The Web site vs. the newspaper

I start most days at the office clearing my messages then checking our Web site. I check for breaking news and Liz Fabian’s morning update, and I like to see which online stories from the previous day were most popular with readers. Online Editor Beth McFadyen posts that information in a list of "top stories at macon.com."

The list sometimes fuels discussion during our daily newspaper critique and when we’re selecting front-page content for the next day’s edition. The conversations can be alternately fascinating and frustrating.

Some people tell me that what and how people read online doesn't necessarily translate to how they consume newspaper content. As a matter of practice, the lead story in The Telegraph often is not the lead story at macon.com.

It’s not hard to predict the kinds of stories that make the Top 10 list online: crime of all sorts, with news of the bizarre not far behind. Sure, other types of stories make the list. Reports of business openings and closings tend to generate a lot of page views. Sports news (any news about the selection of UGA’s famous mascot, for instance), and certain local government stories do pretty well, too. But nothing is as predictable as crime-related stories.

Crime news typically helps newspaper sales, too, but we don’t build our front page based on that knowledge. We offer variety, from watchdog journalism to feature and trend stories. But I can’t say that online results don’t influence those decisions, even if the influence is subtle.

Should what we know about our online readers be instructive to newspaper editors, who, frankly, want folks to keep buying the newspaper? What is it you look for at macon.com and how is it the same as, or different from, what you look for in the newspaper?

Macon.com changes designed just for you

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve seen the new macon.com.

Yes, we’ve changed, because we believed we could make your online user experience better.

It’s been a few years since we redesigned our Web site, and it was time for an update. We wanted to make it easier to use, and we wanted to make it more attractive. We believe we’ve accomplished both.

We have streamlined the home page, providing a hierarchy of the most important news of the day, complemented by easy-to-find links to a wide variety of content, from local news to restaurant reviews. We have updated all sections of the site, and provided more and better spaces for our advertisers.

We’ve experienced tremendous growth at macon.com over the past year. More people are visiting the site each day. They are viewing more pages and spending more time per visit. We believe macon.com is the go-to site for breaking news, but it is also the pre-eminent site for in-depth local news for Middle Georgians and people interested in Middle Georgia. Our goal is to provide even more content throughout the day and to make it easier for users to find what they need when they need it.

Online manager Ryan Gilchrest has been the leader in our redesign efforts. He is very much in tune with the latest developments in online content management and the tools needed to make our online site as accessible and user-friendly as possible. In short, he makes sure that everything works. Meanwhile, Beth MacFadyen, Senior Editor for Online News, ensures that visitors get the most current news as quickly as possible and that the site is rich with other kinds of local content, whether photo galleries from our award-winning photo staff and our readers, or video from multimedia reporter Liz Fabian.

Visitors expect to get fresh and unique content at macon.com and we aim to deliver.

As with any new endeavor, the new and improved macon.com may take some getting used to. We’ve prepared a video and photo presentation on the site to guide you through the changes. In addition, there is a list of frequently asked questions, and as readers pose new questions, we’ll add those to the list.

We hope you continue to find macon.com and The Telegraph the place to go for news, entertainment and advertising. Let us know what you think about the changes. Send your comments or questions to www.macon.com/feedback.

Go to macon.com to listen to audio webcast of WRALL regional games

Newspapers, including this one, are often accused of reporting bad news in excess. Our coverage of the Warner Robins American Little Leaguers' quest to repeat as world champs is anything but bad news, but, yes, I've heard the word excess used in connection with our coverage so far.

We'll take the criticism. We're having a good time writing about 12 young men and their coach having the time of their lives. We put their faces on the front page of the newspaper. We'll have stories throughout the weekend. If they continue to play well, we'll have coverage all next week.

Beginning Saturday, the first day of the Southeast regionals in Florida, The Telegraph will provide an audio webcast of the game. Warner Robins faces Tennessee at 1 p.m. Listeners can go to macon.com and hear sports writer and columnist Mike Lough's account of the on-the-field action. Reporter Joe Kovac, who covered the WR team last year, will also be on hand. Joe and Photographer Jason Vorhees also will provide daily updates on macon.com and coverage in The Telegraph.

We hope you enjoy the coverage -- in excess.


LOOKING TO SPOTLIGHT PEOPLE DOING GOOD

In all seriousness, Telegraph editors listen to criticism of all sorts, and we've heard plenty of it lately. A commom criticism is that we (and newspapers in general) print bad news because it sells, and that we ignore so much good that happens. In fact, we strive to find and tell stories of people doing good. One of my favorite appeared on Page One last Saturday, and was written by Amy Leigh Womack.

It was the story of two Macon firefighters who responded to a house fire near Pio Nono. Two young children were in the fully-engulfed home. The firefighters wanted to go in to save the boys. The firefighters’ supervisor gave them 30 seconds to attempt a rescue.

They found the children, but it was too late to save their lives. (Three people have been charged with murder and arson in connection with the fire.)

I imagine firefighters are trained for circumstances such as this. Nonetheless, our community should be grateful for such remarkable public servants. No matter the training, entering that house could have cost more lives.

If you know of people doing remarkable work in the community, call our tipsline at 478-744-4636 or e-mail me at smarshall@macon.com


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES?

Much of what The Telegaph publishes about the presidential race is provided by our wire services. That coverage is important, but it doesn't always reflect the issues and concerns of the people in our coverage area. As we plan to focus our attention -- and yours -- on the race in the coming months, we'd like to hear what you want to know about the candidates and their positions. Again, e-mail me at smarshall@macon.com.

Crime package, forum were efforts to start more community conversations

As The Telegraph planned its crime package, which was published this weekend, we quickly concluded that we wanted the public to have a say regarding what we published as well as any other issues about crime. We brought together an experienced panel of law enforcement experts to answer any questions.

We applaud the heads of law enforcement in Bibb and Houston counties and in Fort Valley, Macon and Warner Robins. We also applaud the community panelists who prepared thoughtful questions for the panel.

We hope those of you who turned out were enlightened -- and maybe emboldened. Bibb County Sheriff Jerry Modena was not alone in driving home how important it is to have involved people in the community to help fight crime. It is not the job of law enforcement alone.

I wish more folks had attended. We expect to host community forums on other topics in the future. Meanwhile, if you missed the crime forum, you have an opportunity to see and hear some of the discussion. Cox Channel 15, in partnership with The Telegraph, will air a special on crime throughout the month of May. Check the newspaper or macon.com for more dates and times.

Free community forum on crime to be held tonight at the Douglass Theatre

If you have a concern about crime and you want your voice to be heard, plan to attend a forum called “Where Crime Happens,” from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the Douglass Theatre. Top law enforcement officials will take questions from a panel of community members. Officials also will answer questions submitted by audience members.

The forum follows The Telegraph’s publication Sunday and Monday of a series of stories about crime.

Several months ago, Telegraph reporter Amy Leigh Womack started collecting statistics for a range of crimes that law enforcement agencies are required to report to the state. Those statistics eventually become part of the public domain, published as part of what are called Uniform Crime Statistics.

With so much emphasis on crime, particularly in Macon -- for instance, a group of citizens convened by The Telegraph last year as part of a project called Mission Possible listed crime among its top concerns – Amy’s pitch to do a story about where crime happens was given the green light. She launched her project during a year in which the number of homicides in Macon and Bibb were up significantly compared to the previous year. That spike, between 2006 and 2007, was explainable (the number of homicides in 2006 was particularly low), but the number was still attention-grabbing. Where crime happens and to whom seemed the right target for a closer examination.

What about crime downtown? Is it as bad as one sometimes hear? And what about the Macon Mall? Who among us hasn’t heard someone suggest the mall isn’t safe, especially after dark?

The stories published over the weekend won’t be the definitive word on crime in our region. Not even close. The reports by Amy Leigh and other staffers who joined her in this effort are based on crimes reported during a short window of time, either 2006 or 2007. This is truly a snapshot, but the findings are nonetheless interesting and insightful.

Amy Leigh’s efforts were focused largely on Bibb and Macon, but she also looked at statistics from Jones, Monroe, Baldwin and Laurens counties. Public safety reporter Becky Purser, who works in our Houston bureau, wrote about crime in Houston County, Warner Robins and Fort Valley, and Ashley Joyner, who covers the police beat at night from our Macon office, looked at the 2007 homicides, including the impact of homicide on a family of a victim.

We view this report as the start of a community conversation on crime. To that end, The Telegraph is partnering with Cox Channel 15, Mercer University and the Douglass Theatre to sponsor Tuesday night’s forum.

We hope you can join us in this conversation. If you can’t, send your questions to Amy Leigh Womack at awomack@macon.com.

Feel free to e-mail or call me as well at (smarshall@macon.com) or 478-744-4340.

Was top of Page One the right place for story on plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulatory system?

Our lead story in the Tuesday edition of The Telegraph was an Associated Press story about the Bush administration’s plan to overhaul the financial regulatory system.

At our Monday afternoon news meeting, Telegraph editors had plenty of interesting options for Page One, but the financial story provided what we call a strong “lead’ -- meaning it was important and timely (the plan had just been announced; it was unveiled at a time the nation is grappling with a struggling economy; and it was seen as an ambitious undertaking by an administration near the end of its term).

The question, though, was whether the story would be written in laymen’s language. Would the impact of the proposed move be apparent to the average reader? Put more bluntly, would readers care about this story?

Ok. We had more than one question.

In the end, the story was as I had envisioned: Important, absolutely, but probably not all that engaging for many readers. In other words, it had a narrower appeal than we like for placement on Page One, and seemed a better fit for the Business front.

Meanwhile, failing to make the Page One cut was a fascinating story about the Army allowing married couples in war zones to live together. The story would not have replaced the financial system story as a lead, but it may have appealed to more readers.

Curious how other McClatchy newspapers displayed the financial system story, I looked at a number of front pages, which can be found each day on the McClatchy Web site, mcclatchy.com.

The Raleigh News and Observer ran the story as its lead, while The Charlotte Observer had a bottom-of-the-page photo that referred readers to a story in the business section. So did the Sacramento Bee, which, by the way, put the Army story on Page One. The Myrtle Beach Sun opted for the Army story, too, with no mention of the Bush financial plan on the front. The State in Columbia, S.C., had an above-the-masthead summary key to the financial story.

Doesn’t mean one paper was right and another wrong. There is no science to story placement, and the day’s offering of local news obviously was part of the equation. Just a little insight into our daily deliberations.

While I’m thinking about it, if you go to mcclatchy.com and click on front pages, take a look at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram and tell me what you think of its Page One approach to the news.

Pretty in Pink: It’s Macon’s season to shine

The Telegraph staff will be out in full force over the next 10 days covering the Cherry Blossom Festival. By the time the event ends, most of us involved in the coverage will hope we’ll never see pink again. That sentiment will last for about a year, by which time we’re recharged and eager to embrace another edition of Macon’s finest festival.

With chests puffed with pride, we'll brag to our friends that Macon has more cherry trees than Washington, D.C. (home to that other cherry blossom festival) as we direct visitors to a favorite venue or event.

In today’s paper, you’ll find a special Cherry Blossom Festival section listing a host of fun events. The section includes useful information such as where to buy tickets, or gifts, or where to catch up to a bus tour. We hope you’ll use it to plan your Cherry Blossom outings.

You can also find a calendar on our Web site, macon.com. We invite you to visit macon.com each day during the festival. We’ll have plenty of things to show and tell, including lots of colorful photos from our staff photographers and our readers, and regular postings from our cherry blogger. There’s a special CBF site already on our Web site, so please take a look and tell your friends to submit their photographs.

Meanwhile, if you have a fresh idea for a story about the festival or any of its many volunteers, we’re all ears. Call me at 744-4340 or shoot me an e-mail. If it’s next week, and I don’t get right back to you, be patient. I’m probably standing in line for my scoop of Cherries and Cream ice cream. It was so popular last year that I missed out on it. Not this year, baby.

Too many errors? Trying harder to get it right

We took a lot of heat – and rightly so – for the recent “I have a deam” headline on the Editorial page.

Some readers and letter writers noted that the headline was just one of many bloopers that appear in the newspaper. They’re right about that, too.

So are these errors occurring because the people we hire to write and edit copy are poorly trained compared to people who sat in their chairs twenty years ago? Are we too short-staffed? In the too-frequent cases of subject-verb disagreement, do Telegraph staffers simply not care about the English language? Don’t we realize that misspelling a name makes readers wonder what else we might have wrong? In the end, don’t these mistakes, which at a minimum make us look sloppy, also affect our credibility?

One letter writer responding to the “I have a deam” headline allowed as how we all make mistakes and suggested we get on with matters of more substance.

I appreciate that reader.

But . . . some of us in today’s newsroom may not be as disciplined about language usage as our predecessors. Multitasking has meant a little less focus on one craft as we ply another; blogging and the instant posting of breaking news online doesn’t breed accuracy (Note my own use of pour instead of poor in a recent blog entry). Almost every editor in the country will say his or her newsroom could use more staff.

Still, journalists at the Telegraph do care about the English language and good grammar, and they care about accuracy. We are scared to death that we are hurting our credibility one garbled headline at a time, one wrong address or phone number at a time. No one gets a pass. All of us at the paper who touch copy – and there are many of us - need to be more careful.

Let me say it before the most cynical of you do (is there any one more cynical than a journalist?): You don’t care why it happens, you just want it to stop.

We agree. We’re going to work harder to prevent errors. And we’re going to do a better job of tracking errors – as a way of holding each other accountable and, most importantly, learning from our mistakes.

When we fall short, as we will, we expect you’ll let us know. That, too, should help set us on a better path.

Readers say some photos not fit to print

Some months back, The Telegraph published a photo of an accident scene in which a teen was killed. The photo showed sheriff and other emergency personnel on the scene. The car was upside down near the pole it had hit.

Initially I didn’t notice the teen’s body on the ground covered by a sheet, nor did a number of others who saw the photo.

But the teen’s mother noticed. And she was furious. To her, the picture was disrespectful. She was in great distress, and publication of the photo added to the tragedy, she said.

The Telegraph also caught heat when it photographed a picture of a boy who had just walked upon a scene of a murder-suicide involving his parents. That picture didn't show the boy’s face, but there was no mistaking his grief. More recently, family members complained we were insensitive when we published a photo taken at the scene of a fatal accident at a local workplace. Again, the photo showed a covered body.

Over the years, we’ve had to make tough calls regarding publication of photos. We sometimes decide to publish recognizing our decision might bring complaints. Often, though, the photos that create the most furor are ones we least expect.

Photo chief Woody Marshall, after hearing me pontificate about being sensitive to readers and families, pulled out a number of pictures we have published, none of which brought a complaint: workers removing a body from a lake, a bag of human bones from an overgrown field.

These are news photos, he argues, adding that we second-guess ourselves only when someone, usually a family member, complains. Second-guessing is a poor substitute for setting guidelines and standards.

So what are our guidelines about publishing pictures of bodies or other potentially controversial content? We first consider the news value. Does the picture tell the story or help make what happened clearer to readers? It the photo powerful? Even if we believe a picture has high news value, that doesn’t mean we automatically will publish. Many newspapers, maybe most, declined to publish photos of people jumping from the World Trade Center towers. We didn’t publish pictures of a baby’s body being recovered after hours in a hot car.

But we don’t try to shield readers from everything that might make them uncomfortable.

There is no science to what we do, and we don’t always make the right call. But we don’t operate blindly. We try to ask good questions, solicit other views, and consider the consequences and impact.

Obama vs. Clinton: Did the Telegraph deliver?

What a difference a few hours makes.

With polls indicating that Barack Obama would easily win the New Hampshire primary, I left work early evening Tuesday, grabbed dinner, went home and took a nap. I awoke to the news that Hillary Clinton had edged out Obama. It was around 11:15.

Earlier in the day, editors had discussed how we would display the New Hampshire results. None of us expected a surprise, though one editor noted that the story would take on more significance if Hillary won. And because of the early Iowa results, we didn’t ask for later deadlines.

I don’t know how many people stayed up to watch the numbers come in. More importantly, if they did watch, I don’t know what they expected to see in their morning newspaper. With round-the-clock coverage on TV and on Web sites, by morning the "news" is not always the score; rather it is the analysis, the perspective, the "what's next." McClatchy's Washington bureau had budgeted such a story.

The New Hampshire results came in later than we expected. While that wasn't an issue for our Online Editor, who posted results at macon.com from home, it meant a scramble to make our press deadline. There was just enough time to get the breaking news story onto the page. There was no time to wait for the perspective piece, nor to process a photo of a wildly excited Clinton to pair with the pix of a victorious John McCain.

In this day of constant news, constant chatter, what do you expect in the way of political (and other national) coverage in the newspaper?

Telegraph news coverage in 2008

Among our goals is to monitor Macon’s new city government and write about promises made and kept -- or not. How will the new government find money to fund new initiatives, or provide pay raises for police and fire fighters as well as other personnel? Will our downtown continue to grow, and will more people feel safe whether downtown on in the neighborhoods where they live? Will Macon and Bibb County stop seeing a population drain to other counties?

We’ll also keep our eyes on how our schools are educating kids. What will be the impact of redistricting in Bibb schools? And, why, for instance, do so many students in Middle Georgia and throughout the state have trouble passing parts of the graduation test?

As Warner Robins continues to grow, how will the character of the city and Houston County change? How is growth being managed? What is the impact on areas such as Byron and Peach County?

During the last base realignment process, Robins Air Force Base seemed to fare pretty well, but there are stresses at Robins, among them an aging workforce. How are base officials and local leaders meeting the challenges? It is a story we’ve been diligently covering because of the potential impact on the base and the region.

These are some of the issues we will be writing about. What are your ideas? Send them my way: smarshall@macontel.com