Raytown joke in ‘Stargazing’ offends

Humor is intensely subjective and it often comes at someone’s expense. That’s why journalists have to be careful about jibes in general-audience publications like The Kansas City Star.

Routine election coverage needed more

For the Anniston Star, the two biggest stories last month were the Nov. 2 elections and the Iron Bowl.
And, it should be noted that the Star brought honor and empathy to the annual ritual of remembering our fallen warriors of the nation’s wars.

Republicanism and the royal engagement

Where have all the republicans gone? Ten years after the Guardian launched a campaign to have the Act of Settlement repealed, Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton. Letters of complaint to the readers’ editor about the extent of our coverage: two.

“Does the news of this engagement really deserve a front page, two inside pages and the Eyewitness centrefold in the Guardian?” wrote a reader. Readers’ editors don’t go looking for complaints, but it seemed a muted response given the republican history of the Guardian. What did my colleagues feel? I sent a message to colleagues: “I am …

Would Mark Twain have edited Tina Fey?

PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler answers the question in the headline: “I doubt it.” But that’s what the producers of the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor did to the show that recently aired nationally on PBS.

Are teachers treated fairly by The Miami Herald?

After reviewing news coverage affecting teachers, “I didn’t find that they were negatively characterized or that there was any particular slant in stories,” says the Miami Herald’s ombudsman. “Articles were pretty straightforward.”

Names in the news, before they can read

It seems that a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old can be sued for negligence in the state of New York. And young children’s names can be published in a story about such a suit.

A New York State Supreme Court justice ruled last month that a 4-year-old was old enough to be sued in a civil personal-injury case. The New York Law Journal reported on the ruling on Oct. 28 and published the children’s names. The Times followed the Journal’s lead and also named the children in a story about the decision.

But should the names be published? New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane explores the question.

Times responds to criticism of foster care coverage

The Los Angeles Times is under fire for its coverage of child abuse and problems in the Los Angeles County agency whose mission is to combat it. Published reports call the coverage, among other things, “reckless” and “downright inaccurate.”

It’s the economy, Stupid!

If media bosses can’t pay their staff properly, brown-envelope journalism will be a problem. It’s particularly rampant in Uganda.

Avoiding even a hint of bias

Does being a journalist require checking one’s constitutional rights at the newsroom door? It depends on the newsroom.

The recent ethical travails at MSNBC and NPR have spawned an interesting national conversation on the subject. MSNBC suspended commentator Keith Olbermann for violating rules on political campaign donations, and NPR attracted attention when the news staff was reminded that they were not to attend comedian Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity,” unless they were covering it.

In the newspaper world, both of those would not even need discussion.

Evolution or devolution?

Societal standards have evolved or devolved, depending on your perspective, notes ESPN Ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer, and he says the nature of that conversation is often reflected and abetted by the media — ESPN included.