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John Seigenthaler
Chairman, The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN Appearing at: Managing the Weekly Newspaper 09/08/2008 - 09/11/2008 New Managers' Survival Guide 11/17/2008 - 11/20/2008 Seminar Schedule
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Training Tracks: Ready to twitter to learn what that is A couple months ago I wrote about my efforts to learn more about LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious and the world of Web 2.0. I'll update you later on how those efforts are going, but right now I want to invite... By Steve Buttry | January 25, 2008 First Amendment / Free Speech: Car talk: Hour may be getting late for the vanity PL8 You may never have thought of the center part of your car's bumper as an opportunity for multi-tasking or creativity - or as a free-speech battleground - but it is. By Gene Policinski | January 14, 2008 First Amendment / Free Speech: Look for '08 to be year of broadcast-regulation battles Television has been called everything from a "boob tube" and "vast wasteland" to one of the most significant developments in the history of mankind. But as we move into 2008, the messages and images that TV brings are a battleground.... By Gene Policinski | January 04, 2008 First Amendment / Free Speech: On its birthday and every day, First Amendment matters As 2007 draws to a close, the meaning and application of a 216-year-old amendment to the U.S. Constitution protecting our basic liberties are issues as contentious as ever. By Gene Policinski | December 13, 2007 Training Tracks: Trying to catch up in Web 2.0 Can a graying guy who can operate a typewriter, recognizes a pica pole and remembers the smell of molten lead figure out the social-networking world of Web 2.0? I'm trying. In the last few months, I've been adding friends on... By Steve Buttry | November 30, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: We saw it then, we see it now: how free press can protect us What ties the two cases across time from a First Amendment standpoint is -- irrespective of eventual guilt or innocence -- the role of a free press as a watchdog on government. Public awareness of that role is too often lost in hyperventilated debates over whether the press is too liberal or conservative, too consolidated, too weak, or too focused on trivial celebrity highjinks. None of those issues is without merit. But the babble and boil obscures appreciation of the role of our free press to examine, expound on and occasionally expose what our government is doing. By Gene Policinski | November 29, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Identity matters in online conversation I have debated the issue of anonymous comments with some of the editors who receive my leadership tips before. I too often sound like the troglodyte trying to hold back the tide of change. Howard Owens makes a more timely... By Steve Buttry | November 21, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Parade sponsors may refuse marchers with opposing views The courts have held that we get to assemble with people of like minds for the purpose of expressing ourselves from a common point of view or belief -- so-called "expressive association." Sometimes that means one group can exclude people with a message distinctly challenging the group's point of view: Organizers of a private group opposing drug use are not obligated -- even when marching on public streets, perhaps with local police directing traffic -- to accept marchers from a group advocating legalization of marijuana. Church and fraternal groups organizing a parade noting a religious holiday have the right, the courts say, to exclude a float advocating ideals in opposition to their beliefs -- as when gay-rights advocates were excluded from a St. Patrick's Day parade. By Gene Policinski | November 15, 2007 Training Tracks: Help for a stegosaurus who needs an update After attending one of my workshops recently, a veteran reporter and columnist confessed in an email: "I feel like a stegosaurus in need of online training and am not sure where to start. ... I want to improve my online... By Steve Buttry | November 12, 2007 Leadership Tips: Ten things I learned at the weeklies' conference Some thoughts after spending a week with 26 visionary weekly newspaper executives. By Elaine Clisham | November 06, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Government meddling with press crosses the line A free press exists in large part to question, investigate and report, on behalf of us all, on what our government is or is not doing. We all benefit from the give-and-take, the robust tussle, between what bureaucrats say and do and what reporters can discover and report. Informed citizens need to know where information comes from so they can judge its credibility and completeness. By Gene Policinski | November 05, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Open meetings, open records: It's the public's business Again, a good argument for nondisclosure may be possible for individual employees, particularly those in anti-terrorism roles. But sweeping under a figurative secret carpet at one time, without individual or at least specific group-task consideration, the names of hundreds of thousands of workers paid with public money seems unnecessary and unwise - particularly since such information has been public since our fourth president was in office, and the Republic still stands. By Gene Policinski | October 24, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Journalist 'shield' - balancing openness, security At the moment, there is no balance in federal courts on the issue of confidential sources for journalists - even most First Amendment advocates would concede that federal authorities hold ultimate trump cards: subpoenas, particularly when driven by a grand jury investigation into criminal activity. But there's no question that the public good has been served many times: for example, by whistleblowers' being able to speak of government waste and corruption without fear of losing their careers. By Gene Policinski | October 05, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: We don't teach - or encourage - First Amendment freedoms in school In a decade of sampling Americans about their views on First Amendment freedoms, the First Amendment Center finds year after year that very few - no more than three in 100 - can identify them by name. For decades, the message, if any, from schools and the courts has been a devaluation of free expression in favor of order and control and an emphasis on math and science over informed and active citizenship. By Gene Policinski | September 20, 2007 Training Tracks: Newsroom trainers get their MoJo going Twice I've seen Kate Marymont train journalists. I've never seen the end of her planned presentation. Each time Kate starts talking about the amazing transformation of her staff at the News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., the group hijacks her session... By Steve Buttry | September 08, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Too much secrecy also a threat And now the "sense" part, as in common sense. The collapse of an interstate highway bridge in Minneapolis prompted a spate of press and citizen requests for details about inspections, safety reports and recommendations. Granted, the information often was technical and open to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. But common sense - and democracy - would seem to argue for more disclosure, not less. By Gene Policinski | September 06, 2007 Training Tracks: The routine assignment is a challenge and an opportunity A colleague was seeking help for a reporter who "is frustrated with the assignments she's been getting lately." A Labor Day assignment was particularly annoying. I asked some colleagues for their advice, which follows mine (hey, this is my column).... By Steve Buttry | August 31, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Why would anyone target nonconsumers? At a recent reception, a colleague scorned efforts by the newspaper industry in the mid-1990s to appeal to young adults. I could join that colleague (a former newspaper editor) in criticism of many things newspapers have tried in pursuit of... By Steve Buttry | August 30, 2007 Writing Tips: Who says a great story has to be long? If you think a great story is a long story, read Bob Baker's latest post at Newsthinking, which praises a fabulous 408-word profile by Gregor McGavin. This doesn't really have any advice about writing, but if you share my passion... By Steve Buttry | August 25, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Stifling protest: bad choice between law and order Democracy requires vigorous debate. Between elections, free speech provides a platform for those in opposition. The opinions may well be impolite, impudent and even insulting. But the "marketplace of ideas" has no credibility if there's no real competition among those attempting to share their ideas. By Gene Policinski | August 23, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: We're strangling high school free speech, press We can all agree that realistic threats of violence in school merit realistic responses by authorities. And I have yet to find even strident First Amendment advocates who disagree that student journalists need education, training and adult advice. But what are we teaching students - our future fellow citizens - about the value of a free press when a well-written, mild-mannered essay is reason for killing off a student publication and removing the adviser? What are we telling students about the value of free speech when the good ones are reprimanded, suspended, expelled or even face criminal charges for musings that likely would have sent a prior generation to after-school detention, at most? By Gene Policinski | August 09, 2007 Writing Tips: Sensitive but strong coverage of suicide I like lots of things about this piece by Will Doolittle and the stories from the Post-Star in Glens Falls, NY. I like that this little paper didn't shrink from tackling the sensitive subject of suicide. Too many newspapers are... By Steve Buttry | July 31, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Bong hits and student journalism issues Clarence Thomas, the conservative jurist, said "it cannot seriously be suggested that the First Amendment freedom of speech encompasses a student's right to speak in public schools." He talked about the old days when "teachers commanded and students obeyed." Such blunderbuss. By Warren Watson | July 31, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Saluting Seigenthaler, First Amendment champion Just ask the more than 6,000 journalists and news executives who have heard him speak at those API sessions (with Ken Paulson, USA TODAY editor). Following a multimedia presentation that combines information, competition and wit, those thousands who touch the lives of millions have come away with greater appreciation of the role of a free press in American life ... and likely with a new bounce in their free-press footsteps as well. By Gene Policinski | July 26, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Reporters getting too close to sources risk losing public trust There's no requirement in the First Amendment that journalists and news sources, particularly in government, automatically be antagonists. But there certainly is the proviso that the press is not part of government, formally or informally. Carried to a personal level - which is how reporters operate every day covering politics, officeholders and other subjects - that means maintaining a healthy skepticism about those on whom you report. Keeping that distance, mentally or physically, can be difficult. By Gene Policinski | July 16, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Fireworks over journalists' donations raise issue of 'journalist as citizen' American journalism is rooted in "journals of opinion" that were intertwined with Colonial and revolutionary politics and that flowered well into the 19th century. Bitter personal attacks and sharp-tongued articles about rivals, written under pseudonyms, were run-of-the-mill fare for readers of those eras. For a long time, many newspapers chose to identify themselves as "Democrat" or "Republican." "Objective" newspaper reporting as a concept didn't really develop until the 20th centur By Gene Policinski | June 28, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: American Muslims face double threat In truth, however, the vast majority of American Muslims reject the appropriation of Islam by extremists and oppose terrorism with the same vehemence as other Americans. According to a poll released by the Pew Research Center on May 23, when Muslims in the U.S. were asked whether suicide bombing and other forms of terrorism that target civilians can ever be justified "to defend Islam from its enemies," 78% answered "never." The same poll, however, signaled danger on a second front, the potential for extremism to emerge from within the American Muslim community: One percent of respondents said terrorist tactics "often" can be justified, and 7% said "sometimes." By Gene Policinski | June 21, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: FCC chairman pans common-sense ruling on 'fleeting expletives' "Overnight, the court called into question nearly 30 years of FCC precedents and regulations aimed at protecting children and families from obscene language and indecent programming during family hours," said Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said, "The court even says the commission is 'divorced from reality,'" in a June 4 written statement. "It is the New York court, not the commission, that is divorced from reality in concluding that the word 'f***' does not invoke a sexual connotation." By Gene Policinski | June 14, 2007 Writing Tips: Helpful resources for narrative writers A writer asked me for some resources to help with narrative writing. I started with the four handouts I use for my full-day narrative seminar, which I will present next week in Roanoke, Va., for the Outdoor Writers Association of... By Steve Buttry | June 12, 2007 Training Tracks: How do you coach the "untouchable" senior writer? I remember my biggest fear when some editors who believed in me first made me a front-line editor: How was I, not even 24 years old yet, supposed to supervise reporters with far more experience than me and even bigger... By Steve Buttry | June 12, 2007 Writing Tips: See what a difference a reporter can make If you get discouraged about this business and don't think a reporter can make a difference (or needs to go to a major metro paper to make a difference), read this AJR story about Pete Shellem of the Harrisburg Patriot-News.... By Steve Buttry | June 01, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Internet expanding scope, meaning of 'free press' Does not the role of a "free press" include more than reporting accurately what happened? Does it not also include the freedom to ask questions - in person - about what did not? To fully report those local Indiana stories, it sometimes was important to ask why, with no open discussion, a vote was delayed. Occasionally the story might be more about the whispered comments made between two council members away from the microphone than about the recorded action. By Gene Policinski | May 31, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Dealing with growing demands and shrinking staffs This story in Editor & Publisher tells how newsrooms are dealing with increasing demands and decreasing staffs. I address that issue as well in this column. Many leaders need to teach and Jill Geisler gives some helpful advice for teaching.... By Steve Buttry | May 31, 2007 Training Tracks: Adapting isn't enough; we need to transform The colleague's lament is familiar: "Our staff here has been dramatically slashed (we're down to two news reporters on day shift). It's quite a change for our paper, which has gained some measure of acclaim for the time, staff we... By Steve Buttry | May 31, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: After a long delay, tips on dealing with procrastination I've been lax in sending out leadership tips. So this piece on procrastination by Chip Scanlan seems like a good place to start. It might be helpful if you have a reporter who procrastinates (and who doesn't?). Maybe you should... By Steve Buttry | May 18, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Second sight deserves First Amendment protection Believers in prophets and prophecies, new and old, ought not to have government looking over their shoulders. As Judge Arnold noted, "the line between beliefs (or opinions) and facts is blurry at best. What seems like a provable fact to one person is only an opinion to another: paleontologists ... think that evolution is a scientific fact, while creationists think it is only a false belief." By Gene Policinski | May 17, 2007 Writing Tips: Fun writing from a judge? I've delayed way too long in posting writing tips. So I'll try to give you lots to browse in this one. This is my favorite, a Bob Norman blog post that praises (and posts in full) an amusing bit of... By Steve Buttry | May 17, 2007 Training Tracks: How do you measure growth? A reporter who wants to grow in her work asked how she can measure that growth. Growth starts with goals. If your editors have not given you clear goals, take the initiative yourself. Honestly assess your current skill level and... By Steve Buttry | May 15, 2007 Training Tracks: Resources for covering tribal issues A reporter who's taking over a beat covering Indian reservations asked about advice and resources for covering a specialized beat. One of the first things I did was check out the web site of the Native American Journalists Association. NAJA's... By Steve Buttry | May 07, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: TV violence: more program information would be better than regulation National surveys in 2004 and 2005 by the First Amendment Center found that Americans see government a distant third - behind parents at 80% and the producers of television programs at 10-15% - as parties that should be primarily responsible in determining what's seen on the family screen. By Gene Policinski | May 03, 2007 Training Tracks: Take responsibility for your words Sometimes journalists might find some value in playing "good cop, bad cop." But usually you build credibility by taking responsibility for what you say, whether you're an editor dealing with reporters or a reporter dealing with sources. This advice was... By Steve Buttry | May 02, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Amid Va. Tech horror: experiencing, not just getting, the news It's much too soon to assess the full impact of this new combination of mainstream media and dramatic and personal ways of experiencing - not just receiving - the news. Will it have a calming effect, dispersing rumors and balancing out erroneous reports? Could it spark even more scrutiny - and disciplinary action - in schools against students who are different, who don't "fit in?" By Gene Policinski | April 20, 2007 Training Tracks: Embrace the beauty and opportunity beyond upheaval I've done some exciting and inspiring travel in the past month. I visited Bryce Canyon, where centuries of sedimentation followed by tectonic upheaval followed by wind and frost erosion left the earth in fascinating, massive columns of sandstone called hoodoos.... By Steve Buttry | April 20, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: School: 'Tolerance' editorial will not be tolerated But react they did. School authorities promulgated a new district policy establishing a rigid system of prior review, declaring principals the publishers of the school papers. And they are seeking to fire Tomahawk adviser Amy Sorrell for not showing Chase's column in advance to Principal Edwin Yoder as potentially controversial, and for "insubordination" in resisting the newly-advanced prior review policy. Specifically, according to news reports, school administrators also have said to the Tomahawk staff that the column was "biased," discussed a subject inappropriate for younger students, and lacked support and balance in the way it was written. By Gene Policinski | April 05, 2007 Training Tracks: Strategic training delivers results In these times of declining newspaper circulation, the Bloomington Herald-Times grew circulation four of the last five years. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has growing circulation, particularly in home delivery. The Waco Tribune Herald's single-copy sales are up 8 percent year... By Steve Buttry | March 28, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: 'Bong Hits' case may clarify scope of student speech Morse v. Frederick is worth tracking because of its potential to strike at the heart of a landmark 1969 landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Court said student speech is protected unless school officials can reasonably forecast that it will disrupt the educational process. The students in the Tinker case had had worn black armbands to school to protest deaths in the Vietnam War. By Gene Policinski | March 23, 2007 Convergence: Interactive Community News blog We're getting ready to welcome 30 participants to the Interactive Community News seminar, which starts Monday, March 19. Check back during the week for their comments as they go through the program.... By Mary Glick | March 16, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: When courtrooms peer into newsrooms, watch out The public needs an unfiltered, unbeholden and uninvolved view of how the courts and the criminal-justice system work, to help honest judges and public servants root out those who aren't. The public needs an independent observer as a check and balance - and sometimes a watchdog with bite - on misplaced zealots and those more in pursuit of personal gain than public benefit. By Gene Policinski | March 13, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: When these reporters make a promise, it's for keeps Will sources with information the public truly needs to know continue to come forward if their ultimate motives and actions, beyond the information they have, are subject to scrutiny and possible disclosure? Will sources risk jobs, retribution or reputation without the solid assurance that the journalist will keep their identity confidential? By Gene Policinski | February 26, 2007 Writing Tips: Help for narrative writers Roy Peter Clark has another outstanding series on writing under way. Check out his series, "Creating the Breakfast Serial: A Starter Kit." I've plugged Roy's advice frequently in these tips and he's right on target again. If you would like... By Steve Buttry | February 21, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Why we need a strong student press The student press in America doesn't get much press. But it's an important part of educating our kids, and it's in trouble and getting weaker. Legislative proposals in Washington state and Kansas regarding student journalism are at cross-purposes: The former... By Gene Policinski | February 12, 2007 Training Tracks: Computer-assisted reporting: an essential skill, an outdated term I've long objected to the term computer-assisted reporting. We've let it become a specialized skill that a few geeks master and the rest of us don't need to worry about. I was pleased this weekend to catch part of a... By Steve Buttry | February 11, 2007 Training Tracks: A checklist for training success Rick Arthur did a couple important things the other day: He remembered some valuable lessons and he thanked the people who had taught them. Rick is a copy desk chief at the Tacoma News-Tribune and a coach and trainer with... By Steve Buttry | February 07, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Overcoming Resistance to Change Dr. Jellison will be appearing at API's Managing Newsroom Change from the Middle, May 7-9, 2007. CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE is the mantra of our age, yet our human nature leads us to prefer doing things the same old way. As the pressure to change increases, our tendency to resist change grows even stronger. To be effective with employees and customers, you learn how to help people overcome their resistance to change. But often our usual approach doesn't actually work. By API Staff | January 31, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Congressmen's letter a refreshing defense of press freedom There is legitimate debate among Americans in general, and journalists in particular, about the value and ethics of using confidential sources, both in reporting a story and in writing the story to be published. Many journalists as a matter of principle would rather not use any source they cannot name. And certainly many readers and viewers are suspicious of the use of unnamed sources. What is the motive of the "leaker"? How can the reader evaluate the source's credibility if no name is attached to the facts disclosed? Some might even ask, "Is there really a source, or is it a reporter's fiction?" By ccapellman | January 29, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Give 'reverse mentoring' some consideration Jeffrey Dvorkin, executive editor of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, has an interesting suggestion about "reverse mentoring," tapping the expertise of younger staff members in your newsroom. Given the importance of reaching younger readers and the necessity of learning new... By Steve Buttry | January 16, 2007 Training Tracks: Find opportunities in upheaval I recently received an e-mail from a journalist describing herself as "discouraged." She's a reporter from a mid-sized paper who had attended one of my seminars. She complained that her paper "has started to cover more and more ... well,... By Steve Buttry | January 14, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Free speech for a president and protesters In none of this, and properly so, was the First Amendment the actual focus. Nonetheless, this ability to have a national discussion without fear of government control or retribution is a remarkable, essential part of the way the United States functions. This is not to say all is just fine with the state of our basic freedoms, particularly when it comes to knowing what our government is doing. In just the past few days: By ccapellman | January 12, 2007 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Ideas on crowdsourcing and innovation If you haven't done any "crowdsourcing" yet, or are skeptical of it, (or don't know what it is), check out this piece by A. Adam Glenn. Take a look at the 10 ideas for building a better newspaper, from the... By Steve Buttry | January 08, 2007 Writing Tips: Read some of Michael Browning's fine writing In my last note, I expressed regrets that I didn't get to meet Don Murray. I'll add Michael Browning to that growing list of journalists who have passed without my making their acquaintance. Read this tribute to him by Marc... By Steve Buttry | January 08, 2007 Writing Tips: Tips from Don Murray and Brady Dennis Among my New Year's resolutions: Do writing tips more regularly. All fall long, it's been one of those things I meant to do next week. I want to call your attention to Chip Scanlan's touching tribute to Don Murray, the... By Steve Buttry | January 08, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: How will our freedoms fare in '07? How will a growing "middle" in American political life - seen in the mid-term elections of 2006 and in the First Amendment Center's annual State of the First Amendment survey - affect public debate on freedom issues? As my colleagues at the First Amendment Center and others have observed, a growing number of Americans seem to reject extreme positions of both the far right and left - moving toward consensus and common sense: Public schools ought to be able to recognize and include a variety of music and programs at Christmastime as long as no one religious view predominates or gets official endorsement. The government ought to be able to keep some secrets, but citizens also need a vigorous press that provides a real public accounting of the "war on terror." By ccapellman | January 04, 2007 First Amendment / Free Speech: Fear spoils freedom's promise The more ways we find to communicate with one another, the more reasons we find to silence one another. We don't openly censor, of course, so much as we try to regulate. We seek comfort in rating speech according to its content or ranking it according to its value. And when we encounter speech that doesn't square with our view of the world, we prefer punishment to persuasion. We crave serenity yet reject the balm of tolerance. By ccapellman | December 18, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: The news media meltdown While the First Amendment protects the press from overt government censorship, it can't fully protect the press from full-time government hostility or part-time citizen apathy. Only Americans who recognize that bad news for the press is worse news for democracy can do that. By | November 30, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Too much sex or too much law? As the trial ends later this month, Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed must grapple with some complicated issues: the definitions of "harmful to minors," "commercial purposes" and "contemporary community standards," whether a distinction should be made between what's appropriate for a 6-year-old and a 16-year-old, and whether there is a narrower approach to the problem than COPA lays out. In their five decisions thus far, the courts at all levels have shown great concern for the First Amendment implications of COPA. A possible preview of the result this time is the June 2004 ruling by the Supreme Court upholding the injunction against COPA and finding a "substantial likelihood" that it ran afoul of the First Amendment. By | November 21, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: The news by official decree The latest survey of global press freedoms, released last week by Reporters Without Borders, shows the United States falling another nine places since the previous year to 53rd, tying with Botswana, Croatia and Tonga. Cited as part of the reason for the steady decline in the rankings was the sharp tension between the Bush administration and the press that has developed since 9/11 and the federal courts' refusal to recognize a reporter's right to protect confidential sources. But there is much more than that going on that should test our complacency about the democratic role of an independent press and an informed citizenry. Aside from punishing or threatening the press, our government seems increasingly bent on interfering with newsgathering and newsroom decision-making, propagandizing the public and suppressing inconvenient facts. By | November 02, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: The games censors play For more than eight decades, dating to the Payne Fund studies on movie violence in 1933, experts have produced study after study and political leaders have conducted hearing after hearing, all in an effort to prove - by repetition if not by hard evidence - that media violence harms young people, even adults. Despite those efforts, drawing a straight line from violence in the media to violence in reality remains difficult if not impossible. The cause-and-effect relationship cannot be produced reliably in the lab nor demonstrated plausibly in real life. Common experience, common sense and logic also get in the way By | October 19, 2006 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Leading the Revolution: A Story from the Leadership Wars Take a look at this insightful presentation that Dana Robbins gave at the 9/06 Newsroom Leadership seminar. This is a large file and may take some time to download, even with a high-speed connection... By API | October 12, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: When committing journalism becomes a crime Protecting confidential sources is only one of a number of ways that journalists are finding themselves in trouble with the law. As the Times' Carr puts it: "Whether the aggrieved is the government or private industry, shooting the messenger has become a blood sport." Most of us find it fairly easy to live with constitutional protection for press freedom as long as journalists confine themselves to the non-controversial or non-threatening. But when the press puts its freedom to the test by bringing us the news we'd rather not hear, it also tests this nation's commitment to democratic principles. By | October 05, 2006 Training Tracks: Why aren't they using our pay phones? I get really annoyed when I look for a place to plug in my laptop computer at an airport. I look around the lounge for an electrical outlet. Often no seats are within reach of an outlet. Sometimes you could... By Steve Buttry | September 27, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Locked in mortal combat with the media monster To argue that violence in media causes actual violence, or that indecency in media causes harmful sexual adventurism, is to argue that the cleansing of movies, TV, radio, video games, comic books, the Internet and even books will remove crime, perversion and other unpleasantness from our midst. If only it were that easy. If only that weren't the pure definition of intellectual, cultural and political slavery. There should be no surprise or shock that human beings gravitate toward entertainment that reflects life, stimulates the senses, sparks a laugh, offers an excuse to waste a bit of time. It is somewhat of a surprise to realize that so many of us lack the confidence in our own ability to distinguish between life and fantasy or between cause and effect. By | September 21, 2006 Training Tracks: When does sloppy attribution become plagiarism? What's the difference between plagiarism and sloppy attribution? How do you define plagiarism? An editor at one of the newspapers hosting an API Our Readers Are Watching seminar asked those questions recently. I promised to take a stab at answering... By Steve Buttry | September 20, 2006 Training Tracks: Tips for a new writing coach I had lunch recently with the new writing coach of the Houston Chronicle, Tony Freemantle. Aly Colón of the Poynter Institute and I were visiting the Chronicle for one of API's Our Readers Are Watching seminars. Tony wanted to hear... By Steve Buttry | September 11, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: danger Why is the record of our elected leaders on both sides of the aisle so frequently and woefully detached from the facts on vital issues? Mucciaroni told The Washington Post: "We don't pretend to know whether they are lying, are ignorant, or misperceive the facts and informed opinion on an issue. Instead of using 'flatly lying' we prefer 'flatly incorrect' or 'flatly inaccurate.'" By | September 07, 2006 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Insightful views on relevance, editing and coaching If you think newspapers are growing irrelevant, read this piece by James O'Byrne of the Times-Picayune. Gregg McLachlan has some good advice for opinion page editors (and other editors, too): I was delighted to receive a copy of A Writer's... By Steve Buttry | September 01, 2006 Writing Tips: Time is running out on these cliches Read Bob Baker's column, "At the end of the day, an about-face on clichés" at your own peril. You may find some phrases lampooned there that have appeared in your own copy. But he will heighten your awareness of clichés.... By Steve Buttry | September 01, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Spying as a form of censorship That presents a false choice, as if there were no ways to develop policies and programs that resolve the conflict between potential harm to our security and the potential damage to our rights. To approach the problem any other way is to create an environment in which citizens fear their government instead of or in addition to their enemies. If security trumps freedom, then the question arises as just what it is that we are protecting. Freedom of speech, even dissent, is not just at the core of our freedom, it is an essential component of security. By | August 25, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Criminalizing Speech to Protect Secrets In an article on its survey of House members published this past weekend, The Boston Globe reported that our elected representatives face "an untenable choice" on intelligence bills: "Either consent to a review process so secretive that they could never mention anything about it in House debates, under the threat of prosecution, or vote on classified provisions they knew nothing about. Most chose to know nothing." By | August 11, 2006 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Help on reorganizing beats For regular readers of the leadership tips, I apologize for the long lag between tips. I haven't taken the summer off, but have been busy on a variety of projects with which I won't bore you. I also haven't seen... By Steve Buttry | August 09, 2006 Media Business Trends and Issues: Is citizen journalism here to stay? Although citizen journalism is thriving on the Internet, Nicholas Lemann says there is room for professional journalism online. Lemann analyzes the merits of citizen journalism and its long-term staying power in the August 7-14 issue of The New Yorker: "Citizen... By ccapellman | August 08, 2006 Innovation and Leadership Tips: Recommended Reading for Newspaper Leaders Here is a list of recently recommended books from American Press Institute seminar moderators and speakers to help you start the fall on the right foot. Blue Ocean Strategy - by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne Recommended by Drew... By ccapellman | August 07, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Big Ideas for Big Margins Online Online advertising has the potential to yield "margins that would make the Mafia blush," says Andy Perdue, interactive media director of the Tri-City Herald. At the recent American Press Institute seminar, "Advertising Leadership for Community Markets," Perdue presented strategies that... By ccapellman | August 01, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Right Road to a High-Performing Sales Team "The average cost of losing a sales rep at Gannett is $285,000," says Jeff Bergin, director of advertising at Gannett. From the time that an employee decides to look for a job to the time that his replacement is up... By ccapellman | August 01, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Know Thine Enemy: How radio, cable, and broadcast television sell advertising Know your competitors to beat them at their own game. At the recent American Press Institute seminar, "Advertising Leadership for Community Markets," Ed Baron, CEO of Ed Baron Associates, presented the truth behind the numbers radio, cable, and broadcast TV... By ccapellman | July 28, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: When the censor within reaches out, watch out In a society as diverse and challenging as ours, there is much that we would prefer not to have to abide for ourselves or our children. The vast majority of us care deeply about civility, decency and responsibility. We want public discourse and entertainment to reflect and promote our better nature; we want public expression that elevates and inspires rather than degrades and sullies. Indeed, we have the right - even the obligation - to fight for those principles and values in the public arena, to crowd out bad words and ideas with good ones. That is democracy in its best dress: using reason, passion and persistence to persuade others to our way of seeing things. Ideally, that process leads to a cultural shift that informs and shapes our speech as well as our laws. By | July 27, 2006 Media Business Trends and Issues: Attract Young Readers with Attractive Redesign With its last redesign in 1995, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis decided it was time for a change. It was also an opportunity to use design to attract new, younger readers. Cory Powell, assistant managing editor of design and readership... By ccapellman | July 25, 2006 Media Business Trends and Issues: The Other Side of the Story: Alternative Print Products As the core readership of the traditional newspaper ages, alternative approaches to print products could hold the key to capturing a younger audience. Alternative weeklies and free dailies across the country are adopting unconventional content and promotional devices to attract... By | July 25, 2006 Technology: New Products for New Audiences: Online Media What do Washington Post Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), National Public Radio (NPR), and STLToday.com have in common? They all offer innovative online products that extend the organization's reach to wider audiences. Each of these organizations has embraced the Internet to create... By | July 25, 2006 Training Tracks: Pursue career goals aggressively A recent message from a reporter at a weekly newspaper asked advice in trying to find a new job. He said he had been seeking work at a daily newspaper but was encountering a bias among editors at dailies toward... By Steve Buttry | July 21, 2006 Writing Tips: A story written with emotional authenticity I really like this story by Kristen Hare of the St. Joseph News-Press. She writes with emotional authenticity. A colleague recently messaged me looking for a list of various story forms. I connected him with some people who had compiled... By Steve Buttry | July 18, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Harnessing Market Intelligence: Community Market "Successful new products begin with market research to define customer interests," says Grady Singletary, publisher of the Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon. This community paper has launched three niche publications in the past four years based on information it has... By | July 17, 2006 Circulation: Boost Single Copy Sales Although single-copy sales might be trending downward, some innovative thinking can boost them, says Tony Mineart, senior vice-president of circulation of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He recently discussed what the industry is doing wrong as well as examples of... By | July 17, 2006 Training Tracks: Answers for innovation skeptics Wrightsville Beach, N.C. - The first time I developed a newspaper feature based on user-generated content, I had never heard of that term. The World Wide Web was still about a decade in the future, so I wasn't seeking e-mail... By Steve Buttry | July 17, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Seven Steps to Revenue Growth Newspapers can improve their advertising revenue by adopting tactics used in other industries says Stephen Fisher, sales and marketing director of the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa. Adherence to the basics combined with unconventional techniques can bring in more revenue... By | July 14, 2006 Technology: Five Habits of High Revenue Web sites How can print publications compete against the Internet in an age when the average consumer spends 14 hours a week online and only two reading newspapers? You don't have to compete, says Peter Conti, vice-president of Borrell Associates. Instead, newspapers... By | July 14, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Rating shock and awe at the movies "Facing the Giants" is not due in theaters until fall, but it's already getting lots of attention because it was rated PG for "parental guidance" instead of G, suitable for general audiences. That upset the film's producers and Christian groups, who said the higher rating was imposed because of the film's religious content. By | July 14, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Harnessing Marketing Information: Metro Market Once your newspaper has recognized the importance of market intelligence, what can you do to harness the information and put it to work for you? The key to having easily accessible information, both to present to advertisers and to use... By | July 13, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: Marketing Myths: Five Pitfalls to Avoid Even newspapers that embrace market intelligence make key mistakes that prevent them from unleashing the full power of their data. Ed Efchak, vice-president of marketing at North Jersey Media Group, pinpointed a few common pitfalls and assumptions to avoid at... By | July 12, 2006 Marketing / Advertising: A Walk in Their Shoes: Three Perspectives on Using Market Intelligence As advertising becomes more and more fragmented among media, one way newspapers can stay competitive is to use market intelligence to meet advertisers' needs. Newspapers hold valuable household-level data that they can tap into to help advertisers identify, understand and... By | July 12, 2006 First Amendment / Free Speech: Free speech suffers a case of the cyber shakes Now, whether you believe that the Internet ranks right up there with drugs, alcohol and gambling as grave threats to our collective and individual health, it is yet another nagging concern that is creating yet another addiction: the craving to regulate the heck out of that virtual monster. By | June 29, 2006 |