Voice For Liberty

Category: Wichita news media

  • Wichita Eagle’s GWEDC board membership in perspective

    What is the role in public affairs of a newspaper like the Wichita Eagle? Can it wear more than one hat — making news as well as covering it?

    This is not a hypothetical question.

    Consider that Pam Siddall, president and publisher of the Wichita Eagle is a member of the steering council of the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, an important, partially tax-funded board, that plays a significant role in Wichita.

    Should this make any difference to you?

    When the Eagle’s editorial board grants the president of the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition space on its pages, should readers be aware of this connection? (Vicki Pratt Gerbino: Invest in recruiting, preserving area jobs, February 15, 2009 Wichita Eagle)

    When the Eagle’s editorial blog writes a fawning post titled GWEDC crucial to attracting, retaining jobs, should readers be aware of this connection?

    When Eagle reporters write a story that can be characterized as critical of anyone who questions the need for the GWEDC — the story starts with “The hard-won balance between the city, county and business leaders over economic development is wobbling a bit after some comments last week.” — should readers be aware of this connection? (See Sedgwick County commissioners question economic development funding, February 17, 2009 Wichita Eagle.)

    The nature of the connection is that the Eagle is an “Investor” in the GWEDC, which means they contributed at least $5,000, at least some in the form of advertising. The Wichita Business Journal is also in the Investor class.

    I asked the heads of the two organizations involved — Vicki Pratt Gerbino, president of the GWEDC, and Pam Siddall, publisher of the Wichita Eagle — if they thought there was potential for conflict of interest when a news organization covers an entity it has made contributions to. Ms. Gerbino said no, there’s no conflict of interest. Ms. Siddall said the same, citing the separate news and business functions at the Eagle.

    In conversations I’ve had in the past with a few Eagle reporters, they’ve cited the “wall of separation” between the main functions of a newspaper, which are news, editorial, and the business of the newspaper.

    But this wall may not be as tall and wide as it seems. In an excerpt from Knightfall: Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy At Risk, Davis Merritt, former editor of the Eagle writes “The notion of strict separation between the business and journalism functions of newspapers is relatively recent in terms of the whole of American newspaper history, and judging by current practice, it may be only a passing phase.”

    It is difficult for an outsider to be able to know if the Eagle’s news and editorial judgments are influenced by its relationship with the GWEDC. That’s why people and organizations are often advised to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

    Could the GWEDC survive without the publisher of the Eagle on its steering committee and without the Eagle’s financial contribution? I think they could. Then, without this connection, readers of the Eagle wouldn’t have to worry so much about the Eagle’s news and editorial independence.

  • In Wichita, let’s disclose everything. I mean everything.

    A follow-up post is at at Editorial Board Pen Names at the Wichita Eagle.

    In an Wichita Eagle Editorial Blog post, Rhonda Holman calls for more disclosure for groups that send mailings that “dodge campaign finance disclosure law by deftly telling people how to vote without using the words ‘vote for’ or ‘vote against.’” (Treat campaign ads the same)

    A few points:

    Holman’s target is quite selective. As shown in my post On the Wichita Eagle Editorial Board, Partisanship Reigns from right before last election day, she’s willing to overlook the Eagle’s own political contributions and the use of taxpayer money to fund election campaigns when she agrees with the causes.

    And, why the need for a law when, as Holman writes “Kansans aren’t fooled by the ads and mailings”?

    Then, wouldn’t a lot of Wichita Eagle readers like to know some of the financial details behind the Eagle’s political endorsements, say perhaps Holman’s salary? Heck, I’d be satisfied if she’d start using her real — or should I say entire — name when making political endorsements.

  • A Share of McClatchy, or a Copy of the Daily Newpaper

    Yesterday the price of a share of The McClatchy Company, the parent company of the Wichita Eagle, closed at 50 cents. That happens to be the newsstand price of a copy of the Eagle, although to buy a copy of the paper, you’ll have to add sales tax.

    McClatchy stock price

    The decline in this company’s stock price — from over $70 four years ago to less than one dollar today — illustrates the magnitude of the crisis in the newspaper industry. While there are some who take delight in the financial difficulties of mainstream newspapers, I believe that newspapers are still an important institution. I hope they will find a way to survive.

    The plight of newspapers does raise an issue or two, however. When the editorial page dishes out advice on fiscal issues, for example, should we pay any attention?

  • Newspaper journalism in Wichita: we need it

    Printing presses at the Wichita Eagle

    It’s almost impossible to overstate the dire economic condition in which newspapers find themselves. Falling circulation, reduced advertising, and a generational shift add up to bad news for this unique and important industry.

    In his book Knightfall: Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy at Risk, former Wichita Eagle editor Davis Merritt describes the difference between newspaper journalism and everything else we call news:

    • Its content is not shaped by a limiting technology, such as broadcast with its time strictures and, in television and online, bias toward the visual and against permanence.
    • Its usefulness is based far more on completeness and clarity than immediacy.
    • Its claim on credibility is based on its length and depth, which allow readers to judge the facts behind a story’s headline and opening summary paragraph and then look for internal contradictions.
    • It has intrinsic value and relevance to people rather than merely amusing or entertaining them.
    • Opinions and analysis are labeled as such and are presented separately.

    In Wichita we have recent examples of how newspaper journalism has influenced events. Recently the Wichita Eagle uncovered problems in the past of a person the City of Wichita was about to partner with on a real estate development. (See Wichita’s Faulty Due Diligence and Sharon Fearey Doesn’t Appreciate the Wichita Eagle for coverage.) Without the work of Wichita Eagle reporters, the deal would have happened. No other news outlet in Wichita had the resources or wherewithal to do the investigation necessary to report the story.

    It appears that we don’t quite know how to support newspaper journalism in the age of the Internet. Let’s hope soon that someone develops a business model that lets journalism thrive in the future.

    Additional resources:

    News You Can Lose (The New Yorker)
    Do Newspapers Have a Future? (Michael Kinsley, Time Magazine)
    Who killed the newspaper? (Economist.com)
    The Newspaper of the Future (The New York Times, from 2005 featuring the Lawrence Journal-World)
    The Elite Newspaper of the Future (American Journalism Review. “A smaller, less frequently published version packed with analysis and investigative reporting and aimed at well-educated news junkies that may well be a smart survival strategy for the beleaguered old print product.)

  • These Are the Barrels

    Ink barrels at Wichita Eagle

    It’s thought that Mark Twain said “Never pick a fight with a person who buys ink by the barrel.” These are the barrels (actually palettes) of ink at the Wichita Eagle.

  • What is the Future of News Distribution?

    Newsprint at Wichita Eagle

    This week I attended an open house event held by the Wichita Eagle. As part of the event, I took a quick tour of their plant. This photo shows rolls of newsprint in the basement of the building, waiting to be turned into newspapers. Ink distribution systems are in the background.

    How long will this go on, news being delivered on paper? A few weeks ago I attended a talk given by Davis Merritt, former editor of the Eagle (see Newspapers are Dying; Journalism We Hope Is Not). He said that in five years, newspapers won’t be using paper anymore. Views like this seem to be common and recent events seem to point this way. Soon, the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News will provide home delivery on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays only. I’ve been told that the Eagle either has or soon will stop same-day delivery to Topeka.

    But who really knows? I mentioned Merritt’s remarks to a high-level manager at the Eagle, and she said he’s been saying that for 20 years.

  • Newspapers are Dying; Journalism We Hope Is Not

    Last night I attended the weekly meeting of the Sedgwick County Pachyderm Club to hear guest speaker Davis “Buzz” Merritt, former editor of the Wichita Eagle. I’d read and reviewed his book Knightfall: Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy At Risk (my review is here).

    His talk was based on the Knightfall book, which is to say it paints a somewhat grim picture of the present state of newspapers and newspaper journalism. It’s important to distinguish between the type of journalism that newspapers do, as compared to journalism from other sources such as television. Newspaper journalism doesn’t necessarily have to be delivered in the traditional newspaper printed on the fibers of dead trees, but it’s important to democracy that this form of journalism survives.

    One point I learned last night is that not all of the operations of a newspaper have to be carried over to the Internet. Only 25% does, says Mr. Merritt. The remaining, I believe, is costs such as printing and distribution that won’t apply to an Internet-based delivery model.

    Those costs of printing and distribution are large. In the late 1990s, when the Wichita Eagle needed to increase its profit contribution to its parent corporation from 20% to 22.5%, it accomplished that goal by canceling the distribution of 10,000 daily newspapers to western Kansas. This was a profitable business move, but hardly one that advanced journalism.

    It’s well-known that young people don’t read newspapers very much, and that’s one source of newspapers’ problems. I asked if maybe young people don’t appreciate and value the type of journalism that newspapers practice. Mr. Merritt replied that he believes they do value it, if it affects them.

    A few in the audience expressed how reading on the computer screen is not pleasant. I would suggest to these people to check their equipment and its adjustments. For CRT monitors (the old-fashioned tube-style monitors), there’s a setting usually known as “refresh rate” which if set incorrectly, causes flicker. That’s definitely annoying and can cause headaches. Many people also have old monitors that are simply too small, or are set to use such a low resolution, that not much material can be seen on the screen at one time. For LCD panel users, there are also adjustments that are critical for a good viewing experience. With good equipment, which doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, the experience of reading on the computer can be much improved.

  • The Cartoon The Wichita Eagle Wouldn’t Print

    Helen Cochran of Citizens for Better Education commissioned a series of political cartoons concerning the Wichita school bond issue. She’s paid to have them printed in the Wichita Eagle each Monday for the past month or so. They’re also carried on her group’s web site.

    But the Wichita Eagle refused to run this week’s cartoon. Here it is:

    I spoke with Helen and asked her a few questions about the Eagle’s refusal to print this cartoon.

    Q. What did the Wichita Eagle give as their reason for not accepting this advertisement? Who made this decision? Who communicated it to you?

    A. Citizens for Better Education has been running paid political weekly cartoons for 6 weeks now. They are wholesome and poke fun in a light-hearted way. None have been mean-spirited. I usually give a final approval by noon on Fridays for a Monday publication to my Eagle sales rep. My advertising sales person told me on Friday afternoon that this cartoon would not be approved if she sent it through. I was flabbergasted and told her to send it through. It took correspondence between four people including the editor and publisher and I was finally told no.

    Their reasoning was “letting an outside group attack one of our staff members.” They went on to say that on the one hand, this is what Richard Crowson did — in fact he ran a very mean spirited cartoon against me early on. Nevertheless, the Eagle has run our cartoons for six weeks, they have taken our money, and then at the eleventh hour says no they won’t run this one because it pokes fun at McCormick. And I had no finished back up cartoon to run in its place, so CBE lost its weekly cartoon. I was under the false impression, as an ex journalism major, that advertising and news departments operated independently of one another. Well, not so at the Wichita Eagle. They can dish it out but can’t take it.

    Q. Does the cartoon make any claims that are not factual?

    A. It is common knowledge that Mark McCormick is 100% in support of this bond as is the entire Eagle editorial board. He has written extensively in his column about it and has devoted three or four columns to it. It is disappointing that although he’s been corrected on some of the information he has used in error, despite being asked, by me, to correct it, he has failed to do so.

    Q. Your cartoon makes the case that Mark McCormick is a cheerleader for the bond issue. Do you think he weighs both sides of the bond issue, or is he in fact a cheerleader?

    A. He is a cheerleader to the “nth” degree as his support is purely emotional. And that’s fine, but he has done nothing to back up his reasons for support other than all the warm and fuzzy reactionary feelings. He has done little if any investigative reporting and that is very disappointing. He takes the Wichita school district at its word despite facts to the contrary.

  • “Trash The Eagle” Website spotted

    I recently noticed the new website Trash The Eagle. It holds, as you might expect, some criticism of the Wichita Eagle, our state’s largest newspaper.

    The site is run anonymously, although with a little sleuthing, it isn’t hard to find out who is behind this site.