THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160044
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Editor's Notebook
SOURCE: COLE C. CAMPBELL, Editor
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Ellen Hill of Virginia Beach, who teaches first- and second-graders, took The Virginian-Pilot to task in a letter to the editor.
Our Newspapers In Education newsletter had urged teachers to ``invite students to look through the newspaper for acts of kindness.''
She accepted that invitation herself, analyzing the March 21 edition. Here is part of her critique, which we published on the editorial page:
``The first section was rife with articles of killing, gunmen, court rulings, crashes, diseases, divisive discussions and ethnic murders. . . .
``The MetroNews section offered no respite from the bombardment of despair. Child abuse, killings, robbery, a missing girl, a dead angler had me searching for one positive report - just one - to redeem my efforts. The sports reporters did attest to the fact that there are winners, but alas no acts of kindness.
``I did not, however, lose the battle completely. I found in full support of the challenge a front-page article in the Daily Break about Joyce White and the opportunity she provides young girls to be `queens for a day.' Ms. White and the reporter gave me my one glimpse of the papers' concession to kindness.
``It was not and is not enough.''
Journalists often hear that we don't print enough positive news. We have several useful, but incomplete, justifications for our decisions.
First, we try to mirror what's going on in society. All the suffering reported in that edition occurred. Second, we focus on threats to individual well-being so that people can respond - to demand justice, relief, reform, protection. We emphasize these alarms because they require the most immediate attention.
Third, we point out that we also publish positive stories - and sometimes accuse our critics of not remembering the positive stories as vividly as they remember the negative ones. And we note that a story that seems positive to one reader may seem negative to another. If a business goes bankrupt, that's good news for its competitors, who want to know about the opportunities such news presents.
None of these, however, fully blunts the power of Ellen Hill's critique. The ratio between alarming news and affirming news seems out of whack. Our mirror sometimes seems to be a fun-house mirror that elongates images and reflects a twisted, misshapen world.
And so the journalists of The Virginian-Pilot continue to reassess our coverage strategies.
We will always identify threats to personal freedom, safety and well-being. We will always spotlight those who suffer and those who do wrong, in hopes that others will help end suffering and wrongdoing.
But we also want to do more to create a sense of possibility - that readers can respond to what is wrong in a meaningful way, that people can make progress against the rigors of modern life.
We don't want to indulge in blind optimism - a cheery expectation that things inevitably get better. We do want to nurture hope - a feeling that devoting effort to improve our lives will make a difference.
We believe the answer lies in framing stories from citizens' perspectives, in encouraging conversations among people with different life experiences and expectations, in broadening our sense of what is newsworthy.
Increasingly, you will see experiments in diversifying our coverage. We are moving slowly and deliberately in order to avoid damaging what is vital about our current news report.
Reader Mark Estes noticed some of this in our Sunday, April 2, edition and called the public editor that day:
``I usually avoid reading the paper, especially on Sunday morning to avoid severe depression. But this morning's edition was a real treat, starting off with the positive crime statistics and going back into the issue of finding out how citizens can make a difference in their neighborhoods. An article about strong religious faith in children (was) very appropriate for Sunday morning. And, in the Metro section, the great work going on at Park Church.
``So there is some positive news out there, and I am so happy that you have been able to capture it and put out such a great product for people to make a difference in their community and hopefully their world.
``Great work. Please tell your editor that is exactly what we are looking for in a great newspaper.''
Ellen Hill and Mark Estes are reading the same paper. Both are right. Both are helping us find our way.
Don't expect overnight transformations. But keep your eyes open for new approaches.
And if you see something you like - or, if you prefer delivering negative news, something you don't like - let us know.
by CNB