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1 Journalism's Duty
[PDF]
[HTML]
Daily newspapers in the North American West have an obligation to
explain the large-scale changes in population, economy and environment
that are transforming the character of the region and its communities.
2
The Tumultuous West
[PDF]
The transformation under way throughout the North American West
is unmatched in pace, intensity and sheer magnitude. Keeping up
with this phenomenon has become a serious challenge for the West's
daily newspapers.
3
Inadequate Resources
[PDF]
A large majority of Western dailies need to commit greater resources
to gathering news about growth, development and the environment.
4
Valuable Veterans [PDF]
Competent veteran reporters have the skills, experience, news judgment
and sources to cover environment issues effectively. Yet at many
dailies in the West, high rates of turnover on the beat are accepted
as unavoidable.
5
Stale Formulas [PDF]
Reporters and editors who shape environment news coverage of the
vast majority of Western dailies rely too heavily on stale, predictable
formulas of storytelling that usually shed more heat than light.
6
Reporting and Bias [PDF]
A journalist's personal attitudes should never distort coverage,
but neither should readers mistake a reporter's honest, independent
judgment for bias.
7
Profits and Paychecks [PDF]
Corporate-chain owners of Western newspapers insist on high profit
margins. For meeting financial targets, publishers and their corporate
bosses reap handsome rewards, but often at the expense of the quality
of coverage.
8
Leaving the Family [PDF]
Corporate chains have bought more than 100 of the West's 285 dailies
since 1994, leaving about 30 still owned by families or independents.
9
Understanding Geographies [PDF]
At most daily newspapers in the West,
coverage of growth, development and the environment should be grounded
in deeper understanding of natural traits and conditions of the
places that these papers are supposed to serve.
10 Choices
for Newsrooms [PDF]
Daily newspapers in the North American West have the freedom to
choose how to allocate people, time, space and other resources to
coverage of growth, development and the environment. At most Western
dailies, reallocating these resources could result in better coverage.
Acknowledgments and Appendix
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Acknowledgments, biographies of the authors of this report, Wallace
Stegner Initiative Board of Governors, IJNR’s Board of Trustees
and a table showing Western newspaper ownership. |
