vision2020
Re: Covering Moscow News
I know the inkster follows Vision2020 to get her material. I like her two.
I also find Business Bits quite informative! Also, there is People of the
Palouse.
----- Original Message -----
From: Travis Tonn <vart@turbonet.com>
To: Don Coombs <dcoombs@uidaho.edu>; <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: Covering Moscow News
> I subscribe to the Idaho-Spokesman Review Sunday edition, but am
considering
> recieving the Daily News just so I can read Vera White's satire of local
> public figures and issues.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Coombs <dcoombs@uidaho.edu>
> To: vision2020@moscow.com <vision2020@moscow.com>
> Date: Friday, December 10, 1999 5:09 PM
> Subject: Covering Moscow News
>
>
> >If you think it's desirable for people to know what's going on in town,
> >you're interested in how the news is covered. Moscow used to have 3-1/2
> >agencies covering the area: The Daily News, the Lewiston Trib, KRFA and
> >KWSU (the WSU stations) and -- in a half-hearted way -- the Spokesman
> >Review.
> >
> >The WSU stations dropped out some years ago, when their reach was
extended
> >to Port Angeles and Bellingham; they couldn't afford to cover or find
> >air time for news of dozens and dozens of towns. What they could
> >afford was seamless classical music, and the national news shows.
> >
> >The Spokesman Review now and then covers Moscow, and Friday the paper got
> >out in front and looked good. On the front page of the Idaho edition, the
> >Spokesman had "Washington State auditors say the administrator of
Moscow's
> >Gritman Medical Center violated laws and breached ethics while
> >(in his previous job) overseeing a hospital in Western Washington." And
> >Andrea Vogt, the reporter, put together a long story which jumped to page
> >9.
> >
> >The Lewiston Trib whiffed on the story, which means there will be
> >opportunity Saturday morning for the Trib to cover the story in its own
> >way or to pretend that it's not really news and ignore it. The Trib has a
> >reputation for not taking that last, easy, route.
> >
> >The Daily News, with all morning to cover the story after the Spokesman
> >broke it, chose to use portions of the Spokesman story (which is
perfectly
> >legal because both newspapers belong to the Associated Press) and add
> >nothing of its own. In other words, the Daily News ran heavily edited
wire
> >copy on a story in its own town. The Daily News also changed the lead so
> >that instead of identifying the person (Tom Stegbauer) as the
> >administrator of Gritman Medical center, it identified him as "A Port
> >Angeles hospital administrator." In the third paragraph, it got around to
> >reporting his present employment at Gritman.
> >
> >Nobody should judge on the basis of one day's papers, but the Spokesman
> >definitely did better than the Trib in covering Moscow on Friday.
> >
> >While the Trib sports section was guessing who the strongest
> >candidates were to replace Chris Tormey as UI football coach, the
> >Spokesman sports section -- even though it had an earlier deadline than
> >the Trib -- reported that three candidates had withdrawn, including Scott
> >Linehan, who was one of the Trib's two "strongest candidates."
> >(In its defense, the Trib's information appeared in an opinion column,
not
> >a news story.)
> >
> >*********************************
> >
> >On a personal note: I can be persuaded to keep observations like the
above
> >to myself. All it will take is one or more people letting me know they
> >prefer to judge papers by how much "good news" they print. (I tend not to
> >communicate when I'm depressed.)
> >
> >Don H. Coombs
> >
> >
>
>
Back to TOC