Posted on 03/09/2009 9:47:26 AM PDT by Wvoter
By Julia Wallace,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday, March 08, 2009
Two weeks ago, you heard from our publisher, Doug Franklin, about the economic challenges at this newspaper and newspapers across the country. Last week, you heard from our head of sales and marketing about his team’s efforts to effectively sell advertising in the Atlanta market.
Today, it’s my turn. I want to give you more detailed information on the content changes ahead in the next two weeks. I also want to respond to your questions to our publisher about what we are doing to make sure our news and editorial pages are fair and balanced. The e-mails and letters that Doug received and the constant communication I have with readers reinforce the special relationship we have with readers. We come into your homes and are an important part of your lives. We treasure that connection and the great passion you have for what we do. We are the most comprehensive and critical source for local news in metro Atlanta. We know that you depend on us for aggressive investigative reporting. We know that you want us to take you inside Atlanta’s institutions and tell you what’s happening. We know you want us to do our part to make this community a better place.
Every day, we tell you the news of the metro area and the world. On Sundays, we offer a heavy dose of unique local content —- everything from a weekly “spotlight” column on issues affecting your health and pocketbook to a new business column by veteran reporter and editor Thomas Oliver to lively profiles and features about people in our community. We have recently begun “cover stories” on every section, providing an interesting and in-depth feature that you can count on every week.
In the past two years, we have had to make cuts and choices. As we’ve done that, we’ve listened to you —- focusing on that critical local work you expect and need us to do. In making these difficult decisions, we relied on consumer research involving thousands of readers. Still, as Doug said in his letter to readers two weeks ago, we can’t do everything we want or everything you want.
Because of our economic realities and the high cost of newsprint, we need to tighten up the amount of paper we use. In the past several weeks, you’ve seen that, with less space in every section. In the next two weeks, you will see some more changes. They are: changes in daily Business, Sunday features, the Sunday TV section and Sunday comics. For details, see the list on the right. None of these choices has been easy. A newspaper is a wonderful mix of hundreds of features. Anytime we cut something, we know someone will miss it.
Now … let me discuss the issue that generated the most questions and comments to our publisher. Some readers believe we do a good job of being fair in our coverage and providing a balance of opinions. A few think we’re too conservative. But many more believe that our editorial pages are too liberal and that bias seeps into our news coverage. We have heard you on the bias issue and are taking deliberate steps to address this.
On the news pages, we have several editors who are assigned to look for bias and balance issues in stories and headlines. This has led to fairer coverage —- more care in our play of stories as well as more straightforward approaches in headlines and local and wire stories. We continually discuss this issue with our staff and will continue to put an emphasis on critical editing focused on fairness.
On the opinion pages, we are in a concerted march toward providing a rich marketplace of views, including liberal, conservative and others that defy labeling. We are in the process of selecting a new full-time conservative columnist. We have opened this up to the public and also asked you to let us know what you think of the sample columns from the finalists. We received 750 responses from people —- giving us excellent feedback as we winnow the field. When this process is complete, we will have this new columnist three times a week, as well as Jim Wooten once a week, Bob Barr once a week, Cynthia Tucker twice a week and Jay Bookman twice a week, giving us a much stronger local columnist lineup than ever. Our new commentary editor keeps a running count of conservative and liberal columns on the pages to make sure we are balanced.
In this world, we know you want facts that are verified and not passed through a filter of bias. That is one of the important functions the press performs that our Founding Fathers valued so highly —- providing information without being beholden to anyone. These are difficult economic times for newspapers and many other industries. Those who do work that is valued and do that work well will survive these tumultuous times. We know the critical role we play in this community. We take that mission very seriously.
Let us keep the dialogue going. I will be on ajc.com/ conversation Sunday morning to talk with you about these issues or others. I look forward to hearing from you.
Fish wrap, the only reason to read it was the funnies and
now that’s just one page, for $.75 ? Just say NO.
I sent them letter after letter, e-mail after e-mail, about one offensive editorial/news article after another. Finally, during their campaign to deify Genarlow Wilson, we decided we did not want the paper in our home anymore. Even if they now put a few conservative voices on the payroll, Cox Enterprises gets the profits—and the ObamaNation grows all the stronger. We don’t want any part of it.
Imagine that!
On a related note, their effort to eliminate bias will come to naught if their editors are heavily biased toward liberalism. Those editors will see liberal bias as middle-of-the-road.
How about we get someone in Congress to propose a TAX!
A TAX on NEWSPRINT!
Whereas a large portion of every landfill is used for discarded newspapers and
Whereas the production of newspapers causes trees to be cut down, hauled by polluting trucks to polluting paper mills, and hauled from paper mills to publishers and
Whereas the production of newspapers requires toxic ink and solvents and energy wasting machinery and
Whereas the distribution of newspapers requires the use of dirty internal combustion engines Therefore:
Be it resolved that a Newsprint tax, of $1,000.00 per pound, be charged to EVERY newspaper with a daily subscription, within the United States!
________________________________________
We should get some Republican to propose THIS as an amendment to any “cap and trade” or “carbon tax” proposal that comes up!
Maybe we can make it like “Cap and Trade” and use the revenue generated, from this tax on dirty dinosaur newspapers subsidize a tax credit for home computers and digital devices?
No!!! What will line my birdcage with? What will I shred and use for kitty litter in a pinch?
The clueless and the brainwashed have begun looking elsewhere. Left-wing blogs pick some off early, until reality sets in. Conservatives gave up newspapers long ago.
darn! ....I can't (right now) get Neal Brootz's Nat. Radio Program...
He must be having fun...right now, need to get CCR.com Radio soon. 
Georgians don’t call it the “Urinal Constipation” for nothing.
Georgians don’t call it the “Urinal Constipation” for nothing.
HA HA.
That is an amazing admission. The AJC appears to be trying too little, too late.
On the news pages, we have several editors who are assigned to look for bias and balance issues in stories and headlines. This has led to fairer coverage —- more care in our play of stories as well as more straightforward approaches in headlines and local and wire stories. We continually discuss this issue with our staff and will continue to put an emphasis on critical editing focused on fairness.
But you have to understand how the editor will apply this “new” policy of “fair and balanced” reporting:
If these “new” editors can't find enough bias in the headlines and stories that they review, they will simply make doubly certain that more is added.
I guess the MSM feels they have the right to slant the news to fit their wishes, but I certainly am not going to support them by subscribing. The people at the AJC should've been in the unemployment lines a long time ago.
Stupid clucks.
“We’re going to give you less-and charge you more for it—that’s a proven economic winner”
“Bear with us, we’re also going to hold our nose and try to pander to conservatives-turns out a lot of the people we champion don’t read-or pay for things, so we’ll try and bamboozle the productive people we’ve demonized and trashed in hopes they send us some money. Rest assured-we still hate them, but their money’s still green, and business is business”....
Well, Atlanta is in the Northern hemisphere, so I would imagine the AJC’s future path is clockwise.
Finally, at this late date, they want to try to address the snotty, snide, left wing bias they have gleefully shown while watching their circulation decline.
I am pretty certain it's too late for the AJC, at least to be anything other than another of the many weeklies/flyers/rags that pop-up on the midtown street corners.
LOL, the only time you hear about corruption in Atlanta city government is when you see someone doing a perp walk or answering a federal indictment, on TV.
Does this mean we'll still get our annual Kwanzaa spectacular and unique insights into the lives of Atlanta's most powerful rappers?
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