Reply #4: Any opinions on today's message from the editor Cape Cod Times [View All]

[PuraVidaDreamin]

http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/edits/paulp.h...

April 23, 2006

Staged event, news, or both?
By PAUL PRONOVOST
A photograph of an anti-war protestor in handcuffs was the subject of a lengthy discussion in the Cape Cod Times newsroom this week. It is worth sharing because it speaks to a question I'm often asked about how items get on the front page.

The cover of a newspaper, of course, is a first impression and our goal is to fill the front page with news that is both important and interesting. From there, the sausage making begins.

Every afternoon, editors gather in a conference room at the Times to discuss the developments of the day. Each person has a role: The news editor presents the local stories, the wire editor presents the national and international stories, the photo editor presents the photos, etc. From there, we discuss, and sometimes debate, what should appear on page one.

It's an important exercise, because people have different perspectives, so everyone at the meeting has a voice.

Our goal, as a daily paper of record, is to construct a page that includes the top news of the day in words, images and graphic elements; and as a community newspaper, in particular, we try to highlight news from the immediate world around our readers.

So the discussion that ensued over two photographs from an anti-war protest was not unusual. A group calling themselves Cape Codders for Peace and Justice camped out in U.S. Rep. William Delahunt's Hyannis office to force the congressman to address their main complaint - that he would not support a measure to stop funding the war in Iraq. When they did not get a satisfactory response - the protestors claimed the congressman would not meet with them - they staged a sit-in that ended in six arrests.

More at link..

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