Ah, but "newsworthy" to whom? To the publisher or editors of any particular big newspaper (or magazine or television, for that matter)? A story about a corrupt alderman, for example, may be considered to be very newsworthy to the residents of his ward - but not newsworthy to a big newspaper editor because it does not have "citywide appeal."
In Los Angeles, the CNN story goes, "Two or three people are killed each day by others in Los Angeles County. Most of them died anonymously until Jill Leovy and her blog, The Homicide Report, came along."
Leovy, a blogger, is bringing information to the fore that would otherwise have essentially disappeared - or never appeared at all.
Here's a recent, real-life example. In Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, an old school was recently torn down a few yards from the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The story had many elements: A rush to stop the demolition, a question of developer money influencing the alderman, nostalgia for the school, and the presence of asbestos in the rubble.
An editor from CBS-2 in Chicago emailed me. I won't name him; it's not important. The editor called to get more information from a local perspective. I asked him if they were going to run with the story. His response was not unexpected.
"It doesn't have citywide appeal yet," he said. The primary reason he was following up on the story: He was an alumnus of the school, so he had a personal interest. Channel Two had more important stories to cover, such as "Truck Dumps Dung All Over Road In Indiana" or "Mayor Names New Aviation Commissioner." You know, stories that are of vital importance to everybody in Chicago, and therefore have "citywide appeal." Hmmmph.
Back to CNN:
For more than a year, Leovy made it her job to document every homicide in Los Angeles County. It had never been done before.
Like most big-city newspapers, the one Leovy works for -- The Los Angeles Times -- reports only the most "newsworthy" cases. But those killings, elementary school drive-bys and celebrity murders only account for 10 percent of the county's homicides, Leovy found. FULL STORY at CNN...
Finally, thanks to Leovy, neighbors will have a little more information about real people in their real neighborhoods - people no longer with us but who really counted to other real people.
Keeping it real. That's what many bloggers strive to do every day, in spite of harsh criticism by local politicians and other powers that be.
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A line from this CNN story sums it up well: "...most big-city newspapers....[report] only the most 'newsworthy' cases."
Ah, but "newsworthy" to whom? To the publisher or editors of any particular big newspaper (or magazine or television, for that matter)? A story about a corrupt alderman, for example, may be considered to be very newsworthy to the residents of his ward - but not newsworthy to a big newspaper editor because it does not have "citywide appeal."
In Los Angeles, the CNN story goes, "Two or three people are killed each day by others in Los Angeles County. Most of them died anonymously until Jill Leovy and her blog, The Homicide Report, came along."
Leovy, a blogger, is bringing information to the fore that would otherwise have essentially disappeared - or never appeared at all.
Here's a recent, real-life example. In Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, an old school was recently torn down a few yards from the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The story had many elements: A rush to stop the demolition, a question of developer money influencing the alderman, nostalgia for the school, and the presence of asbestos in the rubble.
An editor from CBS-2 in Chicago emailed me. I won't name him; it's not important. The editor called to get more information from a local perspective. I asked him if they were going to run with the story. His response was not unexpected.
"It doesn't have citywide appeal yet," he said. The primary reason he was following up on the story: He was an alumnus of the school, so he had a personal interest. Channel Two had more important stories to cover, such as "Truck Dumps Dung All Over Road In Indiana" or "Mayor Names New Aviation Commissioner." You know, stories that are of vital importance to everybody in Chicago, and therefore have "citywide appeal." Hmmmph.
Back to CNN:
For more than a year, Leovy made it her job to document every homicide in Los Angeles County. It had never been done before.
Like most big-city newspapers, the one Leovy works for -- The Los Angeles Times -- reports only the most "newsworthy" cases. But those killings, elementary school drive-bys and celebrity murders only account for 10 percent of the county's homicides, Leovy found. FULL STORY at CNN...
Finally, thanks to Leovy, neighbors will have a little more information about real people in their real neighborhoods - people no longer with us but who really counted to other real people.
Keeping it real. That's what many bloggers strive to do every day, in spite of harsh criticism by local politicians and other powers that be.
RELATED:
Until Bloggers Came Along
Blogs and Blogging
Wired 10.05: Must Read
Blogging Tips for Beginners
Blogs Will Change Your Business
Digging Deeper:Your Guide to Blogging PBS
Ah, but "newsworthy" to whom? To the publisher or editors of any particular big newspaper (or magazine or television, for that matter)? A story about a corrupt alderman, for example, may be considered to be very newsworthy to the residents of his ward - but not newsworthy to a big newspaper editor because it does not have "citywide appeal."
In Los Angeles, the CNN story goes, "Two or three people are killed each day by others in Los Angeles County. Most of them died anonymously until Jill Leovy and her blog, The Homicide Report, came along."
Leovy, a blogger, is bringing information to the fore that would otherwise have essentially disappeared - or never appeared at all.
Here's a recent, real-life example. In Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, an old school was recently torn down a few yards from the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The story had many elements: A rush to stop the demolition, a question of developer money influencing the alderman, nostalgia for the school, and the presence of asbestos in the rubble.
An editor from CBS-2 in Chicago emailed me. I won't name him; it's not important. The editor called to get more information from a local perspective. I asked him if they were going to run with the story. His response was not unexpected.
"It doesn't have citywide appeal yet," he said. The primary reason he was following up on the story: He was an alumnus of the school, so he had a personal interest. Channel Two had more important stories to cover, such as "Truck Dumps Dung All Over Road In Indiana" or "Mayor Names New Aviation Commissioner." You know, stories that are of vital importance to everybody in Chicago, and therefore have "citywide appeal." Hmmmph.
Back to CNN:
For more than a year, Leovy made it her job to document every homicide in Los Angeles County. It had never been done before.
Like most big-city newspapers, the one Leovy works for -- The Los Angeles Times -- reports only the most "newsworthy" cases. But those killings, elementary school drive-bys and celebrity murders only account for 10 percent of the county's homicides, Leovy found. FULL STORY at CNN...
Finally, thanks to Leovy, neighbors will have a little more information about real people in their real neighborhoods - people no longer with us but who really counted to other real people.
Keeping it real. That's what many bloggers strive to do every day, in spite of harsh criticism by local politicians and other powers that be.
RELATED:
Until Bloggers Came Along
Blogs and Blogging
Wired 10.05: Must Read
Blogging Tips for Beginners
Blogs Will Change Your Business
Digging Deeper:Your Guide to Blogging PBS
