November 4 2001Miriam PepperKansas City Star
Miriam Pepper Kansas City Star 4-Nov-01
My readers’ representative duty ends with this column, as I prepare to move into the editorial page editor job. Six years and 60,000 conversations later, readers have taught me these truths:
News stories should present the facts, well-researched and clearly stated. Written authoritatively and fairly. Without loaded adjectives.
Stories should be written with respect for readers’ time in mind. Don’t make readers dig too deep into a story for the “news.” Make helpful information easy to find, in boxes beside the stories with phone numbers and addresses.
Be liberal with maps. Be conservative with wordiness.
Watch the taxpayers’ money with vigor. Expose the wrongdoers. Pay special attention to health, money and justice.
Bring readers success stories, not just the bad news.
Don’t mess with the comics, and remember readers want them to be “funny.”
Don’t mess with the crossword puzzle, either. It’s habit-forming and part of the enjoyment of the paper for many.
If given a choice in type size, go bigger. And darker. And don’t shade the background.
Cover the local community thoroughly and make it a priority. Provide good balance between local, national and international news.
Do not over-dramatize dramatic news. The terrorist attacks and anthrax concerns are prime examples of stories that worry readers and make them want the paper to tread most carefully as it provides thorough coverage without causing undue fear.
Get the basics correct. Name, address, time and place are critical to get right. When the little things go wrong, readers wonder what else is wrong.
Correct and explain when things do go wrong. In the absence of explanation, readers ascribe motive, and it’s usually not positive.
Beautiful photography wins praises. Nature, animals and kids are reader-pleasers.
Keep the clever puns in sports headlines.
Remember that many readers suspect bias, in all forms, from liberal to conservative. Be vigilant to make stories fair, with context and background to help readers put news into perspective. Don’t make judgments in news, report the facts and let the readers ecide. Present competing plans side-by-side.
Use charts and graphics more often and label them clearly. Be fair with percentages versus real numbers, or provide both, so readers can decide which is the best way of evaluating the issue. Check the math carefully.
On sensitive stories, be extra cautious and write as if the story were about the author’s family members.
Cover the entire community, the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The young, middle-aged and old. The diverse religions, the urban core, suburbs and the ex-urban developments. Remember the outstate readers in both Missouri and Kansas, and don’t show favoritism for either state.
Write “up” to the readers and expect that at least some of the readership will be true experts on every story.
Keep regular features in their regular spots. Easy to find makes a paper easy to use.Many thanks for all of you who took the time and cared enough to set the paper straight, from facts to grammar to layout. I listened and learned and regularly terrorized my colleagues with your good catches. My thanks to them, too, for continuing to speak to me and to act on many of your good ideas. I hope to use much of the above in my next assignment. This phone line will be staffed each day by rotating reader reps until the job is filled. Keep those catches coming.
Sunday, November 4th, 2001
See the
Columns Archive.
