Two issues have been on my mind recently. First, what do readers think about the Daily’s news coverage? Does the paper cover issues you care about? Second, how much do readers understand, or even want to know about, the process of putting out a newspaper?
Let’s start with the first issue. What do readers want? Should journalists simply follow their own instincts and rely on their training to tell them what’s news?
Or should Daily reporters and editors take their cue from the readers?
The answer, I think, lies somewhere between the two. Reporting is a craft for which most professionals spend years training, honing their skills and gaining experience. It is, like so many professions involving skill, difficult work made to look effortless when it’s done well.
But journalists must also keep in mind that they report the news to an audience, who are just as necessary to the news process as sources and skilled writing. Reporters and editors must walk that fine line between listening to their audience and pandering to the lowest common denominator. If a newspaper conducted a poll and found their readers enjoyed heartwarming stories about puppies, editors would not be expected to assign puppy stories to the exclusion of stories about issues which could help their readers make informed decisions on government, consumer or social issues.
A newspaper should be an invaluable part of the community it serves. But it cannot truly serve its community unless its staff is cognizant of what the community needs.
So how do we find out what readers really want?
We could take a formal poll. We could conduct focus groups or forums on issues of concern to the University community. We could rely on readers to tell us informally. As an experiment in the newspaper/reader communication process, I’m asking for your input.
Daily readers have been free with their comments on specific stories. Complaints and praise have been directed at reporters, columnists and editors in the few months I’ve been at the Daily. What I haven’t heard are general comments from readers about what they like or don’t like about the Daily, or what they expect from their community newspaper.
Here are some questions for Daily readers I’ve been pondering.
What are the issues you care about, and does the Daily cover those issues adequately?
What do you like and dislike about the Daily’s coverage of the University?
Do we spend too much time on certain issues, to the exclusion of other things? What are those issues?
What stories do you think are important to the University community that the Daily is missing?
Would you like to see more feature stories, more news stories, more sports?
Is there one part of the Daily, or one type of story, you always read?
Is there enough context and background information in stories for you to understand the issues involved and make informed decisions?
How much do you rely on the Daily for news outside the University community? Do you get news from other sources as well?
How well does the Daily fulfill its watchdog function in covering the University administration and financial issues?
As the Daily prepares for its 100th anniversary in the year 2000, copies of the first editorial ever written for the Daily have been circulating around the newsroom. The first editors wrote, “Our aim is to make the Daily so useful that the students cannot do without it.”
That goal is a lofty one, but one the Daily continues to strive for.
So let me know how we’re doing. Take a few minutes to respond to my questions, and feel free to add your own thoughts and comments. Send me an e-mail or a note, or call me with your thoughts. I’ll pass your comments on to the Daily staff and report some of them in a future column.
The second thing I’ve been wondering is how much do readers understand, or care, about the newspaper process. This is a pretty broad category, and I’ll come back to it often over the next few months.
There are approximately 150 people working to produce the Daily, including reporters, editors, copy editors, photographers, illustrators, editorial board members, advertising sales people, office coordinators, human resources personnel and information systems staff.
Assuming readers do care about how a newspaper functions, I would like to select a few areas of newspaper production and explain how the process occurs. While it would take more columns than I will ever write to explain what everyone at the Daily does and how it affects the newspaper, I’ll try to cover some of the least understood areas of the paper.
Perhaps one of the most ambiguous areas of newspaper production for readers is the editorial board.
At the Daily and most other newspapers, the unsigned editorials which appear on the editorial page are written by members of the editorial board. These editorials are, by tradition, the official viewpoint of the newspaper, but should never influence news coverage of an issue. Editorial board members do not write news stories, nor do reporters write editorials.
The Daily’s editorial board is made up of its own editor and three or four members who are selected based on their interest in and ability to write persuasively. Diversity of opinion, background and political viewpoint is also sought. One absolute condition of board membership is that they cannot be involved in the news side of the Daily. No reporter or newsroom editor is allowed to sit on the editorial board.
The editorial board meets weekly to discuss issues of concern to the University community and select editorial topics for the coming week. They try to select three campus-related topics, and one each on an international, national and state issue. The members of the board decide how each topic will be approached and whether the editorial will take a stand and attempt to persuade readers or inform them by providing background or placing a topic in historical context.
The board also meets with campus leaders, often at the request of the news maker, and makes political endorsements in local races.
Perhaps the most important thing readers should know about the editorial board is that it has no influence on the rest of the Daily’s coverage. In fact, the staff of the news section can be quite critical of the editorials.
The board, however, does listen to the voice of the newsroom. This is appropriate, given that the editorial board should listen to a variety of opinions outside itself — whether those voices belong to reporters, news makers or you, the readers.
As always, I await your comments. Take some time to let me know if the Daily reflects your concerns as a reader. And in the coming weeks, look for a detailed explanation of how a story ends up in the Daily, as I follow a reporter through the reporting, writing and editing process.

Melodie Bahan’s column appears on alternate Mondays. She welcomes comments via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 627-4070 ext. 3282.