Questions You've Raised
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Questions You've Raised
Categorized under:We received a letter to the editor criticizing the high prices and poor service at a local food chain. The letter urges local action. Would you publish?
It’s a slippery slope to open your letters column to criticism of businesses. A couple of points on enforcing such a policy:
Jim Pumarlo leads a session on writing strategies for the Ohio Newspaper Association. “Jim delivers the essentials on reporting and writing for community newspapers,” said Frank Deaner, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association. “His presentation is packed with timely and practical examples. He also has detailed handouts that are valuable to the participants.”
Recent Writing
A balanced approach to handling public figures' dirty laundry
Categorized under:The Inlander/July 2010
An individual served six months in jail for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Thirteen years later he filed for mayor.
Another individual was arrested and charged with shoplifting a $6 sewing kit – in her words, she had “forgotten” to pay during a stressful time in her life shortly after her father’s death. Twelve years later, she filed for statewide elective office.
Do you report these transgressions as part of their candidacies? What’s your rationale?
Reporting on sensitive issues requires sound policies
Categorized under:The Inlander/June 2010
Making the right decisions regarding sensitive stories is easier if you have policies in place. Elements of sound policies for reporting sensitive issues are similar to the elements of solid news stories. The same questions should be asked and the same avenues pursued:
Coping with the inevitable 'off the record' requests
Categorized under:The Inlander/May 2010
Editors and reporters must be prepared to confront situations where individuals ask to speak “off the record.” That’s especially the case when writing about sensitive and challenging subjects.
Consider a tip from an assistant in City Hall who just typed a letter ratifying a severance agreement for a department head who is resigning under fire. Or consider a person who alerts the newspaper to the fact that a neighbor is going to volunteer his property as a potential landfill site.
Shine the light on government year-round
Categorized under:Publishers' Auxiliary/June 2010
Convene a discussion about press rights, and most people likely conjure up scenarios of editors and reporters at loggerheads with government officials over access to top-secret data. No doubt, that can be the case, especially on the national stage.
Rights and responsibilities of reporting public records
Categorized under:Publishers' Auxiliary/May 2010
A couple gets a divorce, but it is not recorded in the newspaper until four months later.
Someone appears in court for a domestic assault, but the sentence isn't reported in the newspaper until weeks after the fact.
Their publication likely raises two questions among many readers, especially the subjects of the reports: What constitutes these items as news? Why is there such a delay in the report?
What They're Saying
Election coverage a must for all papers
Categorized under:Publishers Auxiliary/October 2007
Jim Pumarlo has it right when he says election coverage is “among the most demanding tasks in any newsroom.” That’s true no matter what size newsroom, so his practical guide to covering elections, “Votes and Quotes,” from Marion Street Press, should be a useful addition to most editors’ desks.
Pumarlo encourages consistency, endorsements
Categorized under:The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Newsletter/September/October 2007
Whether you believe you’re doing it right or whether you fear you might be doing it wrong, Jim Pumarlo’s latest book “Votes and Quotes” is worth reading if you want to give your readers solid campaign and election news and opinion.
Book endorsements
Categorized under:
Anyone who has edited or published a community newspaper knows the most challenging and, often, agonizing part of the job is dealing with sensitive issues. I dealt with many issues like this during my career as an editor, and wished there was some type of guidance available, not only for the decision to go or not go with the story, but for developing and explaining the policy behind the decision when the inevitable wrath of a few or more readers loomed after the paper hit the newsstands. Now, there is a book that not only advises hometown newspaper editors about the process of handling sensitive stories, but also provides invaluable sample policies that cover everything from delicate subjects such as suicides, to more common content such as weddings and obituaries.
Ken Blum
Black Ink, e-mail Newsletter for Community Papers
Seminar endorsements
Categorized under:
Jim Pumarlo has a knack for bringing newspaper ethics out of the clouds and onto Main Street. He presents real-world ethical issues with great clarity and insight and helps editors and reporters make sound decisions that actually make sense to their readers.
Tom Linthicum
Seminar Associate
American Press Institute
Alexandria, VA
