Questions flow in about newsroom
Cutter: Readers criticize, raise questions after first ‘Inside the Newsroom’ column.
About 75 readers emailed me after my first Inside the Newsroom blog posts and column were published last week.
And you certainly let me know what you think about the Orlando Sentinel and how the newsroom does its job.
Most of the feedback was critical but constructive, offered in the spirit of my suggestion that we have a conversation and not an argument. A few couldn’t resist the well-placed dig or two at the Sentinel or me, but to the reader who wanted to know why “the Orlando Sentinel worships King Buddy’s posterior,” you win for the shortest and most colorful question. As I emailed to him, one of the rules of journalism is make no assumptions, so which Buddy is that?
(Kidding, and I’d suggest Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer might not agree that the Sentinel or its opinion columnists and editorial pages are always his friend. Mr. Mayor, if you are reading, let me know.)
You wrote about an elaborate quilt of topics, from our coverage of President Trump to the number of typos you see. More than a few of you wanted us to bring back obituaries and the op-ed pages we eliminated. You had questions about our coverage of race and incomplete game summaries in print, about the number of ads and those sticky notes on the newspaper and about specific topics and places we cover and don’t cover.
First, my apologies for not answering everyone personally yet. I have emailed about half of you and plan to get to the rest. I also plan future columns on many of the topics you suggested (especially obituaries, spelling and op-ed pages).
I suspect, however, we need to
start with the elephant — perhaps a pun intended — in the room, which is our coverage of President Trump and what readers see as a bias against all Republicans. As one reader wrote: “Get the Sentinel to be a more fair reporting company. That means leaving all the hate and innuendo for Trump and conservative views out of headlines and articles which to me seem so full of hate.”
This is an important topic and one I’ve discussed on the phone and by email with many readers since the 2016 campaign.
It’s tough for me to disagree with readers who see a bias — and not because I think there is a bias. It’s because I so seldom get specifics from readers. How am I supposed to discuss what you see as a problem with little more than accusations and slogans like “fake news?”
Before you tune me out, I ask you to read a bit more. Remember — conversation, not confrontation.
There is nothing wrong with questioning the motives and potential overt or hidden bias in news coverage. Reporters and editors do it all the time. In fact, at our company we are required to disclose real and potential conflicts and stay out of that coverage. Nondisclosure can get someone fired.
For me, such conflicts have included my work with the Bay Street Young People’s Theater in Eustis, where I maintained a website for years, and any coverage about attorney John Morgan, because his firm represents me in a lawsuit over a car accident.
Our ethics policy clearly states, “We invite public scrutiny of our activities, so special vigilance is required throughout our editorial and news departments to guard against not only actual conflict, but also the appearance of conflict.”
It’s why newsroom staffers can’t display political bumper stickers or contribute to candidates. It’s why some don’t register for a political party — and you can check, I’m a registered Democrat, which I suspect is a gotcha for many readers. (I have voted for members of both parties over my life.)
It doesn’t mean we can’t discuss bias simply because we have a policy.
It does mean it would be more helpful if I heard fewer comments without specifics and more examples of where coverage fails in your opinion. I emailed readers that suggestion and hope you take me up on it.
For example, one reader said the news media ignore good news about the economy since President Trump took office. I’d want to go back and check, but that specific criticism made me think about last week’s economic report in a different way and we placed it on Page A1.
On the flip side, it doesn’t help to call the Orlando Sentinel “Pravda,” as one reader did. Seriously, how is that going to help us understand where we might
change each other’s minds.
So let’s try this: Read the website and paper over the next week. Email me with a few details about bias. Is it how articles are written or the language that is used? Is it the headlines? Is it where we place the article? Is it our editorial pages or columnists? Is it something you see as inaccurate or incomplete? Let me know if you would like to visit us for a roundtable discussion about our coverage.
And let’s not ignore the flip side. There are people who say the media are too mild on the president, that we get lost in the blizzard of news and fail to see the bigger landscape of what’s happening.
I hope you stuck with me to this point and take seriously my offer to listen better. We might not agree but we can talk.
So email me at jcutter@orlandosentinel.com.
John Cutter is content director for operations and standards of the Orlando Sentinel. Reach him at jcutter@orlandosentinel.com.