their website that they were conducting a criminal investigation into an alleged sexual assault in which one or more of the suspects was a Trooper. The three sentence release just opened up pandora's box. I can not say I have seen other law enforcement agencies put out such a release before. I also dont know under what law OPRA, Executive Order 69, or any other law that a suspect is identified by his job prior to charges.
Then at 11pm WPVI the ABC affiliate out of Philadelphia has the entire story including the victim's college, the rank of the officers involved and a picture of the house where the incident took place. The Star-Ledger and Trenton Times followed the next several days. In each case they kept identifying where the victim attends school and the positions the Troopers held.
The media is doing no one a service with their reporting. It does not matter where you stand on the story, right now the reporting is bad for all involved. The victim has had her identity partly disclosed with no justification. If you have a 25 year old female friend who is a graduate student at Rider University and goes to Kat Man Du nightclub there is a good chance she was the victim. The Troopers have had their agency, their jobs, and their home all provided to the media - without a single charge.
This has all the making of the Atlanta Olympic Bombings media fiasco. Lets not all print whatever our sources are providing without checking the agendas behind the stories. I guareentee you that whatever is the end result, the woman, the Troopers, and the public are not better served by the reporting.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Copy Editor Needed
I am sure it is not easy to put out a daily paper, but please read the story before the headline goes on. The case below is from The Home News Tribune. I did not post the first couple of headline errors I read this month - but come on. If the dateline is Old Bridge why put Woodbridge in the headline. As it turns out the bones were found in Old Bridge.
COPS FIND BONES IN WOODBRIDGE
OLD BRIDGE: Police on Tuesday were investigating the discovery of bones, reported to be human bones, in a wooded area off Perrine Road, according to Lt. Ross Moltisanti of the township Police Department.
No further details were available, Moltisanti said, because township police detectives were still investigating.
Staff report
COPS FIND BONES IN WOODBRIDGE
OLD BRIDGE: Police on Tuesday were investigating the discovery of bones, reported to be human bones, in a wooded area off Perrine Road, according to Lt. Ross Moltisanti of the township Police Department.
No further details were available, Moltisanti said, because township police detectives were still investigating.
Staff report
Sunday, December 2, 2007
You Can't Have It Both Ways
In the Saturday December 1st editions of The Star-Ledger columnist Mark DiIonno makes a compelling argument as to why anonymous postings are bad for free speech. He argues that if what you say is worth saying then you should put your name to it. He gives great historical examples of where famous New Jersey residents have lost their liberty or their life standing behind what they said.
He brings the topic up because of the current rage about a person making postings in a Manalapan forum. The person has some inside information and is putting a slant onto it in the forums. Manalapan wants to know the person's identity.
DiIonno goes on to point out that the Declaration of Independence was a form of free speech but the people who supported it put their names in bold print for all to see. He finishes by explaining that free speech is not free.
So I thought about it and believed he made some valid points. Only one problem. Every Sunday The Star-Ledger publishes a column called the Auditor which covers all the behind the scenes Trenton gossip without attributing it to any one author. That just flies in the face of everything DiIonno said. IT IS CALLED HYPOCRISY.
He brings the topic up because of the current rage about a person making postings in a Manalapan forum. The person has some inside information and is putting a slant onto it in the forums. Manalapan wants to know the person's identity.
DiIonno goes on to point out that the Declaration of Independence was a form of free speech but the people who supported it put their names in bold print for all to see. He finishes by explaining that free speech is not free.
So I thought about it and believed he made some valid points. Only one problem. Every Sunday The Star-Ledger publishes a column called the Auditor which covers all the behind the scenes Trenton gossip without attributing it to any one author. That just flies in the face of everything DiIonno said. IT IS CALLED HYPOCRISY.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Newspapers - Internet Responsibility
The Internet has taken reporting news to a new level. Today many people can report on news from blogs to chat rooms. The difficulty is deciding the agenda behind these citizen reporters,the facts being presented, and what follow up needs to be done.
All newspaper web sites are moving towards having greater public participation. Take for example this weeks unveiling of the new Asbury Park Press website. The new site seems inviting and emphasises local stories. It seems easy to navigate and submit stories.
So I checked out the stories submitted and found Bonny had written about homeless shelter's in the Red Bank area. She questioned the requirements to get into shelters and why there were not more options for such an affluent area. In my mind she raised several valid points and the timing of her story around the holidays and with colder weather moving into the State made for an interesting article. Only one problem, even though the story is on their website I can not find any follow by the paper. It appears that the topics discussed were not assigned to any reporter to follow. I have no idea if it is legal to turn away people from a shelter because they lack identification. I can not tell if any elected official is upset with the situation. I do not know how many people are turned away from the homeless shelter or how many are housed at the shelter. There is no perspective from the various religious communities about the situation. In essence I have a posting about a potential problem but no follow up.
If newspapers are going to create greater public involvement in their industry they still need to meet their burden of reporting on the stories they post.
No shelter for the homeless
By bonny • Reader Submitted • November 28, 2007
What’s this?
If you have a record, if you don't have picture ID, you cannot be referred to the area shelter at Fort Monmouth. Unfortunately, these prerequisites leave out quite a few people.
I can only speak in regards to the Red Bank area, where I have found no place to refer homeless men for over-night shelter in this progressively chilly weather.
CheckMate, on the grounds of Fort Monmouth, can only take people after a background check and picture ID. This leaves a gaping hole in the system.
Most of my contact with the homeless has been men, with a record and without ID.
The Salvation Army's new facilitate on Newman Springs Road, although huge, does not have any beds.
As far as I know there is some help for women and children through local churches. Could I be wrong, maybe there's some shelter just waiting to accommodate these unfortunate people.
Surely, in such a wealthy and caring county we provide appropriately for our poor.
All newspaper web sites are moving towards having greater public participation. Take for example this weeks unveiling of the new Asbury Park Press website. The new site seems inviting and emphasises local stories. It seems easy to navigate and submit stories.
So I checked out the stories submitted and found Bonny had written about homeless shelter's in the Red Bank area. She questioned the requirements to get into shelters and why there were not more options for such an affluent area. In my mind she raised several valid points and the timing of her story around the holidays and with colder weather moving into the State made for an interesting article. Only one problem, even though the story is on their website I can not find any follow by the paper. It appears that the topics discussed were not assigned to any reporter to follow. I have no idea if it is legal to turn away people from a shelter because they lack identification. I can not tell if any elected official is upset with the situation. I do not know how many people are turned away from the homeless shelter or how many are housed at the shelter. There is no perspective from the various religious communities about the situation. In essence I have a posting about a potential problem but no follow up.
If newspapers are going to create greater public involvement in their industry they still need to meet their burden of reporting on the stories they post.
No shelter for the homeless
By bonny • Reader Submitted • November 28, 2007
What’s this?
If you have a record, if you don't have picture ID, you cannot be referred to the area shelter at Fort Monmouth. Unfortunately, these prerequisites leave out quite a few people.
I can only speak in regards to the Red Bank area, where I have found no place to refer homeless men for over-night shelter in this progressively chilly weather.
CheckMate, on the grounds of Fort Monmouth, can only take people after a background check and picture ID. This leaves a gaping hole in the system.
Most of my contact with the homeless has been men, with a record and without ID.
The Salvation Army's new facilitate on Newman Springs Road, although huge, does not have any beds.
As far as I know there is some help for women and children through local churches. Could I be wrong, maybe there's some shelter just waiting to accommodate these unfortunate people.
Surely, in such a wealthy and caring county we provide appropriately for our poor.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Raid or Press Conference?
The recent story about the raid on Senator Joe Coniglio's home and office raise some interesting questions. It has been leaked since late summer that the Senator was a target of a federal probe. Then Coniglio's dropped his reelction bid in September. All signs pointing to legal problems. Then comes this "raid". Not only was it a raid but a photographer from The Newark Star-Ledger was along for the elevator ride with FBI Agents.
The the reporter include these sentences;
Authorities showed up at Coniglio's home earlier in the morning and seized documents and computer hard drives from the two locations, according to a source close to the investigation.
Investigators sought materials related to Coniglio's dealings with Hackensack University Medical Center, which have been under scrutiny for months, according to the source, who requested anonymity.
Followed by;
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, declined to comment on the investigation.
Please don't insult the readers by having a photographer there, an annoymous source, and a spokesman who wont comment and pretend that it just happened that way. We all want to get the truth but a story written on false pretenses doesn't establish a good groundwork.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1195623746154250.xml&coll=1
The the reporter include these sentences;
Authorities showed up at Coniglio's home earlier in the morning and seized documents and computer hard drives from the two locations, according to a source close to the investigation.
Investigators sought materials related to Coniglio's dealings with Hackensack University Medical Center, which have been under scrutiny for months, according to the source, who requested anonymity.
Followed by;
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, declined to comment on the investigation.
Please don't insult the readers by having a photographer there, an annoymous source, and a spokesman who wont comment and pretend that it just happened that way. We all want to get the truth but a story written on false pretenses doesn't establish a good groundwork.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1195623746154250.xml&coll=1
Monday, November 19, 2007
Newspaper Operations to Combine
The Home News Tribune and the Courier News are expected to combine operations at a facility in Piscataway. The two newspapers both owned by Gannett have been slowly combining staff for some time. The move would shift all three major central New Jersey daily newspaper rooms to Piscataway. The Newark Star-Ledger moved its Middlesex County Bureau to Piscatawy three years ago.
The impact will be strongest in the southern Middlesex County areas. It only brings into greater question as to when the Asbury Park Press will start moving north with its coverage area.
The impact will be strongest in the southern Middlesex County areas. It only brings into greater question as to when the Asbury Park Press will start moving north with its coverage area.
Calling Out the Media -
This is from politickernj.com by Debbie Holtz. I dont know the true story behind Holtz but I think the issue is valid.
No Disclosure
By Debbie Holtz
Tags: Al Frank, Rick Perr
Quoting a source with an ax to grind or someone with future political ambitions often calls into question the credibility of the source.
So does quoting a legal expert on a partisan election issue without disclosing the fact that your source also moonlights as a ranking state party official.
That’s what the Star Ledger’s Al Frank did when he reported on last week’s state Supreme Court ruling concerning the Republican's challenge to Democrat Michael Luther’s claim to the Parsippany Mayoral seat. You remember – that’s the election where the ballots were cast over two years ago but the final tallies are still in dispute.
In this case, the facts of the story are not the issue.
It’s the fact that Frank’s expert election law source, Richard Perr, a professor at Rutgers Law School in Camden, is also the head of the Burlington County Democratic Party. But few readers would know – since the story didn't disclose that little detail.
No Disclosure
By Debbie Holtz
Tags: Al Frank, Rick Perr
Quoting a source with an ax to grind or someone with future political ambitions often calls into question the credibility of the source.
So does quoting a legal expert on a partisan election issue without disclosing the fact that your source also moonlights as a ranking state party official.
That’s what the Star Ledger’s Al Frank did when he reported on last week’s state Supreme Court ruling concerning the Republican's challenge to Democrat Michael Luther’s claim to the Parsippany Mayoral seat. You remember – that’s the election where the ballots were cast over two years ago but the final tallies are still in dispute.
In this case, the facts of the story are not the issue.
It’s the fact that Frank’s expert election law source, Richard Perr, a professor at Rutgers Law School in Camden, is also the head of the Burlington County Democratic Party. But few readers would know – since the story didn't disclose that little detail.
Friday, June 1, 2007
HOW THE MEDIA COVERS THINGS
The endless death toll out of Iraq has got me thinking. One, how do we get out of there; and two what if we covered all stories like the war.
Headline - "May 2007 the deadliest month in years"
That headline could mean;
(A) Military deaths in combat, or
(B) US Law enforcement deaths
Under (B) the story would read -10 United States police officers were killed by gunfire in combat in May, while another 10 died of non combat related injuries.
The story could go on to say in the New Jersey region crime continues to
plaque the heavily fortified state capitol. The violence between rival
coalitions (gangs) have left numerous dead in the first few months of
the year. The latest victim a father of five was gunned down on a city
street. In the northern region of Jersey City residents are begging for
help. In an exclusive interview with the Jersey Journal, "We need
help," said Jametta Manigault yesterday near the spot where Toby Lewis
was murdered. "The kids have taken over and we have killing after
killing. I'm tired of hitting the floor. I am afraid."
The point I am trying to make is that while the media highlights military deaths and calls for our immediate withdrawal,the same attention is not given to our own deaths. There is no full page add capturing the lives lost this year to the battle that rages
everyday in this State. There is little attention paid to the inner
city deaths that many seem to turn away from.
The good news is we can pull out of Iraq, the bad news is we can not pull out of the war at home.
Headline - "May 2007 the deadliest month in years"
That headline could mean;
(A) Military deaths in combat, or
(B) US Law enforcement deaths
Under (B) the story would read -10 United States police officers were killed by gunfire in combat in May, while another 10 died of non combat related injuries.
The story could go on to say in the New Jersey region crime continues to
plaque the heavily fortified state capitol. The violence between rival
coalitions (gangs) have left numerous dead in the first few months of
the year. The latest victim a father of five was gunned down on a city
street. In the northern region of Jersey City residents are begging for
help. In an exclusive interview with the Jersey Journal, "We need
help," said Jametta Manigault yesterday near the spot where Toby Lewis
was murdered. "The kids have taken over and we have killing after
killing. I'm tired of hitting the floor. I am afraid."
The point I am trying to make is that while the media highlights military deaths and calls for our immediate withdrawal,the same attention is not given to our own deaths. There is no full page add capturing the lives lost this year to the battle that rages
everyday in this State. There is little attention paid to the inner
city deaths that many seem to turn away from.
The good news is we can pull out of Iraq, the bad news is we can not pull out of the war at home.
Monday, May 21, 2007
AWARDS - WAY TO GO!
New Jersey Chapter Society Of Professional Journalists Excellence In Journalism For 2006 Awards
Note: Results are partial. Not all categories have been reported. Complete results will be posted soon.
DAILY NEWSPAPERS
Deadline Reporting
1. Rick Malwitz, Ken Serrano, Kristen Boyd, Gina Vergel, Home News Tribune, "Monroe Residents in Chile Bus Crash"
Great work, great hustle. Well reported, especially for a story that occurred so far from home.
Note: Results are partial. Not all categories have been reported. Complete results will be posted soon.
DAILY NEWSPAPERS
Deadline Reporting
1. Rick Malwitz, Ken Serrano, Kristen Boyd, Gina Vergel, Home News Tribune, "Monroe Residents in Chile Bus Crash"
Great work, great hustle. Well reported, especially for a story that occurred so far from home.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
THE DANGER OF INTERNET TO NEWSPAPERS
This is from the Wall Street Journal. I think it is worth reading even if it is on the internet for free.
How to Sink a Newspaper
Free news for online customers is a disastrous business plan.
BY WALTER E. HUSSMAN JR.
Monday, May 7, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
One has to wonder how many of the newspaper industry's current problems are self-inflicted. Take free news. News has become ubiquitous, free, and as a result, a commodity. Anytime you are trying to sell something that becomes a commodity, you have lost much of the value in providing that product or service.
Not many years ago if someone wanted to find out what was in the newspaper they had to buy one. But not anymore. Now you can just go to the newspaper's Web site and get that same information for free.
The newspaper industry wonders why it is losing young readers. Those readers might be young, but many of them are smart, not to mention computer-savvy. Why would they buy a newspaper when they can get the same information online for free?
Newspapers initially created their Web sites with the best of intentions. After all, newspapers are in the information business. And rather than fight the new medium, the Internet, why not embrace it? Wanting to be the leading information providers and thereby have the most popular Web site in the community, they posted all of their news online for free.
Exacerbating the problem with free news was the decision by the newspaper industry, which owns the Associated Press, to sell AP copy to news aggregators like Yahoo, Google and MSN. These aggregators created lucrative news portals where the world could get much of the news that was in newspapers. So readers could now get free news not only on newspaper Web sites, but also from portals and aggregators that had a chance to monetize the content, most of which was created and financed by the newspaper industry.
With local radio and television stations also creating Web sites and posting their news for free, newspapers soon realized that much of the news on the broadcast Web sites had been created by the local newspaper. So, whereas before the newspapers were selling print ads while radio and TV were selling air time, now they were all selling the same medium: their Web sites. Since newspapers share their content with the Associated Press so other members can use it, radio and TV members are using much of that content to compete against the newspapers that created it.
Newspapers have for years been frustrated by radio stations which merely read the stories which are printed in that morning's edition. TV stations often get much of their news from the newspapers, too. But reading it on the air is clearly different from posting it online, placing them in direct competition with newspapers' Web sites.
All of this would be fine if newspapers generated lots of additional revenues from offering free news. But the fact is newspapers generate most of their online revenues from classified advertising, not from news. Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, estimated that newspaper Web sites generated 78% of their revenues from classifieds in 2006.
It turns out that a Web site is a very different medium from a newspaper. While consumers often find pop-up ads a distraction and banner ads as more clutter, readers often seek out the advertising in newspapers.
The Inland Cost and Revenue Study shows that newspapers will generate between $500 and $900 in revenue per subscriber per year. But a newspaper's Web site typically generates $5 to $10 per unique visitor per year. It may be that newspaper Web sites as an advertising medium, and free news, just can't generate the revenue to sustain a valued news operation.
In fact, online revenues for the publicly traded newspaper companies in 2005 varied from 1.7% at Journal Register Co. to 5.7% at Belo Corp. The only company higher was the Washington Post Co. at 8.4%. Yet newspapers typically spend 12% or more of their revenues on their news and editorial operations.
The Wall Street Journal Online now has 931,000 paying subscribers, more than the paying subscribers to all but three U.S. newspapers: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Our newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, does not offer our news for free on the Web site. We offer free headlines. On a few selected stories, we offer a few free paragraphs, designed to get people to read our paper. We also offer free classifieds.
Recently I had the opportunity to compare our Web site policy with the free news policies of other papers. For the six months ending March 31, 2007, the newspaper industry's circulation was down 2.1% daily and 3.1% Sunday. By contrast, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's circulation was up 1.24% daily and up less than 1% Sunday.
I was able to make another interesting comparison, too, with the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch. Columbus and Little Rock are both state capitals. Columbus is a larger market, and the Columbus Dispatch's circulation of 217,291 compares with 176,172 for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Up until Jan. 1, 2006, both our paper and the Columbus Dispatch offered news content only by subscription. We even charged the same price, $4.95, for an online monthly subscription, and both of us offered the same style electronic editions.
But Columbus dropped its subscription model on Jan. 1, 2006, and began offering most of its news for free. Its Web traffic and revenues certainly increased. But what happened to its paid circulation?
The six months ending Sept. 30, 2006 was a good comparison, since it compared six months in 2006 when the Columbus Dispatch had free news on its Web site compared with six months in 2005 when it did not offer free news. The Columbus Dispatch's daily circulation was down 5.8% while Sunday was down 1.1% for the six-month period. This compared with our loss of less than 0.4% daily and 1% Sunday.
When I looked at this comparison with Columbus, as well as the newspaper industry's larger losses, it didn't encourage me to change our Web policy to free news.
So what are we doing with our Web site? We have hired a videographer to complement our text coverage in the newspaper. We have added photo galleries to increase the number of photographs beyond what we can publish. We offer an electronic edition where you can search the entire edition by keywords, something you can't do in the print edition. And we offer breaking news email alerts, something else you can't do in print. In other words, we are offering value on our Web site that complements, rather than cannibalizes, our print edition.
Collectively, the American newspaper industry spends $7 billion on news and editorial operations. This includes everything from copy editor salaries to sports travel expenses. In addition, the Associated Press spent about $600 million world-wide in editing and creating news. By offering this news for free, and selling it to aggregators like Google, Yahoo and MSN for a small fraction of what it costs to create it, newspaper readership and circulation have declined.
These declines are accelerating. In 2004 and prior years, industry circulation declines were usually less than 1%. Since March 2005, these declines have been 2%-3% per year. With declining readership comes declining ad revenues, which are followed by layoffs.
The newsroom layoffs are most troubling, as less news with less quality, context and details results in more declines in readership and later, declines in advertising. If the $7 billion spent covering news becomes $6 billion, and later $5 billion, it is not just the newspaper industry that gets hurt. Journalism will be diminished in America with less investigative and enterprise reporting; indeed, less reporting of state houses, city halls, school boards, business and sports. Clearly a lot is at stake.
It is time for newspapers to reconsider the ultimate costs and consequences of free news.
Mr. Hussman is publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
How to Sink a Newspaper
Free news for online customers is a disastrous business plan.
BY WALTER E. HUSSMAN JR.
Monday, May 7, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
One has to wonder how many of the newspaper industry's current problems are self-inflicted. Take free news. News has become ubiquitous, free, and as a result, a commodity. Anytime you are trying to sell something that becomes a commodity, you have lost much of the value in providing that product or service.
Not many years ago if someone wanted to find out what was in the newspaper they had to buy one. But not anymore. Now you can just go to the newspaper's Web site and get that same information for free.
The newspaper industry wonders why it is losing young readers. Those readers might be young, but many of them are smart, not to mention computer-savvy. Why would they buy a newspaper when they can get the same information online for free?
Newspapers initially created their Web sites with the best of intentions. After all, newspapers are in the information business. And rather than fight the new medium, the Internet, why not embrace it? Wanting to be the leading information providers and thereby have the most popular Web site in the community, they posted all of their news online for free.
Exacerbating the problem with free news was the decision by the newspaper industry, which owns the Associated Press, to sell AP copy to news aggregators like Yahoo, Google and MSN. These aggregators created lucrative news portals where the world could get much of the news that was in newspapers. So readers could now get free news not only on newspaper Web sites, but also from portals and aggregators that had a chance to monetize the content, most of which was created and financed by the newspaper industry.
With local radio and television stations also creating Web sites and posting their news for free, newspapers soon realized that much of the news on the broadcast Web sites had been created by the local newspaper. So, whereas before the newspapers were selling print ads while radio and TV were selling air time, now they were all selling the same medium: their Web sites. Since newspapers share their content with the Associated Press so other members can use it, radio and TV members are using much of that content to compete against the newspapers that created it.
Newspapers have for years been frustrated by radio stations which merely read the stories which are printed in that morning's edition. TV stations often get much of their news from the newspapers, too. But reading it on the air is clearly different from posting it online, placing them in direct competition with newspapers' Web sites.
All of this would be fine if newspapers generated lots of additional revenues from offering free news. But the fact is newspapers generate most of their online revenues from classified advertising, not from news. Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, estimated that newspaper Web sites generated 78% of their revenues from classifieds in 2006.
It turns out that a Web site is a very different medium from a newspaper. While consumers often find pop-up ads a distraction and banner ads as more clutter, readers often seek out the advertising in newspapers.
The Inland Cost and Revenue Study shows that newspapers will generate between $500 and $900 in revenue per subscriber per year. But a newspaper's Web site typically generates $5 to $10 per unique visitor per year. It may be that newspaper Web sites as an advertising medium, and free news, just can't generate the revenue to sustain a valued news operation.
In fact, online revenues for the publicly traded newspaper companies in 2005 varied from 1.7% at Journal Register Co. to 5.7% at Belo Corp. The only company higher was the Washington Post Co. at 8.4%. Yet newspapers typically spend 12% or more of their revenues on their news and editorial operations.
The Wall Street Journal Online now has 931,000 paying subscribers, more than the paying subscribers to all but three U.S. newspapers: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Our newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, does not offer our news for free on the Web site. We offer free headlines. On a few selected stories, we offer a few free paragraphs, designed to get people to read our paper. We also offer free classifieds.
Recently I had the opportunity to compare our Web site policy with the free news policies of other papers. For the six months ending March 31, 2007, the newspaper industry's circulation was down 2.1% daily and 3.1% Sunday. By contrast, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's circulation was up 1.24% daily and up less than 1% Sunday.
I was able to make another interesting comparison, too, with the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch. Columbus and Little Rock are both state capitals. Columbus is a larger market, and the Columbus Dispatch's circulation of 217,291 compares with 176,172 for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Up until Jan. 1, 2006, both our paper and the Columbus Dispatch offered news content only by subscription. We even charged the same price, $4.95, for an online monthly subscription, and both of us offered the same style electronic editions.
But Columbus dropped its subscription model on Jan. 1, 2006, and began offering most of its news for free. Its Web traffic and revenues certainly increased. But what happened to its paid circulation?
The six months ending Sept. 30, 2006 was a good comparison, since it compared six months in 2006 when the Columbus Dispatch had free news on its Web site compared with six months in 2005 when it did not offer free news. The Columbus Dispatch's daily circulation was down 5.8% while Sunday was down 1.1% for the six-month period. This compared with our loss of less than 0.4% daily and 1% Sunday.
When I looked at this comparison with Columbus, as well as the newspaper industry's larger losses, it didn't encourage me to change our Web policy to free news.
So what are we doing with our Web site? We have hired a videographer to complement our text coverage in the newspaper. We have added photo galleries to increase the number of photographs beyond what we can publish. We offer an electronic edition where you can search the entire edition by keywords, something you can't do in the print edition. And we offer breaking news email alerts, something else you can't do in print. In other words, we are offering value on our Web site that complements, rather than cannibalizes, our print edition.
Collectively, the American newspaper industry spends $7 billion on news and editorial operations. This includes everything from copy editor salaries to sports travel expenses. In addition, the Associated Press spent about $600 million world-wide in editing and creating news. By offering this news for free, and selling it to aggregators like Google, Yahoo and MSN for a small fraction of what it costs to create it, newspaper readership and circulation have declined.
These declines are accelerating. In 2004 and prior years, industry circulation declines were usually less than 1%. Since March 2005, these declines have been 2%-3% per year. With declining readership comes declining ad revenues, which are followed by layoffs.
The newsroom layoffs are most troubling, as less news with less quality, context and details results in more declines in readership and later, declines in advertising. If the $7 billion spent covering news becomes $6 billion, and later $5 billion, it is not just the newspaper industry that gets hurt. Journalism will be diminished in America with less investigative and enterprise reporting; indeed, less reporting of state houses, city halls, school boards, business and sports. Clearly a lot is at stake.
It is time for newspapers to reconsider the ultimate costs and consequences of free news.
Mr. Hussman is publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
IS THIS NEWS ?
I dont know, but I think in the Star-Ledger's attempt to pull off a scoop they sacfrice independent analysis. They are giving too much play to the trooper and his extra marital affair. There are many reasons the trooper may have been distracted and crashed. He may have heard the Yankees or Mets were losing their game, or maybe the news radio station had a really sad story on, or maybe he heard a funny joke.
To turn a posting on a website into a full front page story is dangerous. There are obvious reasons why the man put the posting out there. He has hatred towards the trooper over the affair. The paper owes us all alot more then the tabloid story it has written. Facts should determine the story not the need for a scoop. The harm in running the story the Star-Ledger ran is that few will recall the outcome of the investigation if the trooper is found not to have been distracted by the email. But everyone will know he had an affair, and I am not sure how fair that is.
Author of angry e-mail to trooper says: 'I hope it didn't cause the crash'
Sunday, April 22, 2007
BY JOSH MARGOLIN AND MARK MUELLER
Star-Ledger Staff
In the days and hours leading up to the crash that critically injured Gov. Jon Corzine, the governor's driver received a flurry of angry communications from the husband of a woman with whom the driver was romantically entangled.
Investigators are now examining whether those communications -- a phone call, text messages and an e-mail -- had any effect on trooper Robert Rasinski's mental state as he was driving 91 mph on the Garden State Parkway April 12.
Rasinski's relationship and its recent discovery by the woman's husband, a Berkeley Heights police sergeant, have taken the 10-day-old crash investigation in an unusual, even surreal new direction as Corzine slowly recuperates from his injuries.
The governor remained in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, but in encouraging signs, he managed to speak with family members and take in small amounts of clear liquid yesterday, the chief of the hospital's trauma department said in a statement. Corzine has been breathing without the aid of a ventilator since Friday afternoon.
In response to questions about the dispute between Rasinski and the Berkeley Heights officer, Detective-Sgt. Michael Mathis, State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes confirmed late Friday that investigators were looking into an unspecified "allegation" made against the trooper. Fuentes did not elaborate.
But new details emerged yesterday in a pair of online postings written by Mathis. A 22-year police veteran, Mathis authored the postings in a Statehouse forum on NJ.com, a Web portal for The Star-Ledger and its sister newspapers. He later confirmed in a phone call that the postings were his.
Mathis, 40, wrote that he discovered a month ago that his wife, 36-year-old Susan Mathis, was having a 2 1/2-year affair and that they are now in the process of divorcing.
He said he confronted Rasinski for the first time in a phone call April 10, two days before the crash, and then exchanged text messages with him April 11 and the morning of April 12.
Just minutes before the crash, as Corzine's two-vehicle motorcade sped northward on the Parkway in Atlantic County around 6 p.m., Mathis sent an e-mail to Rasinski, the officer wrote.
State Police investigators are seeking to determine whether Rasinski saw that e-mail, perhaps through the use of a BlackBerry. Attached to the e-mail was a Mathis family photo, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said.
To turn a posting on a website into a full front page story is dangerous. There are obvious reasons why the man put the posting out there. He has hatred towards the trooper over the affair. The paper owes us all alot more then the tabloid story it has written. Facts should determine the story not the need for a scoop. The harm in running the story the Star-Ledger ran is that few will recall the outcome of the investigation if the trooper is found not to have been distracted by the email. But everyone will know he had an affair, and I am not sure how fair that is.
Author of angry e-mail to trooper says: 'I hope it didn't cause the crash'
Sunday, April 22, 2007
BY JOSH MARGOLIN AND MARK MUELLER
Star-Ledger Staff
In the days and hours leading up to the crash that critically injured Gov. Jon Corzine, the governor's driver received a flurry of angry communications from the husband of a woman with whom the driver was romantically entangled.
Investigators are now examining whether those communications -- a phone call, text messages and an e-mail -- had any effect on trooper Robert Rasinski's mental state as he was driving 91 mph on the Garden State Parkway April 12.
Rasinski's relationship and its recent discovery by the woman's husband, a Berkeley Heights police sergeant, have taken the 10-day-old crash investigation in an unusual, even surreal new direction as Corzine slowly recuperates from his injuries.
The governor remained in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, but in encouraging signs, he managed to speak with family members and take in small amounts of clear liquid yesterday, the chief of the hospital's trauma department said in a statement. Corzine has been breathing without the aid of a ventilator since Friday afternoon.
In response to questions about the dispute between Rasinski and the Berkeley Heights officer, Detective-Sgt. Michael Mathis, State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes confirmed late Friday that investigators were looking into an unspecified "allegation" made against the trooper. Fuentes did not elaborate.
But new details emerged yesterday in a pair of online postings written by Mathis. A 22-year police veteran, Mathis authored the postings in a Statehouse forum on NJ.com, a Web portal for The Star-Ledger and its sister newspapers. He later confirmed in a phone call that the postings were his.
Mathis, 40, wrote that he discovered a month ago that his wife, 36-year-old Susan Mathis, was having a 2 1/2-year affair and that they are now in the process of divorcing.
He said he confronted Rasinski for the first time in a phone call April 10, two days before the crash, and then exchanged text messages with him April 11 and the morning of April 12.
Just minutes before the crash, as Corzine's two-vehicle motorcade sped northward on the Parkway in Atlantic County around 6 p.m., Mathis sent an e-mail to Rasinski, the officer wrote.
State Police investigators are seeking to determine whether Rasinski saw that e-mail, perhaps through the use of a BlackBerry. Attached to the e-mail was a Mathis family photo, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Great Story
You can tell the experience of a writer by the stories they write. Suzanne Russell of The Home News Tribune does an excellent job with her "Today's a Miracle" story. She captures the feeling and emotion of a young girl battling a disease and celebrating life with a party. Ms. Russell has been with the newspaper for years and her skill as a writer shows with this story. She makes you want to reach out and help this young girl without making the story all about the disease she is fighting. She then shows the outpouring of support from the community to help the girl.
Her story captures the beauty of the moment and makes us all stop for a moment. There is little more you can want from a reporter then to make you stop and think.
Her story captures the beauty of the moment and makes us all stop for a moment. There is little more you can want from a reporter then to make you stop and think.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
A 1
I realize with 24 hour cable news covering every minute of Anna Nicole Smith's death things have gotten bad. They only break when they want to update us on Britney Spears on again off again rehab. But what I can not understand is how things have fallen off in New Jersey. I realize I expect alot from my Sunday papers but this week raised more questions.
The past week saw talk of the state budget, federal subpoenas, and civil unions. But the whopper on page A1 of The Home News Tribune was about WRESTLING! Yes if you don't understand the behind the scenes working of wrestling you can turn to the front page, above the fold of today's paper and find out about 23-year-old Rob Strauss. Rob is a wrestler who struggles to make it big - and that is about all the story gave us. Not only can you read the story but there are 7 photos of the wrestling at a Knights of Columbus hall.
Come on is this really front page news. Maybe it belongs in sports or entertainment but the top news of the week. When I read today's paper I try to think of who the target audience is. I would love to know the demographics of the readership. I just can not believe there are senior citizens in Woodbridge or Edison so excited that their questions about wrestling are finally getting answered.
Oh well can't wait for next week - Loch Ness Monster Real or Fake.
The past week saw talk of the state budget, federal subpoenas, and civil unions. But the whopper on page A1 of The Home News Tribune was about WRESTLING! Yes if you don't understand the behind the scenes working of wrestling you can turn to the front page, above the fold of today's paper and find out about 23-year-old Rob Strauss. Rob is a wrestler who struggles to make it big - and that is about all the story gave us. Not only can you read the story but there are 7 photos of the wrestling at a Knights of Columbus hall.
Come on is this really front page news. Maybe it belongs in sports or entertainment but the top news of the week. When I read today's paper I try to think of who the target audience is. I would love to know the demographics of the readership. I just can not believe there are senior citizens in Woodbridge or Edison so excited that their questions about wrestling are finally getting answered.
Oh well can't wait for next week - Loch Ness Monster Real or Fake.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Great Coverage
While the first two posts have been critical of media reporting I realize that the vast majority of stories are well put together. The majority of writers are hard workers who do a tremendous job at informing the public.
One such instance was a story in The Trenton Times on December 23, 2006. The reporter Michael Ratcliffe described in great detail a harrowing house fire that almost cost three Trenton firefighters their lives. Mr. Ratcliffe's writing placed the reader at the scene in the frantic moments as the firefighters were trapped. He then followed up with quotes from the firefighters and union leaders. The story then turned to asking questions about why the tragedy almost took place. The story recognized the amazing rescue but also elevated the discussion of safety at fire scenes.
One such instance was a story in The Trenton Times on December 23, 2006. The reporter Michael Ratcliffe described in great detail a harrowing house fire that almost cost three Trenton firefighters their lives. Mr. Ratcliffe's writing placed the reader at the scene in the frantic moments as the firefighters were trapped. He then followed up with quotes from the firefighters and union leaders. The story then turned to asking questions about why the tragedy almost took place. The story recognized the amazing rescue but also elevated the discussion of safety at fire scenes.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Subpoena Story
Last Saturday all New Jersey newspapers had lead stories about the federal government serving subpoenas on New Jersey's elected officials. In reviewing the stories from the Associated Press and Gannett they appeared similar. The Star-Ledger however had a scoop citing sources with direct knowledge of the probe. They also included the following quote from Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex), "Trenton is on fire..this is the equivalent to Rome burning". They went on to explain that the subpoenas were related to an investigation into Senator Wayne Bryant that had expanded. The sources told the newspaper that they were looking to see if any lawmakers had steered money towards non profit organizations that they would directly benefit from.
The problem I have is that the Star-Ledger only gives us half the story but must know more by the way the story is written. The newspaper says the subpoenas only date back to 2004 but gives no explanation why. The quote used to illustrate the dire straits is not clarified. The reader can not understand why an elected official believes this is such a disastrous occurrence. It appears that the writers and the lawmaker realize the true impact of the subpoenas but fail to tell us what it is. It makes me believe that the writer knows what the subpoenas will uncover but wants to hold off telling us as if this is some suspense thriller or mini series. The writers who cover this beat must know what money was steered to questionable projects but fail to share that with us. If you cite sources with direct knowledge you owe the public more direct knowledge.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-11/117169056125890
The problem I have is that the Star-Ledger only gives us half the story but must know more by the way the story is written. The newspaper says the subpoenas only date back to 2004 but gives no explanation why. The quote used to illustrate the dire straits is not clarified. The reader can not understand why an elected official believes this is such a disastrous occurrence. It appears that the writers and the lawmaker realize the true impact of the subpoenas but fail to tell us what it is. It makes me believe that the writer knows what the subpoenas will uncover but wants to hold off telling us as if this is some suspense thriller or mini series. The writers who cover this beat must know what money was steered to questionable projects but fail to share that with us. If you cite sources with direct knowledge you owe the public more direct knowledge.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-11/117169056125890
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Auditor - Questions
When The Newark Star-Ledger ran the following story I had to read it twice;
"Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura was out eating with his wife and daughter at Birichino Northern Italian Resteraunt on West 29th Street in Manhattan recently when he noticied a familiar face: TV gangster ChristopherMoltisanti from the HBO's The Sopranos, in real life he is actor/ writer Michael Imperioli".
The story goes on to tell how the Sheriff confronted the actor about how he doesn't like the work he does in Essex County. But then the good part;
"He told Imperioli, stay out of Essex County. But in spite of that here is a card for you in case you get caught speeding as your leaving the county. It was a card identifying the holder as a honorary deputy sheriff in Essex."
The Star-Ledger who only months ago was all over the then Attorney General for trying to fix a ticket does nothing to follow through on the story. Are you kidding me? The last time I checked the Sheriff was an elected official who is admitting to giving out cards to get people out of tickets. I bet the hard working residents of Essex County would like the same opportunity to get out of a ticket. It is one thing for someone to have one of those cards and try to get out of a ticket, but for the newspaper to write a story and not follow it up makes you wonder if any reporters have the card as well.
"Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura was out eating with his wife and daughter at Birichino Northern Italian Resteraunt on West 29th Street in Manhattan recently when he noticied a familiar face: TV gangster ChristopherMoltisanti from the HBO's The Sopranos, in real life he is actor/ writer Michael Imperioli".
The story goes on to tell how the Sheriff confronted the actor about how he doesn't like the work he does in Essex County. But then the good part;
"He told Imperioli, stay out of Essex County. But in spite of that here is a card for you in case you get caught speeding as your leaving the county. It was a card identifying the holder as a honorary deputy sheriff in Essex."
The Star-Ledger who only months ago was all over the then Attorney General for trying to fix a ticket does nothing to follow through on the story. Are you kidding me? The last time I checked the Sheriff was an elected official who is admitting to giving out cards to get people out of tickets. I bet the hard working residents of Essex County would like the same opportunity to get out of a ticket. It is one thing for someone to have one of those cards and try to get out of a ticket, but for the newspaper to write a story and not follow it up makes you wonder if any reporters have the card as well.
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