

Things I'd Do If I Ran a News Organization  - edw519
http://mediactive.com/2009/09/12/eleven-things-id-do-if-i-ran-a-news-organization/

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mitko
"11. We would never publish lists of 10. They’re a prop for lazy and
unimaginative people."

He just did publish such list. Also he neither explains why he believes these
will improve journalism, nor how they can be done in practice.

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cookingrobot
I don't agree with the first point about anniversary stories; there should be
more follow-up in journalism, not less.

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celoyd
He's a little contradictory about it. A followup story is a great way of
correcting errors (#4) and describing what isn't known (#3).

#1 is also undermined by #6: crusades, even when you think you have the facts
on your side, are of a piece with commentary.

So I'd replace his #1 with "no fluff pieces masquerading as news" and call the
list good as far as it goes.

On the topic of anniversary stories, I think timelines are badly underused in
hard-news stories. A clear and thorough chronology, in chart format to make
different threads clear, helps explain complicated scenarios. But newspapers
seem to think of graphics as a way of dumbing things down, not as legitimate
tools. If I ran a newspaper, it would be full of complex visual analysis.
(Complex as opposed to the stupid three-bar graphs you sometimes see in
margins.)

