Historic milestone makes slavery relevant in news…

After two straight Sundays of stories on slavery and its aftermath, the calls were sure to come.

Callers who don’t want to read about slavery, saying it will incite “those people” and keep racial strife boiling.

Callers who get upset when there are too many black faces in the paper.

Callers who say this is part of a campaign to obtain reparations for African-Americans.

Callers who seek to minimize the effects of slavery, saying racial disparities don’t exist, that slaves didn’t suffer any more than other ethnic groups and the descendants of slaves are better …

The top news story was no surprise…

Our journey through 2001 may end tomorrow night, but it will be remembered forever because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America and America’s response.

Not surprisingly, 129 readers who accepted an invitation to rank the top stories of the year overwhelmingly selected the attack as the No. 1 national/international event. This being the United States, some readers held a different view. Six felt that the attack was the No. 2 story of the year; two considered it to be the No. 3 story.

Speaking for the majority, one reader wrote, “This was …

C-J’s Civil Liberties roundtable: Jan. 9 at the Speed Museum…

Secret military tribunals.

People jailed, but not charged.

Nationwide sweeps for terror suspects.

Those are the possibilities and realities of American life after sweeping anti-terrorism measures were passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Were these measures an appropriate response to terror networks that threaten to subvert our security, our well-being and our way of life?

Or were they an official overreaction that threatens the very framework of who we are as a nation, as a people and as a …

Room for improvement in 2002…

Some folks believe New Year’s resolutions are a valuable way to focus on goals.

Others believe such an exercise is potentially harmful, particularly if expectations are unrealistic.

Acknowledging that risk, I present this resolutions list for the newspaper, based on lessons learned from readers:

1. Get the facts right. Reporters earn trust from readers and news sources through accurate writing. The newspaper loses credibility with each mistake. Rigorous verification is essential throughout reporting and editing.

2. Cover the whole story. Include all relevant perspectives and take care to include necessary background and context. Stories …

Publisher’s speech touches a nerve across the U.S….

No one could have known how prophetic the opening line of Publisher Janis Besler Heaphy’s speech to the graduating class at California State University Sacramento would be.

“It’s challenging to give a commencement address,” she told the crowd at Arco Area.

Indeed it was.

By the time the 10 o’clock news was aired that Saturday night, Heaphy left challenging local audiences behind and entered the strange world of temporary celebrity. An audience that did not want to hear what she had to say forced her off a local stage, but onto a national stage. They …

Articles on spiritual topics take a religious approach…

Occasionally, readers complain that The Oregonian doesn’t pay enough attention to religion. Or that the newspaper’s editors are anti-religion.

Neither allegation is true. Coverage of religious topics has increased in both depth and breadth in the past decade. However, I didn’t realize how much the newspaper does publish on religious subjects until I looked through The Oregonian’s files last week.

I went to the files because it occurred to me that the past year has provided unusual opportunities for reporting on religion.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace laureate and the spiritual and political leader of …

Heroes on the homefront: A tribute to others who serve…

Millions of soldiers like Doris Otto live throughout our land. They are not official, uniformed, sworn-in soldiers, but they have earned their stripes just the same.

These soldiers have used memories like blankets in which to wrap themselves on cold and lonely nights.

They have felt the anguish, deep in their bones, and the fear, deep in their hearts, that comes with knowing a loved one is in a harsh and hostile place and may not return.

They have looked in the mirror and willed away the thought, “Is this the day that a knock …

What good are press conferences? Understanding the messy a…

Aesop is credited with first observing that familiarity breeds contempt. The famous Greek writer of fables never got to witness a televised White House or Defense Department news briefing, but it was e-mail from MSNBC.com readers put off by what they see going on at those affairs that made me think of him the other day.

On one hand are the complaints from those like Hu Bonar upset with the news medias idiotic and repetitive questions with the potential to compromise the U.S. military over in Afghanistan. On the other are those like Pat McGuire of …

Paper’s goal is to effectively serve readers…

When Akron Police Chief Michael Matulavich told the media, “don’t put me on your time schedule,” it made me wonder what is an appropriate timetable for controversial stories.

He said that at yesterday’s news conference, called by the chief to criticize a Dec. 15 Akron Beacon Journal story. In it, a 74-year-old Akron resident said he was shoved to the ground and handcuffed by police in a case of mistaken identity. Turns out the real suspect was 45 years younger.

To say the chief “criticized” the story probably isn’t strong enough. Vilify would be …

Selling papers not the goal of race coverage…

A recent conference in Atlanta took place over several days and attracted hundreds of people from around the country to discuss the “State of the Black World.”

Among other things, some high-profile speakers reminded the assembly that African-Americans have lived with terror for years while many white Americans have only recently begun to experience it.

The following week there was a news conference and rally that lasted only a few minutes by a handful of black ministers and political activists to show support for a former DeKalb County sheriff who had just been charged with …