Time to accessorize?

Now that I have to do some reporting regularly (as opposed to editing, which isn't exactly less difficult than reporting but definitely requires less heavy lifting) I realize how much I dislike note taking. Not the gathering of information, but the literal putting pen to paper out in the field.

Now, at my desk on the phone is a different story. for one thing, I typically key in my notes when working a story by phone. Love it. Born to do it. maybe it's because I'm not worried about making eye contact and reading body language.

I even don't mind doing some note taking by hand, the old fashioned way, when I'm at my desk. Maybe it's a comfort level thing.

Out in the field, with a notebook. hate it. Maybe it's my terrible handwriting becomes worse when I'm not leaning over, right elbow propped while holding the phone. Whatever it is (and keep in my mind when I was a young reporter I loved heading out with my notepad. It was sort of romantic like the scenes of reporters at work I saw in the movies growing up) I'd rather work without a pad and pen.

Absent the unlikely event I develop a Rainman-like instant recall, it's time to start exploring electronic alternatives. Keyboarding with laptop or phone seems viable, but rude.

I think it's time to invest in a digital recorder and that software that converts voice recordings to text. Yep, I think I'll be going high-tech.

The Doonesbury debacle

It's still bothering me that many newspapers that run the Doonesbury strip censored it this week out of fear of the potential backlash over the storyline. For those unaware, this week's arc is about a woman in Texas visiting a health care center.

Presumably, the character is seeking an abortion and is confronted with that state's (in my opinion fascist) requirement of having to first view an ultrasound image of her womb. Newspapers who carry the strip are concerned over so-called "graphic" content, although so far, as of day two, I've yet to see it. Some are not running it all. Others, such as my local daily, which is part of the company I work for, found a compromise in which it's publishing this week's strip on its website.

I honestly can't say if that compromise is a Solomon-like decision or a purely opportunistic attempt to drive traffic to its website. Or somewhere in between.

Admittedly, it's easy for me to judge since I wasn't confronted with the decision myself and I do believe the editor and publisher of that paper didn't make it lightly. It's likely that some of the discussion had to include the fact that the majority of the paper's audience is extremely conservative (don't forget, South Carolina voted for Newt Gingrich in the Presidential primary) and running what they would perceive as offensive content is counter intuitive at a time when all newspapers are struggling to retain enough audience to remain viable.

It's pretty much certain that running the strip in print this week would have cost the paper advertisers and I'm pragmatic enough to realize that is something to be avoided.

This makes me nostalgic for the "good old days" when newspapers could afford to let an advertiser walk if it came down to that or self censorship. I recall a chapter in a book chronicling the history of Newsday, a Pulitzer-winning paper on Long Island. The publisher at the time told one of its biggest advertisers, Macy's I think, that he'd rather the company not advertise at all as opposed to advertising less frequently than it had the year before.

In the end, Macy's (I think) decided to renew its 52-week contract.

The company needed the paper's audience that much.

That's still the case today. It's just that some companies forgot that because of the bells and whistles of electronic media (which we're a part of now of course) and some of these really crappy local "magazines" that look pretty, but offer warmed over press releases and genuinely vacuous content and super cheap ad rates.

I want to climb up on my high horse and say I'd always side with free speech when it comes to a potentially inflammatory comic strip, but I can't say I don't understand why some papers would pull it. At the same time, I think if you can't stand behind a longtime, Pulitzer-winning content provider like Gary Trudeau (who I admit has been a favorite of mine for nearly 40 years), then you should just not run it at all.

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.