« "Call Some Place Paradise, Kiss It Goodbye" | Main | Diller Adds New Title »
October 24, 2007
The Times’ Fire Coverage
The New York Times’ coverage of the wildfires in Southern California on the morning of Wednesday, October 24, demonstrates why The Times’ and other newspapers’ future is on the Web.
The combination of continually updated photos, reporting, maps, and readers’ comments make the ongoing story compelling reading. The updated Web coverage is as immediate as radio and more in-depth than television, but it is the readers’ comments, a unique functionality of the Web, that elevate the coverage.
For the story about Al Gore being a co-recipient of the Noble Peace Prize, some readers’ comments posted under the lead story on the website were inappropriate because they included vitriol from conservative wingnuts, as Jesse Kornbluth and I discussed in several blog entries two weeks ago. I didn’t see readers’ comments for a week or so after that on the lead story on the website, but noticed them this morning. And today the comments posted under the lead story were appropriate and compelling. They also advanced the story—gave new information that The Times’ reports did not have.
For example, Comment #60 by Grecia: “Although, I am touch by the incredible response of volunteers I can’t overlook some of the injustices of this fire. Indeed many people are losing their homes but there are some families that are losing even more. In some Areas of Oceanside and Escondido the Border Patrol is actually asking for immigration status and taking away everyone who is not able to prove their legal immigration status. We are in a time of crisis is it absolutely necessary that government agencies reinforce divisions and spread even more fear that the one that we are facing now. To know about these incidents makes me completely crazy and disappointed with our government agencies. I think our media should not paint a polarize picture of good and bad but also recognize and be the first ones to point out the injustices that are happening to some families.”
Citizen journalism on the New York Times—the opportunity to report, interact, give feedback, build a sense of community, and connect with those who are experiencing the devastation of the fires. This is the future of newspapers on the Web, but it requires judicious editing for putting excerpts under the lead story, which The Times seems to be doing.
It may be no coincidence that this judicious editing of readers’ comments happened in the same week that The Times announced a strong, upbeat profit picture for the third quarter. The Times is figuring it out.
Posted by Charles Warner at October 24, 2007 11:26 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)Printer-Friendly