Readers, you should be seeing more of yourselves in the Times-Union.
The Times-Union is taking serious steps to include you in the news pages and report on subjects you care about.
“We’re constantly trying to improve the newspaper as a living, breathing, changing organism,” Editor Patrick Yack said.
The changes under way — with more planned — will make the Times-Union more “vibrant, compelling and engaging,” Yack said.
Editors have a detailed road map to guide them. The Readership Institute at Northwestern University studied 37,000 readers at 100 U.S. newspapers, including readers of the Times-Union. Each reader filled out a 12-page questionnaire.
The study produced lots of recommendations, but talk and studies are cheap. What matters is action. Here are several examples of changes in the Times-Union with my comments:
* More health coverage. There probably is more health news in the Times-Union than readers realize. There are health reporters in the Business, Metro and Lifestyle sections, but no major weekend display of health news. Promotion and labeling have been inadequate. Therefore, health stories are being included in the A-1 Index for the first time and other changes are planned.
* Contacts for reporters. E-mail addresses and phone numbers of reporters have been added to the end of stories. Readers are always welcome to contact this office, but reporters now are more accessible.
* More obituary coverage. More national reports of deaths have been added to the A section, while the Metro section will include more local news stories about residents who have died.
* More local names and faces. The news staff is reviving the popular One of Us feature from several years ago. It’s an efficient way to get people in the paper. It will begin on a weekly basis. And more effort is being made to add names to the paper, such as the list of winners of the Parade of Lights or names of runners in road races.
* Charlie Patton column. The lead column on the Metro front is primarily devoted to writing about readers rather than as an opinion forum for the columnist. And photos of readers have been added. More faces are still needed in other opinion columns.
* Inviting readers to visit the paper. The Times-Union was asked to participate in a nationwide series of reader forums sponsored by The Associated Press Managing Editors. We have held four: on Times-Union content, alternative education, how Jacksonville has changed and race relations. The forums went so well that the Associated Press group asked me to speak about the forums at their national convention.
In my view, these changes are sincere. Much still needs to be done. Reader comments and suggestions always are welcome — more now than ever.
How microsurfacing is spread
A story on microsurfacing roadways said that the surface is sprayed. Stan Nodland, a former streets and highways official in Jacksonville and the Beaches, now consulting with a company that performs the work, said that could be misleading. A machine applies material composed of aggregate stone, asphalt emulsion, water, mineral filler and polymers. It is spread with a machine to a depth of 1/4 to 3/8-inches.
Previous reader advocate columns can be found on www.jacksonville.com. Click on Opinions. Do you have a question or complaint involving the news content of your newspaper? Phone: 359-4217. Mail: P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Fax: 359-4478. E-mail: (mclark@jacksonville.com). For information about photo reprints, please call Diane Dixon in Reader Services at 359-4219. For complaints about delivery of the paper, please call Customer Service at 359-4255. Mike Clark is available to speak to groups.
