First, and I think this is important context, for its size and resources,
the Daily News is a pretty good paper. My purpose in the meeting is more
fine-tuning in nature rather than wholesale change. We have added resources
this year for areas I think important, religion, staff training, etc.
The reduction in police logs -- a savings of space and reporters' time --
was made more than three years ago. If we choose to bring that back it will
be at a cost of other resources. Is it that important to know who was
picked up and arrested for a MIP or DUI? Perhaps it is. One alternative
that we are exploring after last night is a regular spot for sentencing --
one step up from just an arrest (and a lot more certain) because I do worry
about the nature of community gossip with arrests reports.
We are a filter. All newspapers are. So are television newscasts. We deal
with a defined amount of space, a limited number of reporters and other
resources. How and what we choose to cover is part of that filtering
process.
If people really want raw information, they go to city council meetings,
zoning hearings, etc.
What newspapers can do is provide an intelligent account of the day's
events in a context which gives them meaning. To me, and I know we all see
this differently, that means we pick and choose what issues we see as
important and wish to convey to our readers. We will never all agree on
what those issues are but we can do our best.
Thanks again for comments. Mark