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Readers look to newspapers for the big stories: politics, technology and all the other forces that move the world in big ways. But journalists also need to catalog the minutiae that often have the most immediate impact on how we live.
Throughout the 2008 campaign season, I kept careful tally of readers’ impressions of bias in The Kansas City Star’s election news. The response was almost universal: The paper was pro-Barack Obama, anti-John McCain.
Digital photography’s triumph over film has been a hugely mixed blessing for photojournalism. Saying goodbye to the darkroom has made it possible to overcome the obstacles of tight deadlines and geographic distances that have given newspapers headaches for generations.
Sadly, most newspapers write about crime every day. An Oct. 2 story in The Kansas City Star drew praise from some readers, but others found its tone problematic.
Not everyone has a computer and Internet connection. TV cable boxes with on-screen program guides are common, but hardly universal. And some people just prefer the printed word on paper, thank you very much.
I’ve said it so many times that I’ve lost count: Counting words and measuring column inches are lousy measures of a newspaper’s fairness and balance. Numbers aren’t words, and cold calculation hardly reflects what readers perceive in The Kansas City Star.
This just in: Norway and Poland used to be part of the Soviet Union. Or at least it seemed that way, judging by Page A-1 of the Aug. 21 Kansas City Star. With a story about Russia’s recent actions in Eastern Europe, a graphic noted the reaction from five countries nearby: Norway, Poland, Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.
So far in 2008, The Kansas City Star has published 262 corrections. That’s versus 315 this time last year.
The conventions aren’t even here yet, but chatter about how The Kansas City Star covers the presidential campaign is heating up at my lines. No two readers agree fully, but common themes are emerging.
They call it the “piling-on effect.” A particularly hot news topic gets people talking — and readers perceive that The Kansas City Star gives more space to one side of the argument, stacking the deck of public opinion.
Journalists often — make that usually — know a great deal more about a story than they report. Sources may not agree to speak on the record, or different people might offer conflicting versions of what happened. In those cases, of course the right choice is for the reporter to err on the side of caution.
A caller Thursday morning made a very perceptive observation about what she wants to see covered in The Kansas City Sta r.
I’ve heard from several people recently who’ve had trouble navigating to The Kansas City Star’s Midwest Voices blog. Refers with many Opinion section columns promote voices.kansascity.com as a place for readers to share their thoughts.
Thursday marked the first day The Star published FYI Weekend/Preview, combining most elements from two existing sections. More than 100 readers gave lots of feedback — most of it negative.
John Long, publisher of the local magazine Camp, contacted me recently about an April 21 story that looked at the upcoming race between Sam Graves and Kay Barnes.
Several readers last week expressed confusion about recent stories concerning a raid on the Eldorado, Texas compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS.
Editors always hope a great photograph will draw readers into the paper, and last Wednesday’s Page A-1 image of the new scoreboard at Kauffman Stadium seems to have caught a lot of eyes.
For over a week, readers have debated how The Kansas City Star covered the story of Barack Obama’s relationship with his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., including when and where it appeared in the paper.
I have heard lots of good points recently, several from multiple voices. Of course, popularity isn’t necessarily rectitude, but I take notice when I hear common themes in observations about The Kansas City Star.
On Feb. 21, The Kansas City Star published a short story about the one-day suspension of a staffer who was hired to play guitar at Kansas City Councilman Ed Ford’s 55th birthday celebration, which was also a political fundraiser.
Stories about dogs almost always generate attention from readers, the vast majority of it positive. But when man’s best friend is a pit bull, the reaction is usually more complex and passionate.
As the Internet matures, it’s disheartening that the level of public discourse seems to be regressing. In recent weeks, scores of readers have contacted me about rude and obnoxious anonymous comments left on news stories at KansasCity.com.
Readers often ask why they don’t see exactly the same content in The Kansas City Star and on KansasCity.com — especially when they think something on the Web site deserves prominent play in the paper.
There’s nothing more personal or individual than a sense of humor. No two readers will ever agree fully on what’s funny or within the bounds of good taste, but a tongue-in-cheek contest in Thursday’s Preview drew several very strong objections.
After a teenager committed eight horrific murders in an Omaha mall on Dec. 5, readers had several different takes on how The Kansas City Star covered the traumatic incident.
The Kansas City Star first reported that Kansas City park board member Frances Semler is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps on June 12. Since then I’ve heard a consistent stream of reader comment about the controversy.
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