(Editor’s note: This was written 11 YEARS AGO. And sat in draft mode all that time! This past month, I’ve learned more about WordPress than ever before, as our website at the station moved to a WP-based platform. So now I look at this .com blog creation with new eyes – what’s similar, what’s different…)
Other day, got an e-mail from a nice lady:
“Has there been any news reports on the new Sonic Burger opening in Bend? Just curious about it since the last couple days cars have been lined up down the highway waiting to get into the restaurant. I didn’t see anything about it on your website.”
My reply:
“Well, no, we haven’t covered the latest restaurant opening frenzy in Bend. The paper had a photo and caption, just adding to the hordes who got the word through word of mouth or passing by. We figured it was pretty well known and didn’t need a “free ad” from us- heck, even read a blogger waxing poetic over their little ice cubes;-)
Her reply – again, in a tone so much appreciated compared to the nasty, accusatory stuff we all too often get:
“I appreciate your reply Barney, but I see it in a completely different way. So here’s an example of how one reader/viewer thinks:
It’s not just the latest restaurant opening frenzy in Bend; it’s so much more. It’s a traffic congestion story for one. On Wednesday, May 21st, traffic was backed up coming from the North as far back as the jail. It became such an issue that the highway department lit up a big flashing sign warning drivers of a heavy traffic area. Peoples lives and commutes were being effected.
You’re not the paper. Who cares what the paper had; not everyone looks at the paper. Is it your norm to pick and choose stories based on what the paper is doing? Isn’t every single news story you do a “free ad” in one way or another? Does KTVZ support the economy in Bend? What about the jobs that are being provided for by Sonic?
Who cares if you were criticized for doing a story on Trader Joe’s. Shouldn’t dictate how you handle something now. I believe the majority of us appreciated hearing about a new business opening in that area of Bend. Progress is beautiful. Improvements are wonderful.
People in North Bend and Sisters now have a quality fast food restaurant on “their” end of town. It’s been a long time coming. This is a big deal to us. A piece of land in our town is now bursting with life after years of being vacant and depressed. It’s nice to see improvement there after watching the Tom Tom close and the truck stop shut down. I love that things are happening there again.
Sonic has a really good bacon cheese burger toaster. My son really likes them and wants to go get one right now.
And last but not least…It’s a happy story as opposed to sad or scary…which is primarily what we’re used to hearing. We need more happy, exciting and fun in our lives right now. Times are hard. You’re missing out on all the fun. Let’s hear it for Sonic. Welcome to Bend!”
And again, my reply:
“…you make all your points very well. One thing I forgot to tell YOU was – I’m NOT the news director and am only one voice in about four (news director, show producers) on what we do/don’t cover. And I win some, lose some. Every day I do a list of 30 or so story ideas, and on good days, roughly a third turn into stories. There’s always hundreds more story ideas than there are time in the show, reporters not already tied up, time conflicts etc.
Yes, the paper influences what stories we do and how we treat them, to some degree. So does radio, our TV competition, etc. We don’t necessarily DO or NOT DO stories based on what others do, but it DOES play a role – as it does for every media outlet.
We sure don’t want to look like we’re chasing the paper (or anyone else’s) tail – some folks think we just rip stories out of the paper and read them – nothing could be further from the truth. Give me two stories of roughly equal importance (a judgment call there!), one that other media outlets have had and the other newly discovered by us, and we’ll always do the latter – we don’t want to look/sound like everyone else.
This is a worthwhile discussion…” and I went on to ask if I could post it here. Haven’t heard back, so I figure it’s safe, leaving out her name (I’ll add it if she’s comfortable with it.”
So, let me add on. Some folks thing we should cheer good economic news. Others think we should spend more time on the bad things folks do. Heck, we did what I thought was an innocuous story on the crummy weather heading into the weekend, and … well, here’s the post by someone labeled “Stay positive”:
That prompted the predictable reactions of “what in the world???” – and I have to admit, I even wonder if it was tongue-in-cheek?
Leave it to Barney 