The relationship between a newspaper and its advertisers used to be clear. The newspaper provided the news content; the advertiser bought labeled advertising space in the paper. The advertiser had nothing to do with editorial content.
Under the economic pressures facing the print media, the line between newspaper and advertiser is becoming blurred, at The Star and elsewhere. For several years now, “Bird’s Word,” a contest inviting readers to test their predictions of high school football games against Star writer Nick Birdsong, has carried an advertising logo.
This year, The Star took another step more clearly over the line between newspaper and advertiser. The weekly game predictions by Star sports writers is now “Brought to you by Sunny King Toyota/Scion.” The paper sold sponsorship of a regular Star feature article to an advertiser (Sept. 24, 3B).
Does it matter? The game predictions will not be affected. But it brings the commercial logo into news content, blurring the distinction between news and advertising. What is next, perhaps a sponsor for Joe Medley’s sports column or John Fleming’s business column?
Ups, downs in sports
The biggest local story in September was the start of the football season. Every fall the sports staff pulls off a minor miracle of journalism, providing sharp coverage of three university and several dozen high school football teams. Star photographers are vital to the coverage.
Of all American sports, football is the most photogenic. With its colorful uniforms and fierce physical contact, there are limitless possibilities for good pictures. Three great ones in September:
– Seth Hornsby of Ranburne crashes through the scrimmage line, his broken finger in a cast, by Bill Wilson (Sept. 5, 1C).
– Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux fumbles under a hit by a Florida State player, Steve Gross (Sept. 13, 1C).
– A striking, wide-angle photo of eight Ball State defenders chasing Auburn’s Onterio McCaleb on his 62-yard breakaway run, by Wilson (Sept. 27, 3C).
There also were some fine game stories:
– “Ranburne defeated Ohatchee the old-fashioned way … Friday night, earning a 14-6 victory while utilizing a no-frills offense that would’ve made Knute Rockne proud,” by Birdsong (Sept. 5, 1C).
– “After a scoreless, fumble-and-punt-laden first half, White Plains changed up its offensive approach, going away from mostly shotgun formations with Konner Amis to a double-wing with Austin ‘Dirt’ Jones as quarterback,” by Kevin Jeffers (Sept. 19, 6B).
– “Chris Todd knew it wouldn’t be long before opposing defenses crowded the line and forced Auburn to beat them through the air … Saturday night … the fifth-year senior proved capable of shouldering the pressure. Todd threw four touchdown passes …,” by Luke Brietzke (Sept. 20, 5C).
There were some problems in the sports pages, too:
– A photo with a story about Alabama running back Mark Ingram was misleading. The cutline said he was strong in the Alabama opening game against Virginia Tech, but the photo was not from that game. Alabama uniforms in the Virginia Tech game were white with red trim, not the red jersey shown here. There was one very small word after the photographer’s name, “file.” More explanation was needed (Sept. 9, 4C).
– A story on the JSU men’s and women’s golf teams lacked much-needed information. The ranking of JSU golfers ranged from 17 to 230; but how many competed? In team play JSU was 12th, but out of how many? In a separate tourney the JSU women were 15th; again, among how many (Sept. 17, 2B)?
Covering the council
On Sept. 18, Anniston City Council members Ben Little and Herbert Palmore filed with the Calhoun County Probate Court the council’s initial vote against proposed incorporation articles for the McClellan Development Authority. The Star’s story on the action showed a clear bias. To write that the councilmen “made a big show” of filing the document is expressing opinion, not reporting news (by Megan Nichols, Sept. 19, 2A).
In the Community
The Community section is an important part of The Star, providing some of the essence of local events. The strength of the section is diluted when it is split, carried in different parts of the paper, as it was on Sept. 6 and Sept. 13 (pages 4D and 1F in both cases).
Also, there should be the same standards for accurate and complete information about the photos in Community as in the rest of the newspaper.
– An attractive picture of the Crimson Flame girls softball team was spread across the Community page (Sept. 6, 4D). Readers were told that the team finished third in the state tournament. How many teams participated, and where is this team from?
• Another softball team, for girls 14 and under, was pictured in Community (Sept. 26, 1D). The team was “The Storm,” and it won the league championship, winning the final game 7-6. But what team did it defeat, and what league was involved?
