Breaking crime news is probably the most basic story to write (and that’s probably why newbie reporters often start on the cops beat). Until you get into the nitty-gritty of the life of the victim(s), alleged perpetrator, etc., you’re basically dealing with the five W’s. Unless a reader knows someone involved in the crime, the ‘where’ of the story may be the most interesting and personally relevant piece of information. People want to know about crime near them. That’s why mashups that incorporate police reports and maps are useful.
Today, this brief from the Chicago Tribune caught my eye: Driver fatally shot on Near North Side. I used to live on the Near North Side of Chicago near Cabrini-Green, but my memory fails me as to where Larabee and Oak Streets are exactly. So naturally I went to pull up Google maps to find out where this occurred. Turns out, it was not near my old apartment and I immediately got a better impression of the situation because I know which parts of that area are more prone to crime.
It took me maybe 30 seconds to pull up the map and link it here. (Were WordPress not giving me issues, I could have also embedded the map itself in this post.) The reporter or producer who posted the story could have done the same thing on the ChicagoBreakingNews.com blog and provided valuable information to the reader. Since the site already uses mapping in other contexts, there’s really no reason not to.
Categories: General
Tagged: Journalism, local news
I entered the world of journalism in 2000 and was indoctrinated quickly and completely. Being a journalist was being part of a club. As part of my membership in that club, I defended my fellow journalists against critics the same way one defends her siblings: We can beat each other up, but I’ve got their backs if anyone else does. The gloves went on quickly against those who came wielding accusations of “liberal bias” and “elitism,” both terms typically used by politicians to discredit reports in the press that might damage reputations or hurt reelection chances.
Since leaving the profession, I’ve been able step back and realize that perhaps the “elitism” criticism has some merit, though not in the context of politicians and negative press about them. Instead, the charges of elitism have weight when we discuss which Americans the press and media are serving with their coverage. Emerson College professor Jerry Lansom articulated the problem in a recent column in the Christian Science Monitor: “Conventional wisdom holds that newspapers have been crippled by the flight of advertising to the Web. But they’ve been crippled just as much by corporate profiteering, arrogance, elitism, and encroaching dullness that have driven away readers, sometimes in droves.”
In the course of offering three steps to get journalists back to their roots, Lansom states, “Reporters need to cover how the other 90 percent of us live – and not only when we commit or are victimized by crimes.”
In short, Lansom is calling the press disconnected.
(more…)
Categories: General
Tagged: industry change, Journalism, local news, rant
