Nothing to laugh at

With the swell of layoffs and cuts in the newspaper world, there’s very little to laugh at.  And if a reader is looking for a little relief from the comics well there’s not much that’s funny there either.  An article from The Editor and the Publisher looked into how the comics are reflecting real life situations.  The woes of the stalling economy have started to infiltrate the  ranks of comics like office worker Dilbert and reporter Brenda Starr. The happy days may be gone and many newspapers may even be considering cutting the funnies, but they fact is that many readers pick up the paper just to read the comics and excluding them would be detrimental.

The cutting of the research library

The Poynter Institute wrote a short clip about the Wall Street Journal closing their research library this week. The clip actually came from a larger story at Editor & Publisher where Leslie Norman, a librarian from there, tells of her job being cut and the new service the paper will be using.

The problem I have with cutting the research library, besides the loss of more jobs in the industry, is thinking that a computer can do better work and efficiency than a person. The new site they’ll be using, a Lexus product, will have reporters doing all research and fact checking themselves. While this is fine for smaller papers, a major paper such as this needs a research library. I agree with Norman when she says that “reporters will probably spend 10 times our compensation trying to do their own research.”

Computers can never match tricks and shortcuts people can learn over time. Plus, it is much easier for a person to ask someone who’s job it is to look up information to find something much easier than learning a brand new system to find it.

I hope this is just a short term cut and that the research library will be able to come back soon, as it is a vital part to bigger papers that need to find information immediately.

Beyond just journalism

As journalism students we all worry about finding a job when we graduate.  We’re all competing against the person sitting next to us.  However an article from NPR states that many students are now looking towards options B and C for a career.  The writer, Sarah McCammon, argues that if you’re passionate about journalism it should always be an option.  I am a little of both fields.  I feel that journalists should constantly be living, working and interacting outside of the newsroom.

With all the specialty fields out there with magazines and blogs, it’s necessary to find a niche that you love and run (or write) with it.  In fact, Joe Grimm, says that most journalists start as a general reporter and work their way into a particular beat or niche.  So don’t worry, just find a hobby.

Obits can hold great story ideas for writers

Even as a journalism major, I still just skim the obituaries. Just to see if I know anyone that has passed away, and that’s all. But Al Tompkins, over at the Poynter Institute, received an email from a reporter that followed a blog post put on Poynter a few years earlier.

The reporter, Josh Farley from the Kitsap Sun in Washington, said he reads the obituaries and noticed a couple that had been married 62 years, died just six hours apart. He followed this up by writing a news story that was the most read on their website. The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer also picked up the story, where it became the most read on their website as well. The same happened when it was picked up by KOMO-TV, an ABC affiliate from his area. His original story can be read here. I definitely recommend reading the story. It’s how a story about a life and death should be written, well-developed, tactful, and classy.

My main point is that obituaries should always be read. Even though they may be sad, it can also be a great source for a story. Farley’s story is just one of the many examples I’m sure are out there.

Journalism matters

Check out this post by a veteran editor.