A local businessman told me today the paper is too negative. “You have a responsibility to be positive about the town,” he said.
I respect the man and he expressed a commonly held view, so I don’t deride it.
As an editor, it has always been my philosophy to choose a good positive story over a good negative story, if I have a choice between them for the front page.
A lot of factors influence my decision making and most of them are played out instinctively every day. There is no formula and often there are several options which could be equally valid.
A key consideration, but not the only one, is to sell newspapers. People are interested in stories about other people.
They like to read about crime and they like to read NEWs. NEWs is something they don’t already know; something that’s new.
Paid newspapers (those that have a cover price) have to be sensitive to what people like to read, otherwise they would go out of business.
We’ve seen a trend in Australia that free newspapers take a fluffy position, all warm and fuzzy. This affirms the view among some people that paid newspapers are focused on doom and gloom.
I don’t think that’s the case.
When it comes to my responsibility, it’s to reflect society back to itself; the good and the bad. I don’t feel a responsibility to be positive, but I accept one to advocate on behalf of the town.
A journalist’s responsibilities (which I share) are to be accurate, fair, ethical and balanced.
A PR consultant has a responsibility to be positive and I don’t think some people understand the distinction.
Newspapers are not public relations vehicles. They are … newspapers.
An example of our so-called negativity I heard today was placing on the front page the story of an engineering firm going bust, costing more than a dozen jobs. I knew we had that story exclusively (because our company is a creditor), therefore it’s NEWs.
The fate of that business is important to more than a dozen families. And many creditors are unhappy they will receive five cents in the dollar at best. It’s an important story and it needed to be told.
So to critics of negative stories, I say they are part of life. They are also an important part of our business, which is to sell NEWs.
You summed it up with “When it comes to my responsibility, it’s to reflect society back to itself; the good and the bad.”
That’s what I expect out of a paper.
I only get upset when they report details of victims’ injuries and crime scenes. Really. I don’t need to know where and how many times a man was stabbed, or that his face was mutilated. I only need to know he was stabbed to death. The gore is what gets me. THAT is not interesting.