In a typical week at The Monroe Times, we receive dozens of requests to send a reporter and a photographer to cover an event in one of the communities in the two counties that we cover.
We try to meet as many requests as we can, but obviously we cannot get to nearly every one. Our newsroom, which produces six newspapers a week and also has a second, very important product online, has nine people total to handle news and sports coverage and production of said products.
Most requests we receive would make for legitimate news stories if we had enough resources to be everywhere, every time. A constant frustration in the life of a newspaper reporter or editor is that we know there are so many other stories out there that we simply dont have the hours in the day to get to. Ive worked at six different newspapers in my 20-plus-year career, and its been that way at every one of them. Its a nature of the beast.
Hopefully, those who make requests but do not receive coverage arent left to feel that their stories are unimportant. It is absolutely not the way we feel about requests at the Times. We just cant say yes to everyone. Theres no media outlet around that can.
This week, we have received a large number of complaints about our coverage of the miniature White House exhibit at SLICE in Monroe. People have told us we have not covered the exhibit at all, or not promoted it enough.
First, it is a newspapers editorial staffs job to inform the public of community events that are happening in their readership area. Our job is to inform, not promote.
The miniature White House exhibit has been in The Monroe Times three times in the past few weeks. First, on July 31, there was a front-page news story and a photograph to tell readers that the exhibit was coming to Monroe. Then, on Sept. 11, there was a front-page photograph from the day that the exhibit arrived at SLICE for the setup. Two days later, in our 2008 Cheese Days special section, there was another staff-written story about the exhibit with a photograph. The section went out to every household in Green and Lafayette county.
There have been more opportunities to write more stories about the White House exhibit this week. And, in a perfect world, we would have. I think its a neat thing for Monroe-area residents to have an opportunity to see.
But, particularly given the very busy week that our newsroom has because of the Cheese Days weekend, I made the determination that we werent able to devote more resources to an exhibit we have informed our readers about three times already. We have thousands of readers in the communities we serve. And sometimes the priorities of our readership as a whole are different than those of the dozen or so people who have complained to us.
Those critical of that decision are entitled to their opinion. However, the assertion the Times has not covered the miniature White House exhibit simply isnt true.
We try to meet as many requests as we can, but obviously we cannot get to nearly every one. Our newsroom, which produces six newspapers a week and also has a second, very important product online, has nine people total to handle news and sports coverage and production of said products.
Most requests we receive would make for legitimate news stories if we had enough resources to be everywhere, every time. A constant frustration in the life of a newspaper reporter or editor is that we know there are so many other stories out there that we simply dont have the hours in the day to get to. Ive worked at six different newspapers in my 20-plus-year career, and its been that way at every one of them. Its a nature of the beast.
Hopefully, those who make requests but do not receive coverage arent left to feel that their stories are unimportant. It is absolutely not the way we feel about requests at the Times. We just cant say yes to everyone. Theres no media outlet around that can.
This week, we have received a large number of complaints about our coverage of the miniature White House exhibit at SLICE in Monroe. People have told us we have not covered the exhibit at all, or not promoted it enough.
First, it is a newspapers editorial staffs job to inform the public of community events that are happening in their readership area. Our job is to inform, not promote.
The miniature White House exhibit has been in The Monroe Times three times in the past few weeks. First, on July 31, there was a front-page news story and a photograph to tell readers that the exhibit was coming to Monroe. Then, on Sept. 11, there was a front-page photograph from the day that the exhibit arrived at SLICE for the setup. Two days later, in our 2008 Cheese Days special section, there was another staff-written story about the exhibit with a photograph. The section went out to every household in Green and Lafayette county.
There have been more opportunities to write more stories about the White House exhibit this week. And, in a perfect world, we would have. I think its a neat thing for Monroe-area residents to have an opportunity to see.
But, particularly given the very busy week that our newsroom has because of the Cheese Days weekend, I made the determination that we werent able to devote more resources to an exhibit we have informed our readers about three times already. We have thousands of readers in the communities we serve. And sometimes the priorities of our readership as a whole are different than those of the dozen or so people who have complained to us.
Those critical of that decision are entitled to their opinion. However, the assertion the Times has not covered the miniature White House exhibit simply isnt true.
