Comments on: The Times Dispatch makes me angry

By: Wilder hates the Times Dispatch too « Urban Richmond~

Wilder hates the Times Dispatch too « Urban Richmond~ — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:54:20 +0000

[...] The Times Dispatch makes me angry [...]

By: Paul Hammond

Paul Hammond — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:29:13 +0000

I completely missed this. The “Paul Hammond” demographic? You mean there are others?

By: John

John — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:45:41 +0000

Yeah, my third and forgotten point is that desk editors and copy editors tend to do the headline writing at newspapers — or they did back in the 90s when newspapers were staffed to actually cover the news well.

By: ambivalentrichmonder

ambivalentrichmonder — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:48:59 +0000

Thanks John, for sharing your insight. This particular article doesn’t seem to have the problems of a new reporter on the beat- it’s a matter of confusing people with money & power and a vested interest in how development happens with “residents,” a generic term implying the average jane.

That’s not a new reporter mistake.
In fact, I doubt the reporter wrote the headline (though I confess ignorance about the business of running a newspaper).

Suggestion # 2 may be more on target.

By: John

John — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:33:02 +0000

The TD recently reorganized its reporting staff. Michael Martz, who has been doing a great job covering the Downtown Plan (his old beat was essentially City Hall), has moved onto a 3-person team focused on breaking news; he also now works mornings to mid-day, which means he isn’t likely going to be covering evening events. Kiran Krishnamurthy appears to be the new City Hall reporter, and I don’t know him at all. He just came from the TD’s Fredericksburg bureau.

I have two guesses at what is at play and they both might be correct:

1) Krishnamurthy doesn’t yet have the relationships with city staff Martz had. That makes a big difference when covering an “event” (last night’s hearing) that has 8 months worth of story and context wrapped around it. You don’t just walk into a story like the Downtown Plan and “get it.”

2) The TD’s new breaking news obsession (Come on, who really is going to break the news before the town’s only paper? Besides a lowly weblog or two… means a drive to “file it fast and fix it later.”

Just some thoughts.

By: No2pencil

No2pencil — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:45:37 +0000

Well big surprise, the TD is an organ of Richmond’s business cabal. It’s Richmond’s very own privatized “Pravda”.

You know, this bit about private citizens encouraging development of the city that benefits the public good is just going too far! That’s just not the way the game is played here in Richmond!

By: ambivalentrichmonder

ambivalentrichmonder — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:41:33 +0000

John- you’ve written some about the TD’s new leadership, do you have any insight into this article or what’s going on in the newsroom?

By: John

John — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:40:11 +0000

This morning, Victor Dover told me how surprised he was by the headline given that “for every 10 people who spoke in favor, one spoke against the plan” last night. Apparently 50 people spoke (49 spoke in December) and even individuals who spoke in opposition generally praised the plan but spoke against/about specific items.

By: RVA Foodie

RVA Foodie — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:04:27 +0000

You must be part of the “hate corporate power” first club. Don’t you know that businesses enjoy full citizenship in these Unied States? We don’t need another war of northern aggression to disenfranchise southern commerce. Seriously though, it’s not a secret which “residents” downtown are the ones that matter. If you’re not a university, a develper, or a member of the Paul Hammond demographic, then you don’t fit into the equation.

By: Scott Burger

Scott Burger — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:00:27 +0000

It’s good to point this out, simply because those of us who have been here a while get tired of pointing these things out.

Call it “corporate welfare media fatigue”. Just beware of corporate welfare apathy.