Editor & Publisher 1996-01-13: Vol 129 Iss 2

61 Pages·15.4 MB·English

PRESS FREEDOM FIGHT REMEMBERED • MORE DEMOCRACIES, MORE VIOLATIOMS
’THE FOURTH ESTATE
the only independent weekly journal of newspapering
Denver Daily
Gannett’s Newsroom Supervisors of the Year, seated, from left: Laurie Holloway, Green Bay; George Bullard
Detroit; Ricardo Pimentel, Tucson; Marilyn Dillon, Bridgewater, N.J. Standing: Diane Davis, Elmira, N. Y.;
Randy Lovely, Fort Myers, Fla.; Kristi Fry, Muskogee, Okla; Tim Chavez, Utica, N Y; Tim Johnson, Richmond
Ind; Andrew Oppmann, Cincinnati; Tonia Cunning Reno, Nev.; Patrick Rice, Jackson, Tenn.; Karen Kurtz,
Olympia, Wash.; Elearwr Ransburg Shreveport, La
A Bodacious
Look At
Fred Lasswell
You can’t put out a good newspaper Recognition Awards.
without good people. Each received $1,000, a day in
You especially can’t do it without Washington attending a special
good people in the critical supervisory symposium, and the applause and
jobs in the newsroom. And exception¬ appreciation of other mans^ers and
al performances deserve exceptional staffers at their newspapers.
recognition. We join in saying thanks for a job
That’s why last month we honored very well done. Because of their
the 15 people shown here with the outstanding work, our readers are
second annual Newsroom Supervisor winners, too.
You
one shot.
only get
Make sure you get the shot—use Kodak professional film.
That’s what Bob Rosato, NFL photographer, did.
His image of tumbles, tackles and flying leaps makes
him the winner of the Kodak/Super Bowl Photography Competition.
Congratulations.
UOMl
blowito ^
KODAK Kktapress Plus 1600 Professional Film
Photo©1995 Bob Rosato, NFL Photos © Eastman Kodak Company. 1995
/f/t/rcc/o ivt w
ijears
DearAbby,
oth777T‘ pendulum to the
omer — and sometimes back again.
guidance^ To
otmra. ^our compassion and common-sen.S
ore than 1,200 newspapers every day
Universal Press Syndicate
the best for many years to come.
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JANUARY
i 18-20 Suburban Newspapers of America Editorial
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j 21-24 Interactive Newspapers ’96 Conference, Hyatt
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I 21-24 National Press Photographers Association Digital
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Working Mother magazine named
I 25-27 Association of National Advertisers Advertising
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better sen/ed because the peopie
I
who oversee and produce the paper MARCH
live in the area. I 1-3 Mississippi Valley Classified Advertising Managers
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what we do. For example, the Times j Conference, Innisbrook Hilton.Tarpon Springs, Fla.
j 3-6 Newspaper Association of America Co-op
has developed one of the nation's
j Conference, J.W. Marriott Hotel, Houston
foremost computer-assisted reporting j 3-8 Newspaper Association of America Newspaper
operations. I Operations SuperConference, Doral Ocean Beach
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j 14-16 Independent Free Papers of America Annual Spring
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the paper - where it beiongs.
j 16-19 Inter American Press Association Midyear meeting,
i Hotel Camino Real, San Jose, Costa Rica
Times readers deserve the best. i 20-22 National Newspaper Association Government Affairs
We deiiver. I Conference, Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol
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‘1995 Scaitorough Report
January February March
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7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 910 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Florida's Best Newspaper 14 15 16 17 18 ll 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Is" 19 20 21 22 23 24 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
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Editor & PuBUSHER ■ January 13,1996
IN BRIEF
Newspapers everywhere ran this
Associated Press photo of an unidentified
man casting a snowball during the New
York Giants-San Diego Chargers football
game Dec. 23. Dozens of snowballs were
hurled onto the playing field, interrupting
the game and injuring San Diego's equip¬
ment manager.
Enraged Giants officials offered a $1,000
reward to anyone who could identify the
man captured by the lens of AP photogra¬
pher Bill Kostroun. Fifteen people came
forward to finger Jeffrey Lange, 26, of
Bridgewater, N.J. Lange, who was
charged with improper behavior, claimed
he was only having some fun with other
fans in the stands.
The Giants ran a full-page advertise¬
ment in the San Diego Union-Tribune,
apologizing for the shameful incident
Seattle Times v.p.
tor that we’ve faced in the past two I tion of journalists, create mechanisms
exec of year years,” said Patroit Ledger publisher K. : to oversee the conduct of journalists
F Prescott Low. “We cannot continue to i and news organizations, and establish a
rank PAIVA,VICE president of pass all of this higher cost to our i council to regulate the media.
operations for the Seattle Times, advertisers through higher rates. The I Joining in the protest were the
has been named Executive of the Year readers have to carry a fair share, too.” i Commonwealth Press Union, London;
by publisher Frank Blethen. The Patroit Ledger paid $550 per I Inter American Press Association, Miami;
Paiva was singled out for his role in metric ton of paper in December : International Association of
planning the newspaper’s North Creek 1994.Today, the price is $760, and I Broadcasting, Montevideo, Uruguay;
production plant, “one of the few new newsprint manufacturers recently I International Federation of Newspaper
printing facilities in the country that announced they will go to $810 a ton i Publishers, Paris; International
has not been plagued by cost overruns, during this quarter. I Federation of the Periodical Press,
operating inefficiencies and operations j London; International Press Institute,
suprises,” according to Blethen. Press groups I Vieima,Austria; and North American
Paiva was also recognized for his i National Broadcasters Association,
commitment to Times employees. defend Kenyan j Ottawa, Canada.
journalists
E Belo stages
Mass, daily
ight major international
presidential
raises price press-freedom groups have urged
C Kenya President Daniel arap Moi to debate
ITING SOARING NEWSPRINT scrap sweeping new proposals to regu¬
expenditures, the Patroit Ledger late journalists and the news media J-^ ALIAS MORNING NEWS parent
of Quincy, Mass., has raised its weekday there. JL/ A.H. Belo Corp. has invited eight
newsstand price to 75<, from 50<. “Such proposals are reminiscent of major Republican presidential candi¬
The evening newspaper also apartheid South Africa,” said Dana dates to participate in a live debate
increased its weekend edition, pub¬ BuUen, executive director of the Reston, that will be televised.
lished on Saturday mornings, to $1, Va.-based World Press Freedom The hour-long event is set for March
from 75 <• The six-day subscription Committee, one of the associations 8, days prior to the Super Tuesday pri¬
price was kept at $3-Weekend delivery mounting the protest. “No country mary elections to be held in seven
went to $l,from 75t. should invade the rights of its citizens states, including Texas.The format fea¬
“Newsprint alone represents 20% of in this way.” tures a moderator and journalists from
our operating expense and it has been, Kenyan authorities are considering the Morning News and Belo’s broadcast
by far, the single-largest cost accelera¬ laws that would provide for the registra- group.
January 13,1996 ■ Editcx & Pubusher 3
SECTIONS NEWS DEPARTMENTS
17
Campus Journalism Inside The Pipeline
Protesters seize student There currently are more women than ever working for
paper, editors want action daily newspapers. Why have so few made it to the very
top of the editorial ladder?
20
12
Newspeople in
the News Clamping Down
California bars journalists from holding individual
interviews with state prisoners. Press groups say there isn’t
21
much they can do about the new rule
Circulation
Denver daily stops rural
distribution
More Democracies, More Violations
Worldwide, democratic governments are increasing.
22
At the same time, however, press freedom
Advertising/ violations persist
Promotion
A number of Utah
newspapers run ad for
Press Freedom Fight Remembered
illegal product
A former New York Times reporter recalls his part in a
1970’s court battle
26
News Tech
Chicago Sun-Times gets
the go-ahead for a
new print site
PAGE 14
28
2
Interactive
Calendar
Communications
30
Writer's Workshop
Syndicates/
News Services ' 6
A profile of cartoonist
Fred Lasswell Editorial
Legal Letters to the Editor
Suicide’s family sues
newspaper; ^
N. Y. Times charged wit
discrimination; Newspaperdom
Reporter, WJC sue to
get Foster records
48
38 Shop Talk at Thirty
Lessons learned about
Classified computer-assisted reporting
PAGE 17
Editor & PuBUSHER ■ January 13,1996
' * bV j ack hart :
The problem
with prepositions
E
nglish is a language of Which suggests a fix for the strings duces the plodding Germanic rhythms
options. The overlay of of prepositional phrases that bog down of a beer-house oompah band.Try read¬
Germanic and Romance gram¬ much newswriting. Leads, in particular, ing this sentence aloud:
mars that created our speech often stutter with a parade of preposi¬ • “In the statement read over televi¬
also created an incredible vari¬ tions. Even worse, they assault readers sion after reportedly meeting with the
ety of routes to the same destination. If with the same preposition. Like this: party leadership for several hours in an
you don’t like the scenery on one, you • “Two persons died in a weekend undisclosed location, since the Central
can try another. You’ll almost never run helicopter crash that also injured three Committee building was now not in his
into a dead end. others . . . hospitalized after spending hands, Gorbachev based his actions on
Or is that a cul-de-sac? the night in the wreckage in the party leadership’s complicity or si¬
One of the choices our lan¬ dense underbrush in rural lence during the coup.”
guage offers involves the Yamhill County.” Can you hear the tubas?
way it expresses relation¬ • “When detectives from No sentence can safely carry more
ships between things. Its the Washington County Sher¬ than three prepositional phrases.This
Latin aspect, which made its iff’s department tapped the one had nine. Less severe cases of
way into English via Norman telephone of Mindi Marie preposition abuse simply result in an
French, is inflective. It ex¬ Tucker eight years ago, the occasional awkward phrasing. We write
presses different relation¬ information they recorded “the movement of the foot in a shoe” in¬
ships by changing word ’i-'J wrapped up their investiga¬ stead of “the foot’s movement in a
forms.To show that a roof rests on a tion of the month-old murder of her shoe.” Or we write “19 children of Sher¬
barn, we change the word “barn” by husband.” ry Scott” instead of “Sherry Scott’s 19
making it possessive; “the barn’s roof.” When prepositions get out of hand, children.”
The German aspect of English, on we can clean things up by dropping Several computerized grammar
the other hand, is distributive. Instead the least important information and checkers generate preposition counts.
of changing the forms of words, it ex¬ shifting from distributive to inflective When RightWriter or similar software
presses different relationships by forms. In the first example, for instance, reveals that more than 15% of your
changing the forms of sentences. we could have written about “two per¬ copy consists of prepositions, you have
Rather than “the barn’s roof,” you write sons who died in a mral Yamhill Coun¬ a problem. Lean writing seldom pro¬
“the roof of the bam.” ty helicopter crash,” eliminating the duces a figure higher than 10 or 12.
Neither approach is necessarily bet¬ need for the last prepositional phrase, If you want practice whittling prepo¬
ter. And each can cause problems. In¬ “in mral Yamhill County.” sitions from your prose, try your hand
flection can produce unpronounceable The same approach to the second at these preposition-rich examples:
plural possessives such as Joneses’. And example would have yielded the “hus¬ • “The daughter of an Illinois couple
distribution can create awkward strings band’s month-old murder.” stabbed to death in a Seaside motel
of prepositions — “of the roof of the One reason for newswriting’s prepo¬ room took the stand Monday in the
bam.” sitional excess is that many reporters murder trial of their accused assailant
Fortunately, English almost always of¬ have simply forgotten Mrs. Grundy’s and identified him as the man she saw
fers an escape. What’s gibberish in the grammar school instruction.They no with blood on his face outside their
German variant is great in the Latin longer recognize prepositions as they motel room.”
form. What twists Latin tongues gets come marching past. • “George Leonard, associate chief of
right to the point in German. For the record, prepositions express the U.S. Forest Service, made the
connections or relationships. Some of administration’s first public statement
Hart, a reporter, editor and journal¬ the most common, such as “of,” “with,” that it would not oppose a permanent
ism school professor, is senior editor and “by” show possession or physical ban on federal exports of Western
for writing and staff development connections. Others show how things logs at a House Interior Committee
at the Portland Oregonian. He are related in space — “in,” “on,”“to,” hearing.”
welcomes comments and published “with,” “over,” “under,” “onto,” “into” and • “Thousands of people with heart
examples — identified by publica¬ “beside.” Still others refer to relation¬ problems may no longer qualify for fed¬
tion, date and page — at 1320 ships in time — “while,”“during,”“after,” eral disability pay under an administra¬
S. W Broadway, Portland, Ore. “until,”“before” and “since.” tion proposal to expand the use of a
97201. Any excess of such prepositions pro¬ controversial exercise test.”
January 13,1996 ■ Editor & Pubusher 5
The Oldest Publishers
and Advertisers Newspaper in America
With which have been merged: The Journalist, established March
22,1884; Newspapeniom, March 1892; The Fourth Estate, March 1,
1894; Editor & Publisher, June 29,1901; Advertising, June 22,1925.
James Wright Brown, Chairman of the Board, 1912 -1959
President,
Editor Emeritus Robert U. Brown (ext. iisi
;the fourth est ate Co-Publisher,
Advertising/Research D. Colin Phillips iext ini
Co-Publisher,
AT bold move Circulation/Production Christopher Phillips iext. ii6i
Executive Editor John P. Consoli iext. 22Si
he rocky mountain News' announcement that it will no
Senior Editor George Gameau iext. 2231
longer sell the paper outside metropolitan Denver as of March
Associate Editors David Astor iext. 226]
is a significant development in the newspaper business. Tony Case iext. 2281
Dorothy Giobbc iext. 2271
Here we have a major metro newspaper — locked in a highly com¬ Laura Reina iext. 222]
petitive circulation battle with the Denver Post — saying it no longer Jim Rosenberg iext 2241
Midwest Editor Mark Fitzgerald
wants to lose money just to be able to crow that it’s the market read¬
Washington Editor Debra Gersh Hernandez
er leader. i
West Coast Editor M.L. Stein
News publisher Larry D. Strutton said circulation is expected to
Copy Editor Jenrifer S.Waber iext. 2301
decline by 5.8% daily and 6.6% Sunday due to the move.The shift is
being made because it is costing the News an average of $35 a week Art Director Hector W. Marrero iext 2211
to deliver the paper outside the metro area, while a seven-day sub¬ Editorial
Production Manner Robert Rivera iext. 2201
scription brings back only $4.75.
It’s trae that readers inside Denver’s primary market are more Advertising Director Steven A.Townsley iext 155]
Sales Representatives Richard H. Henrichs
attractive to advertisers because of their spending habits and proxim¬ Joan E Hohauser iext. i38|
ity to retailers, but newspapers for years have strived to increase cir¬ BReotbsyer Mt J.a Mlonaethye ise xt. 1391
culation in any way they can. Especially in a competitive situation, it’s Peter Solch iext. 160|
always nice to be able to tell an advertiser your newspaper is ranked Advertising
Production Manner Carol Blum iext. 1661
among the Top 25. Elisa L. Miller, Assistant iext. i63|
Even Vernon Mallinen, vice president of marketing for the Post, Classified
Advertising Manner Shawn Olson iext. 2931
expressed surprise at the extent to which the News planned to cut Hazel Preuss, Assistant iext 2931
back its circulation. Circulation
Marketing Director David Williams iext. 2301
Obviously, the Post will attempt to capitalize on its competitor’s
Fulfillment Marnier Marlene Hazzard iext 280|
move, but Strutton says this is to be expected.
Information Services Shqipe Malushi iext. 3311
Newspapers around the country, both in competitive and noncom¬
Promotion Manager Lawrence J. Bumagiel iext. 1301
petitive markets, will be watching this move closely. If it works tor the Denniston Brown, Asastant iext. 1311
OFHCES
News, you may see others jumping on the bandwagon. —J.C.
General nWI9thSL, NewYoik, NY 10011;ai2)6754380;FAX Editorial(212)691-
7287; Advertising [phone]; Circulation [phone]. Corporate email:
ed|[email protected]; Web Site: http/Avww.mediainlb.cotn/edpijb.
Chlcrqco: 8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1601, Chicago. IL 60603; [phone];
The Fourth Estate FAX [phone]. Mark Fitzgerald, Editor; Richard H. Henrichs, Sales
Representative.
Washington: National Press Building. Suite i 128, Washington, DC 20045; (202)
662-7234; FAX [phone]. Debra Gersh Hernandez, Editor.
MHAT ME HAVE SIMCE THE FLA6-BUEMIMG AA^ENPII^EKr^ FAILED A6AIM Long Beach: 369 SeviUe Way. Long Beach, CA 908i4; [phone]; FAX
[phone]. M.L. Stein, Editor
Los Angeles: 2001 S. Barrington Ave., Suite 112, Los Angeles, CA 90024;(310)
996-1440; FAX [phone]. W. Marshall—Marshall, McGinley & Doyle,
Advertising Representatives.
Amendment 1 San Francisco: 450 Sansome St., Suite 1420, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415)
Congres.3 shall make no law respeuting 421-7950; FAX [phone]. P. Scott—Peter Scott & Associates, Advertising
Ian establishment of religion, or prohibiting Represenutives.
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the ^ Charter Member,
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the ^ Audit Bureau zk
right of the people peaceably to a.s.scmble, of Circulatioits J.
and to petition the government for a Member,
redress of grievances. National Newspaper m
Audit Bureau Association
of Circulations Newspaper Association n Vi
WHAT WE’D GETIF THE PMAM TH1M& PASSES Member of America
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Editor 6? Publisher ■ January 13,1996
UMI
INCORRECT VOLUME NUMBER SHOULD READ 129.