One of the best things about being a journalist is knowing about news before anyone else. Well, almost anyone else. Often it's someone who's part of a story who knows the news first, but he or she is taking it for granted that what they know or what they are planning to do will become a story.
The one I have in mind is almost certain to become a story.
Now, things are different than five, even 10 years ago. First, the explosion of the web made real time news imperative. And I like that. With social media, it's a whole new game and we seem to be making up the rules as we go along. But there will always be stories that are not ready for real time and the one I have in mind fits that bill.
For one thing, even though we have the facts in order, the actual news hasn't occurred yet. But, there is an aspect of it that makes it tempting to report. Reporting it now won't further that story; it could unintentionally shape it, and we'd never want to do that.
However, it's still tempting to share what we know now. After some careful thought, I still think it's best to let things take their natural course and plan for in-depth, rather than real-time reporting.
Of course, if the natural course flows a certain way, there's noting stopping us from doing both. We'll just have to see.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Journalists
I remember when it seemed really cool, exotic even, to think that there's actually a job in which someone is a reporter. Now, I've always been a film buff and growing up there were so many classic films and stories revolving around reporters that didn't glamorize the job so much as make it seem important.
That hasn't changed.
It doesn't matter if you're covering the town council or school board, local fund drives, political campaigns or a war. There are readers on all levels and knowing a reader has invested his or her time in the story, well that makes it important.
I'm thinking about this because in the past couple of days I've had conversations with grizzled editors, mid-level reporters, cubs and recent college graduates who want to be reporters. At least a couple of times a year I meet a kid, someone in elementary or middle school who says he or she wants to be a reporter. They think it's cool. They love to write. They're nosey about things they've heard about, but don't understand.
Knowing that there are always going to be stories that need to be told, stories people want to know about, shenanigans by public officials, lies to debunk and a democracy that hinges on the public's right to know, I just know that there will always be a home for journalists, excuse me, reporters, in the country.
Not a big enough home, mind you, and media consolidation has caused a Draconian downsizing (man, I would love to see private investors start up news companies, print and online so there are as many independent outlets as there are corporate owned; funny thing - newspaper owners used to be happy to break even, let alone make some money. Now, any profit doesn't seem to be enough when you have shareholders and a board of directors to please). Hopefully, though, the really talented ones and the hungry ones who may not be as talented, but still "get it" will have the chance to make a living doing this good, essential work.
That hasn't changed.
It doesn't matter if you're covering the town council or school board, local fund drives, political campaigns or a war. There are readers on all levels and knowing a reader has invested his or her time in the story, well that makes it important.
I'm thinking about this because in the past couple of days I've had conversations with grizzled editors, mid-level reporters, cubs and recent college graduates who want to be reporters. At least a couple of times a year I meet a kid, someone in elementary or middle school who says he or she wants to be a reporter. They think it's cool. They love to write. They're nosey about things they've heard about, but don't understand.
Knowing that there are always going to be stories that need to be told, stories people want to know about, shenanigans by public officials, lies to debunk and a democracy that hinges on the public's right to know, I just know that there will always be a home for journalists, excuse me, reporters, in the country.
Not a big enough home, mind you, and media consolidation has caused a Draconian downsizing (man, I would love to see private investors start up news companies, print and online so there are as many independent outlets as there are corporate owned; funny thing - newspaper owners used to be happy to break even, let alone make some money. Now, any profit doesn't seem to be enough when you have shareholders and a board of directors to please). Hopefully, though, the really talented ones and the hungry ones who may not be as talented, but still "get it" will have the chance to make a living doing this good, essential work.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Finding the right balance
I can't believe it's going on seven years since I came to the Fort Mill Times. Among the many changes since then (personnel, building modifications, musical desks, bee swarms, just to mention a few) the biggest is probably our website. Not just the redesign going on two years now (it's ready for some tweaking and upgrades already!) but my direct role.
I went from being a sort of data entry drone to the person who oversees the site. I even learned how to do a little trouble shooting. But the main task is keeping the site fed with fresh content - and not just stories but photos and video as well. what can be tricky is the balancing act of feeding the web and making sure there's plenty of fresh content for the print edition too.
Part of the problem is I'm not completely sure what readers want from both anymore. Before we redesigned the print product about five or six years ago, we held extensive focus group to gather data that was instrumental in the final project. I think we need another focus group
I think it would be a lot easier to deliver what readers want via the web if we asked them.
I went from being a sort of data entry drone to the person who oversees the site. I even learned how to do a little trouble shooting. But the main task is keeping the site fed with fresh content - and not just stories but photos and video as well. what can be tricky is the balancing act of feeding the web and making sure there's plenty of fresh content for the print edition too.
Part of the problem is I'm not completely sure what readers want from both anymore. Before we redesigned the print product about five or six years ago, we held extensive focus group to gather data that was instrumental in the final project. I think we need another focus group
I think it would be a lot easier to deliver what readers want via the web if we asked them.
Friday, April 15, 2011
It all ads up
Next week's Fort Mill Times (print edition) will be the third one since we started publishing ads on page 1A. So far, I've heard not a single comment from readers about it. Presumably they've noticed the ad, so apparently no one finds it objectionable.
And why should they?
Just because old newspaper folks like me (well, middle aged anyway) have to get used to every little change, doesn't mean we have to project that on readers. For those who have not worked with or lived with newspaper people, realize that most most of us are prone to resisting change. I don't know why, but we tend to be reactionary. Which is ironic because we also tend to get annoyed when officials and readers are reactionary.
Anyway, it made me think of what it must have been like when a publisher back in the day first approached an editor about adding an illustration to the front page (which used to be covered in type - not an inch of white space to be seen!):
"What?! You mean, you want me to cut a story to fit a...drawing?! Are you mad?! I won't do it!"
Or something like that.
It's true that we have to reconfigure things a bit because now there's less room on page 1A for editorial content and "art" (as we call photos and graphics), but really, it's nothing to stress over. After all, no one blinks an eye over ads on our homepage (www.fortmilltimes.com) - in fact we CELEBRATE it. Just another opportunity to evolve.
And why should they?
Just because old newspaper folks like me (well, middle aged anyway) have to get used to every little change, doesn't mean we have to project that on readers. For those who have not worked with or lived with newspaper people, realize that most most of us are prone to resisting change. I don't know why, but we tend to be reactionary. Which is ironic because we also tend to get annoyed when officials and readers are reactionary.
Anyway, it made me think of what it must have been like when a publisher back in the day first approached an editor about adding an illustration to the front page (which used to be covered in type - not an inch of white space to be seen!):
"What?! You mean, you want me to cut a story to fit a...drawing?! Are you mad?! I won't do it!"
Or something like that.
It's true that we have to reconfigure things a bit because now there's less room on page 1A for editorial content and "art" (as we call photos and graphics), but really, it's nothing to stress over. After all, no one blinks an eye over ads on our homepage (www.fortmilltimes.com) - in fact we CELEBRATE it. Just another opportunity to evolve.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The vision for a museum in Fort Mill
It seems so long ago that, like a lot of other people around here, I was excited by the idea of an interactive museum that would not only celebrate the environment, but draw tourists to Fort Mill.
Face it: this is a great place to live and has lots of natural charm and beauty (if you know where to look and by that I mostly mean down by the river and the various sections of the Anne Springs Close Greenway and the Nation Ford Thread Trail), but if downtown revitalization is ever going to take hold, Fort Mill needs a major destination point.
The museum seemed like a natural. Overlooking the Catawba River, it would educate, enlighten and entertain kids and adults alike. Some cozy motels and B&Bs would spring up to accommodate the visitors who would stay the weekend and while here, take in the other sites, eat at local restaurants and antique hunt at the Knife Shoppe.
At one point, the museum's PR folks gave us sharp looking renderings of what this almost futuristic center would look like.
Then...nothing happened.
Mainly that's because the foundation set up to raise funds for county museum projects was finding it difficult to attract donations. Of course, the biggest donation that predated the museum idea itself was the 400 acres of luscious property where it would be created. The gift of land by Jane Spratt McColl did not come with any conditions other than it should be "green space" for the public's enjoyment. It did suggest that a nice museum would be, good too.
The stewards of that gift were inspired. I get it. Their enthusiasm got me juiced, too. So, the lack of cash donations to make it happen it get them down - it made them creative. Instead of a sort of vague environmental theme, this museum would celebrate the town's mill history.
Now that's something you can hang your hat on. In fact, the Fort Mill corner of the textile exhibit at the Museum of the New South made me realize that a Fort Mill/Springs themed museum would be a fitting tribute and, if done right, pretty interesting for folks who "ain't from here."
That idea lasted about a minute because before you could say Col. Elliott White Springs, the idea morphed into a celebration of the Catawbas. Fair enough. If not for them, Thomas Spratt would never have become Kanahwa...which brings us to the next incarnation: A new subdivision (because Lord knows, we don't enough of those here) called Kanahwa that would help fund the museum.
Not just any subdivision, but a sustainable one. A green one. Outside of making sure homes would have lots of natural light and sidewalks that included bits of recycled tires, I still don't understand what that was supposed to be, exactly.
Chances are we'll never know because the developer, Cherokee, brought it to make that happen bolted the deal when the recession hit and now the folks who were gifted the property owe the developers - who built nada here, BTW - more than $3 million. This is a non profit foundation that's supposed to come up with that $3 million (plus).
I don't think there was any bad intent here on anyone's part. My guess is the foundation may have gotten in over its head when it partnered with an explicitly for-profit developer which was smart enough to make sure that if the deal went south, they were gonna get paid.
Sadly, I could imagine the developers salivating when approached about coming aboard. Like we used to say, "they saw them coming..."
I guess the moral here is, when the gift of a beautiful piece of land meant for public use becomes real estate, some of that good intent that was in bloom starts to wither and die.
Face it: this is a great place to live and has lots of natural charm and beauty (if you know where to look and by that I mostly mean down by the river and the various sections of the Anne Springs Close Greenway and the Nation Ford Thread Trail), but if downtown revitalization is ever going to take hold, Fort Mill needs a major destination point.
The museum seemed like a natural. Overlooking the Catawba River, it would educate, enlighten and entertain kids and adults alike. Some cozy motels and B&Bs would spring up to accommodate the visitors who would stay the weekend and while here, take in the other sites, eat at local restaurants and antique hunt at the Knife Shoppe.
At one point, the museum's PR folks gave us sharp looking renderings of what this almost futuristic center would look like.
Then...nothing happened.
Mainly that's because the foundation set up to raise funds for county museum projects was finding it difficult to attract donations. Of course, the biggest donation that predated the museum idea itself was the 400 acres of luscious property where it would be created. The gift of land by Jane Spratt McColl did not come with any conditions other than it should be "green space" for the public's enjoyment. It did suggest that a nice museum would be, good too.
The stewards of that gift were inspired. I get it. Their enthusiasm got me juiced, too. So, the lack of cash donations to make it happen it get them down - it made them creative. Instead of a sort of vague environmental theme, this museum would celebrate the town's mill history.
Now that's something you can hang your hat on. In fact, the Fort Mill corner of the textile exhibit at the Museum of the New South made me realize that a Fort Mill/Springs themed museum would be a fitting tribute and, if done right, pretty interesting for folks who "ain't from here."
That idea lasted about a minute because before you could say Col. Elliott White Springs, the idea morphed into a celebration of the Catawbas. Fair enough. If not for them, Thomas Spratt would never have become Kanahwa...which brings us to the next incarnation: A new subdivision (because Lord knows, we don't enough of those here) called Kanahwa that would help fund the museum.
Not just any subdivision, but a sustainable one. A green one. Outside of making sure homes would have lots of natural light and sidewalks that included bits of recycled tires, I still don't understand what that was supposed to be, exactly.
Chances are we'll never know because the developer, Cherokee, brought it to make that happen bolted the deal when the recession hit and now the folks who were gifted the property owe the developers - who built nada here, BTW - more than $3 million. This is a non profit foundation that's supposed to come up with that $3 million (plus).
I don't think there was any bad intent here on anyone's part. My guess is the foundation may have gotten in over its head when it partnered with an explicitly for-profit developer which was smart enough to make sure that if the deal went south, they were gonna get paid.
Sadly, I could imagine the developers salivating when approached about coming aboard. Like we used to say, "they saw them coming..."
I guess the moral here is, when the gift of a beautiful piece of land meant for public use becomes real estate, some of that good intent that was in bloom starts to wither and die.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Furcations are just weird
OK, first understand that I'm not one of those people who daydreams about time off because:
1. I love what I do
2. I hate being disoriented when I return from being away
3. I don't have any money with which to travel to places I want to travel to
However, I admit that about once a year I do feel pretty stressed out and need some time off. That's when I usually take what amounts to a staycation, because even when I DO go somewhere, it's not terribly far (as far as the budget and common sense permits).
Now, this furcation deal, that's another animal. Sure, there's plenty to accomplish with the time off and I hope to, but right now I'm just trying to orient myself to the new schedule and planning for paying next month's bills with one less week's pay.
Not fun.
That said, it's really difficult to not check in with work by keeping an eye on the web site and looking at e-mail. The latter is forbidden under furlough rules, so I'll not be pushing that tempting red button.
What's worse though, is that with our web-based production system, I can log on and pretty much figure out what's going on, what we're working on, planning, etc. Tempting, but as much as that forbidden red button compels me, I can't push it without risking termination or at least another week off with no pay.
So, as of midnight tonight, I'm a civilian for a week. Can't even be a citizen journalist in my own town.
Bummer.
That said, if you have any news tips, please contact the Times (547-2353) or e-mail jbecknell@heraldonline.com
1. I love what I do
2. I hate being disoriented when I return from being away
3. I don't have any money with which to travel to places I want to travel to
However, I admit that about once a year I do feel pretty stressed out and need some time off. That's when I usually take what amounts to a staycation, because even when I DO go somewhere, it's not terribly far (as far as the budget and common sense permits).
Now, this furcation deal, that's another animal. Sure, there's plenty to accomplish with the time off and I hope to, but right now I'm just trying to orient myself to the new schedule and planning for paying next month's bills with one less week's pay.
Not fun.
That said, it's really difficult to not check in with work by keeping an eye on the web site and looking at e-mail. The latter is forbidden under furlough rules, so I'll not be pushing that tempting red button.
What's worse though, is that with our web-based production system, I can log on and pretty much figure out what's going on, what we're working on, planning, etc. Tempting, but as much as that forbidden red button compels me, I can't push it without risking termination or at least another week off with no pay.
So, as of midnight tonight, I'm a civilian for a week. Can't even be a citizen journalist in my own town.
Bummer.
That said, if you have any news tips, please contact the Times (547-2353) or e-mail jbecknell@heraldonline.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Where in the township?
Bouncing around today. Just finishing an amazingly good, but light, lunch at Bacintyme (quiche with walnut and apple and a side of fresh greens; iced green tea to drink) and having a discussion about the media's role in perpetuating sideshow stories like Charlie Sheen.
We agree that there's a place for "news" of this sort, but like all junk food, it's best to keep it to a minimum.
Wish the major media would keep that in mind. The public is an addict when it comes to that sort of thing and "we" shamelessly feed the jones!
Anyway, back to the office for some housekeeping type things, then will head out to Inspiration Networks to check out their coffee shop and do a little work there.
p.s. "Where in the township?" will be an occasional theme here. But don't call me Carmen.
We agree that there's a place for "news" of this sort, but like all junk food, it's best to keep it to a minimum.
Wish the major media would keep that in mind. The public is an addict when it comes to that sort of thing and "we" shamelessly feed the jones!
Anyway, back to the office for some housekeeping type things, then will head out to Inspiration Networks to check out their coffee shop and do a little work there.
p.s. "Where in the township?" will be an occasional theme here. But don't call me Carmen.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Web v. print
After mobility, agility and immediacy, one of the great advantages to publishing online versus print is the ability to fix a typo.
I take responsibility for all typos and each one that gets published is like 100 paper cuts to the tongue (anyone ever see "Swimming with Sharks" with Kevin Spacey and Frank Whaley?). What's really vexing though is how the same typo can evade three or more sets of eyes.
This is a week in which great stories are just falling from the sky. Now, not a week goes by in which there are more stories than we can get to given the limitation of time and human resources, but this one is exceptional.
That's where the website comes in handy, though. The trick is balance between the two mediums, however. After it's online, is their more to say that we can put in the next print edition?
It's especially tricky when your print edition only comes out once a week. One issue is that when we publish a story to the web site, it's free game for the papers in our news group. So if, say, The Herald, runs a story we just put online in the days day's daily paper, what, if anything, can we do to make the story interesting to our print audience in a time span that can be anywhere from one to seven days?
It's the sort of thing that can gum up the works while trying to figure out a solution. No one needs their works gummed up.
I take responsibility for all typos and each one that gets published is like 100 paper cuts to the tongue (anyone ever see "Swimming with Sharks" with Kevin Spacey and Frank Whaley?). What's really vexing though is how the same typo can evade three or more sets of eyes.
This is a week in which great stories are just falling from the sky. Now, not a week goes by in which there are more stories than we can get to given the limitation of time and human resources, but this one is exceptional.
That's where the website comes in handy, though. The trick is balance between the two mediums, however. After it's online, is their more to say that we can put in the next print edition?
It's especially tricky when your print edition only comes out once a week. One issue is that when we publish a story to the web site, it's free game for the papers in our news group. So if, say, The Herald, runs a story we just put online in the days day's daily paper, what, if anything, can we do to make the story interesting to our print audience in a time span that can be anywhere from one to seven days?
It's the sort of thing that can gum up the works while trying to figure out a solution. No one needs their works gummed up.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hypocrite!
What bothers me the most about this story (link below) is Rep. Mulvaney more or less dodged the question about accepting taxpayer funded healthcare when he was campaining against it and here he is side-stepping rather an answering why he's not a hypocrite.
At the same time he get to repeat a nonsensical mantra:
How can it be a 'takeover' when there's no public option?
I'm still waiting for a list of jobs healthcare reform killed - especially those killed before the law made any impact at all.
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2011/02/19/1449624/mulvaney-signs-up-for-fed-med.html
At the same time he get to repeat a nonsensical mantra:
"That has nothing to do with opposing ObamaCare — which is a massive health insurance takeover."
How can it be a 'takeover' when there's no public option?
I'm still waiting for a list of jobs healthcare reform killed - especially those killed before the law made any impact at all.
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2011/02/19/1449624/mulvaney-signs-up-for-fed-med.html
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