Comments on: Why the “A” section leaves me feeling empty http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/index.php/20071217/why-the-a-section-leaves-me-feeling-empty/ Online musings from the newsroom and beyond . . . by Yoni Greenbaum Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Yoni Greenbaum http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/index.php/20071217/why-the-a-section-leaves-me-feeling-empty/comment-page-1/#comment-84 Yoni Greenbaum Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:27:23 +0000 http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/?p=75#comment-84 @Aviva - I'll have to check them out, as I wasn't aware. Thanks. @Aviva – I’ll have to check them out, as I wasn’t aware. Thanks.

]]> By: Aviva http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/index.php/20071217/why-the-a-section-leaves-me-feeling-empty/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Aviva Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:17:29 +0000 http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/?p=75#comment-81 Check out the "Valley News" from Lebanon, NH. They've been filling the A section with local drama for years. Check out the “Valley News” from Lebanon, NH. They’ve been filling the A section with local drama for years.

]]> By: Meranda Writes » Blog Archive » All local fronts; even the big dawgs are doing it these days http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/index.php/20071217/why-the-a-section-leaves-me-feeling-empty/comment-page-1/#comment-67 Meranda Writes » Blog Archive » All local fronts; even the big dawgs are doing it these days Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:51:46 +0000 http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/?p=75#comment-67 [...] I read a post with the idea that we should abolish the idea of the A-section being considered the “most important” and ye... that many people have already read, seen or heard before the paper lands on their stoop in favor of [...] [...] I read a post with the idea that we should abolish the idea of the A-section being considered the “most important” and ye… that many people have already read, seen or heard before the paper lands on their stoop in favor of [...]

]]> By: Eric Schwarz http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/index.php/20071217/why-the-a-section-leaves-me-feeling-empty/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Eric Schwarz Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:40:01 +0000 http://www.yonigreenbaum.com/?p=75#comment-35 Hi Yoni, Newspapers don't fill the A section with local news for at least two reasons: 1. You can't count on there being enough to fill your pages. Stories fall through, the source isn't available, etc. The wire is almost unlimited. (The couple of Dec. 26 editions I helped edit at the Herald News were an exception -- we had to ask the AP for extra copy from other bureaus. That's because of course there's no news happening on Christmas but plenty of ads and thus lots of space to fill.) 2. A lot of local news is pretty mediocre, written poorly by underpaid staffers prompted by editors who want a local angle where none exists. This probably isn't the case at the Ottaway/DJ/News Corp. papers -- or when you were running the City Desk in Passaic/West Paterson. I've seen, and unfortunately had to write, many very marginal stories in order to fill the local news hole. The Herald News, I think, had a good mix of local stories on the front page where warranted. I'm talking about 1999, ancient history. Of course in 2007, almost 2008, readers get their national and international news from the Web, TV, etc. So if you have the resources and give editors and reporters the time and space to find, investigate, write and run well-written stories, by all means, fill the front section with that output. But if you're going to require the reporters at the same time to attend every zoning board meeting that lasts until 2 a.m., that won't work. Hi Yoni,

Newspapers don’t fill the A section with local news for at least two reasons:

1. You can’t count on there being enough to fill your pages. Stories fall through, the source isn’t available, etc. The wire is almost unlimited. (The couple of Dec. 26 editions I helped edit at the Herald News were an exception — we had to ask the AP for extra copy from other bureaus. That’s because of course there’s no news happening on Christmas but plenty of ads and thus lots of space to fill.)

2. A lot of local news is pretty mediocre, written poorly by underpaid staffers prompted by editors who want a local angle where none exists. This probably isn’t the case at the Ottaway/DJ/News Corp. papers — or when you were running the City Desk in Passaic/West Paterson. I’ve seen, and unfortunately had to write, many very marginal stories in order to fill the local news hole.

The Herald News, I think, had a good mix of local stories on the front page where warranted. I’m talking about 1999, ancient history.

Of course in 2007, almost 2008, readers get their national and international news from the Web, TV, etc. So if you have the resources and give editors and reporters the time and space to find, investigate, write and run well-written stories, by all means, fill the front section with that output. But if you’re going to require the reporters at the same time to attend every zoning board meeting that lasts until 2 a.m., that won’t work.

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