NewsPaper Writers (shouldn't they know better?)

Captain Morgan said:

P.S. My title may seem a little harsh, I think that is because I was a little shocked also to see quite some grammatical issues inside the paper as well. While I only skimmed over it, some were all too obvious, such as misplacing 'a' vs 'an' article usage in titles, etc.

Don't papers have any proof-readers? Sheeeesh.

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My local paper (The Florida Times-Union) serves one of the largest markets in Florida (Jacksonville and its surrounding areas). My husband and I took the 1 month free and then told them to stuff it. My illiterate 9-year-old cousin has a better command of the English language.

So yes, I feel your pain. Newspapers can be downright upsetting in this regard. And if this type of thing bothers you, I suggest you never go to a newspaper's website. I think they have 1st graders writing up the stories for those. I often expect to see a finger-painted nameplate next to each article.

Don't get me started. I've been sending press releases, etc. to my local papers, etc. and no one cared (it wasn't until I won an award that they printed a small blurb in the literary section). Then I saw a full page article on this first-time author -- her publisher? iUniverse. I was really disappointed. But I thought maybe they found a news angle in her story that I didn't have. I got even by making it into Pittsburgh Magazine.

maestrowork said:

But I thought maybe they found a news angle in her story that I didn't have.

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The angle was likely that the author knew someone employed by the paper.

How big is the town? The county (not just the town!) where I live has a populartion of 27,000, and since it's "up in the mountains" I'm surprised the newspaper has enough literate READERS, much less writers (well, there might be only one writer for this paper - it only comes out weekly). Perhaps the reporter and editor DID know the difference, but maybe it was a "slow news week."

But we do have some published writers in the area, in fact a woman I know from church is a retired section editor from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and knew Celestine Sibley (author, syndicated columnist) very well.

Yeah, I'm curious how big the town is, too. If it's some small burg where everyone knows each other then someone getting published is a big deal. (Just as I'm sure the week before had a feature article on Billy-Bob and his near record bass catch.) And you're making the assumption that these newspaper reporters are world-wise and know that vanity press isn't "real" publishing, but if they're just local yocals, too, then they wouldn't be as informed as we snooty AWers.

One thing you need to be aware of is self-publishing is one of the few options opened to poets who wish to publish a poetry collection. Poetry is a very tight market with few paying opportunities, even for single poems.

As for why she got covered... She's local, she wrote a book, and it's a local paper. Most smaller papers will cover such human interest items in a heartbeat. You guys might want to be careful about criticizing someone who is able to successfully do marketing for their own book too harshly, regardless of who or how it was published.

I'm going to be truly honest, and I say that the tone of your post offends me. I am a newspaper writer (I prefer journalist), and I do know better. But, when I get a phone call from someone who is excited over a book they've worked really hard to produce, who am I to shoot them down? I'll do just as big of a story for someone who has self-pubbed as I would for someone who is being published through a major publishing house. In some of the cases, I would love to tell the people they've made a mistake in going that route, but for them, a dream has come true.

The thing is, I live in a small enough town where people care about that sort of thing. Everyone knows everyone else. When someone is published, the community wants to know where they can buy a copy to support one of their own. So, yes, I know the difference, but my readers don't. It pleases them to read about one of their own making it. I'm all about pleasing my readers.

And, as to your comment about proofreaders, we used to have them, but they've all been let go. I'm the editor of the Lifestyles section. Not only do I edit the copy that goes in that section, I also write all of the stories and do the page layout. It's because of cutbacks. We do the best we can in the limited amount of time we have each day.

The problem is that fewer people are buying newspapers, and our advertisers know this, which leads to fewer advertising dollars which leads to less money in the newsroom. Less money in the newsroom leads to either less quality in the people or not enough people to do the job.

I'm proud of what I do, even though it's not as appreciated as it used to be. I'm proud of the fact I can find a story in just about anyone and everyone I talk to. I'm proud of the fact that I've publicized a lot of everyday heroes no one else would ever know about. When the small town community newspaper is gone, those people will never have their chance in the spotlight and that will be a shame.

I'm sorry to go off on a tangent, but I'm doing something I love. It really is a labor of love because I'm paid peanuts. I could go and flip burgers and make more money, but I stick with it because of how much I love it. When I hear someone putting down people, who more than likely, are in the same situation I am in, it bothers me, and I feel compelled to speak out.

I understand the view, but IMO, I'm with Lori. Local newspapers, judging from the ones I've read, are concerned primarily with events of relevance to the local community. Sometimes, those events are mainly announcements. ETA: That may be their bailiwick; the writer may well know the difference, but it's important to know the readership and the publication's mission as well as the subject.

So a local self-publishes. Hey, she's in print, and her community might like to know it. People in small communities ("nobodies", as you call them) support each other, and maybe they like to know the goss.

Where's the harm in this? If you don't like it, don't read that paper. And don't assume the locals don't know the difference between self-pub and trad pub. Even if they haven't thought about it, they may well not even care. In fact, they might appreciate the initiative it took to self-publish. They'd just be glad a friend and neighbour has done something, and they might like to read it.

Some might say The New Yorker is a mite provincial too. But, well, look at the title.

Nobody would confuse this little publication for The Atlantic Monthly or The New York Times, but I'm sure they're not even trying to be the same thing.

In short, yeah, I think you're making something out of nothing. Relax and enjoy life in the slow lane while you're there. And you never know: the book may even be good!

Captain Morgan said:

I went to visit my mom's cottage during the week. During this time, I did glance in the local newspaper to see what other boring news was new.

Then I spotted a big write-up about some first-time author in town. They had her picture there with a big grin, book & all. Now, I can understand if this is someone getting on the best seller list, but no....

From my understanding, this was some sort of self-published vanity-press thing. Yet the article raved about how long it took her to write this thing, etc... etc.

I am now going to spare you the rest of the details here, but sad to say, I found myself scratching my head here.

So????

A nobody in town gets her first book self-published, which really wasn't even a fiction, nor a standard non-fiction book (it was something related to poetry I think). What is so special that a self-publisher gets a whole article written up in the town newspaper? I don't get it.

Surely the people who are hired to write for the local paper (they are writers after all, write? [sic]), should understand that this doesn't even technically count as real publishing at all. At least, someone inside the whole newspaper factory should have perhaps mentioned something somewhere along the lines....

Oh well, I'm just curious what everyone else here thinks. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing. I just found it strange, as even if the newspaper columnist understands the difference between real publishing & vanity press, the readers won't.

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Two things. 1. This is very common, and I've seen it in smaller newspapers all across the country. Generally speaking, reporters don't have a clue about publishing, self or commercial. 2. Fairly small hometown newspapers tend to write about hometown people, and ANYTHING they do is considered local news.

Maestro, if the iUniverse writer had a full page article she most likely paid for it. There are ways to have advertising look like articles. I see it all the time in the newspapers here and in magazines from both Canada and the US. The line between fact and marketing is getting blurrier and blurrier. (mory blurry? ) Instead of contacting the fiction or entertainment editor, I suggest you check out the advertising department.

I agree with Birol. Self-publishing is often the only way to get poetry published and is perfectly acceptable. And I think in general, we need to be very careful about the attitude that because it is self-published it automatically is crap and beneath our contempt. Yes, 99% of self-published stuff is crap, but as the blog Poddy Mouth proved, there are some real gems out there. Let us not become like the pompous snobs who won't read mainstream novels. "Self published? Why, it's not worth my time to even talk about it."

As for newspapers, I've read some incredibly moving and incredibly funny articles in newspapers. Remember that newspapers are read by a large cross-section of the population and to expect them to be high-brow and high-faluting is unrealistic. I'm sure that for the every day articles the rule is Keep it short, keep it simple. Ive noticed that the longer, two page articles are written less coloquilly than the shorter news items.

Forgive me for babbling. It's 6:45 am, and I havent slept all night.

Our local paper did a write up of a first time author. Her publisher? PublishAmerica. And she went on and on about how wonderful they were and how all first-time authors should go to them because they like to give "newbies" a chance. I wanted to vomit. It was all I could do not to send a letter to the paper but who am I to shoot her down? All I could do was hope any other authors would do better research before publishing with PA.

Captain Morgan said:

Don't papers have any proof-readers? Sheeeesh.

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A very good question and the answer in some cases is no.

I write for a very small, family-owned newspaper. He runs the business from his home. Nothing wrong with that. But my point is that he only has a few on-site workers and the rest of us work as freelancers from home.

I have to proofread my articles very carefully before submitting. The editor never makes any changes so I have the impression that no one is going over them, checking for mistakes.

Years ago when I worked in the classified ads department of a major newspaper in my state, I had to type lots of those long, legal things. Since this was a daily paper they didn't have much time before deadline. Proofreading meant one person looking at their copy while another person read very quickly from the words on the monitor. Very easy to miss something.

nevada said:

There are ways to have advertising look like articles.

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Yes, it's called an advertorial. The advertiser and print media is ethically obligated to print a notice "this is a paid advertisement....". Notice I said "ethically" because I don't know that it's a legal requirement (it may be, I simply don't know). Every one I've ever seen includes that in tiny print at the bottom.

nevada said:

The line between fact and marketing is getting blurrier and blurrier.

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I protest your suggestion that marketing is beginning to = lies. Some of the tactics that marketers use may be ethically questionable, but then so are some of the tactics of any other profession. It's not the profession, it's the choices that some people make.

And, yes, I'm in marketing.

Nevada, it was a real article. They usually don't "disguise" an ad for real article because that would be misleading. Usually you can still see it's a "paid advertisement." It's not a small paper -- our county has a population of 2 million. Besides, a full page ad in a major metro paper would cost her thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.

It's fine if they cover the self-published authors if they're fair to all local authors -- I think it's a good thing to tell success stories. Now if it's PublishAmerica, I would question the newspaper's credibility -- they should check their sources. The reason why I was disappointed was that they completely ignored me (traditionally published, albeit small press) self-made immigrant writer whose first language wasn't even English Yeah, I know, I have an ego. Still, to see a full page article on a self-published author (and her story wasn't even unique -- basically a minority getting her first novel published... hey, why did I feel like chopped liver? ) while I was totally ignored... I just couldn't help but feel disappointed. But I moved on. I realized, news people look for an angle and stories they think may interest their readers. For some reasons, they just didn't think my story was worthwhile enough. Oh well. I was disappointed but I had other things to worry about.

maestrowork said:

Nevada, it was a real article. They usually don't "disguise" an ad for real article because that would be misleading. Usually you can still see it's a "paid advertisement."

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I'm not saying that the article wasn't a real article, Ray, but newspapers everywhere do sell space to advertisers to print "articles." I've known a few organizations that have paid to have such things placed in our larger local paper. All of them don't have the "this is an ad" listed, either. Those that are purporting to sell something do, but some just pass on information about events organizations want to promote and those aren't necessarily marked as ads, but they're paid placements just the same.

The reason why I was disappointed was that they completely ignored me (traditionally published, albeit small press) self-made immigrant writer whose first language wasn't even English Yeah, I know, I have an ego. Still, to see a full page article on a self-published author (and her story wasn't even unique -- basically a minority getting her first novel published... hey, why did I feel like chopped liver? ) while I was totally ignored... I just couldn't help but feel disappointed.

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There are probably multiple factors for why that author was chosen and you weren't. Including, but not limited to, timing. Newspapers have schedules and calendars the same as everyone else. They could have had a story fall through and needed something to fill the spot. Or the author could have taken the extra time to pick up the phone and call the paper, rather than just sending out press releases. Or her press release could have ended up on the desk of a different person. Or... any number of things that are completely unrelated to you.

But it does lead to an interesting question for all of the Roundtable's journalists.... How can you positively capture a reporter's interest so they might be willing to run a story about you?

Birol said:

But it does lead to an interesting question for all of the Roundtable's journalists.... How can you positively capture a reporter's interest so they might be willing to run a story about you?

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I'm no journalist, but I have an opinion (on everything, unfortunately). Put the inspiring individual in a wheelchair. You won't be able to get to your phone fast enough. Of course, this is a bit tricky, I just happen to come premade for such a situation.

I'm not saying that the article wasn't a real article, Ray,

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I was responding to Nevada's question whether it was a paid ad. It wasn't -- at least I didn't think so. It had the reporter's byline and everything and it was written like a news article. If it was a paid ad, then the paper certain fooled me, and the person who wrote that did a good job.

Birol said:

There are probably multiple factors for why that author was chosen and you weren't. Including, but not limited to, timing. Newspapers have schedules and calendars the same as everyone else. They could have had a story fall through and needed something to fill the spot. Or the author could have taken the extra time to pick up the phone and call the paper, rather than just sending out press releases. Or her press release could have ended up on the desk of a different person. Or... any number of things that are completely unrelated to you.

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I know there were reasons beyond my grasp. But I hope you also understand why I was disappointed, and not saying "get over yourself -- that's just life." I did get over myself, but my disappointment was valid.

How can you positively capture a reporter's interest so they might be willing to run a story about you?

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You try to give them a human story and an angle. Just because you have a "new book" coming out doesn't mean anything, unless you're a best-selling author or a name, or your book is newsworthy. So if you're an unknown author, you do need to give them something that will pique their interest. But what? I can't really say. The problem with me is that despite the fact that I'm an immigrant publishing my first English-language novel, and despite that I'm a local actor, there really isn't anything noteworthiness in my story. Or at least, not much I think it's interesting to them.

Knowing someone, or having a network, or speaking directly to an editor or reporter could help as well. The truth is, I have gotten myself a write-up a few times because I knew people in the business and I personally talked to them about my book.

When I was selected by Pittsburgh Magazine, they did mention me on TV, but they chose to do two personal interviews because of noteworthiness: one is about the Steeler -- he's a local celebrity, and the other a female soldier who's been on three tours in Iraq. The media is just like other businesses -- they want what sells.

It's true that a reporter only has so many stories to go after and write, and an editor only has so many slots to fill. Timing may be a factor as well. So, I think you just do your best and hope that your personal stories are noteworthy enough for them to take interest.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Yeah, I'm curious how big the town is, too. If it's some small burg where everyone knows each other then someone getting published is a big deal.

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Certainly. I know that's why I was able to get a big write-up in my local paper when we put out the Stories of Strength anthology, and that was self-pubbed. I also managed to get myself on a television show to promote the book. And that's where the "angle" comes in: SoS was raising money for charity, I was already known from my movie review column, and so the paper knew there'd be local interest.

It's also why our own library here at AW is open to any member. We're a community, and there's interest among the members here in the writings of our fellow AWers, regardless of how it was published.

So I can see why that paper did the story on that local author. She's a member of their family, so to speak, and they're happy for her.

Captain Morgan said:

Well, I should perhaps be truly honest too, and mention from my past I have had a few reasons to consider newspaper writers at the bottom of the totem-pole.

My last month I was living in that home-town of mine was one of them.

I just happened to have seen my picture on the newspaper cover, despite no one had even ASKED me to use my picture, no permission request at all. Someone just showed up at a place I was at, and took a few pictures of me without even saying anything (I remember that guy, and thought it quite rude as he was in my face), though at the time I didn't even know what the hell he was doing. Guess we all know now!

Then a week later there was some crime near my highschool. Well, I was asked questions by a cop; I don't know if newspaper writers just use a police scanner to guess and put together the pieces or what, but look at my surprise when....

My name shows up in the paper, and I am listed as one of the THIEFS. And then the article claimed I was arrested by the police.

WHAT??

Isn't this something that the public should be able to sue a company over?

I had to explain to my parents, how "no, I didn't get arrested for theft, and it's BS". Of course, my parents thought I was covering up some sort of lie, as how can the newspaper be wrong, it's in the city newspaper for everyone to read!

Then I had everyone else in town thinking I was some sort of thief as well.

One thing is for certain, I have never given much credibility to anything in the papers since...

And every time they sick their pushy telemarketer gang on me, I have a few stories to tell them, and where they can SHOVE that bundle of papers. This happens more than once a year, as their Do-Not-Call-List seems to always be faulty. No surprise there.

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I understand what you must have gone through, and you should have sued the paper, but you paint with an awfully broad brush. Painting all reporters and all papers black because of one bad one makes no more sense than hating a race because one member of that race mugs you.

Ray,

I wanted to comment on what happened to you because I'm in the same town. The P-G (which I think you're referring to) has a notorious reputation for not featuring local writers. In fact, I know a local, best-selling writer that has never been written about in there. I got very lucky because a certain bookstore owner pitched a story involving three local mystery writers being published for the first time by three big houses. So we got print because we had someone persistent working on our behalf (my publicist also got involved which was unexpected) and because there was an obvious "angle," but none of us has gotten reviewed in the local papers (I am in Pgh Mag this month though!)

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that there is a bias against local writers. I don't want go into detail on a public board about why, but suffice to say you're in good company and I sincerely hope your next book gets more coverage You're a hell of a good writer.

Regarding the I-Universe thing: was it the book on a certain German Opera composer? If so, I suspect it was a combination of someone doing a fabulous job pitching the tale of how much money (and time) the author spent researching it. That poor woman is never going to recoup what she put in to writing her book. And she may have had a connection with the writer. Keep in mind, the article was in the neighborhood section, not the book page.



grommet

Captain Morgan said:

P.S. My title may seem a little harsh, I think that is because I was a little shocked also to see quite some grammatical issues inside the paper as well. While I only skimmed over it, some were all too obvious, such as misplacing 'a' vs 'an' article usage in titles, etc.

Don't papers have any proof-readers? Sheeeesh.

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This has been covered, but I'd like to add my two cents.

My brother was the editor-in-chief of our local newspaper (circulation around 50,000 I'd guess). One day in his office I complained about the copy-editing. He handed me a tear-sheet, that is a full sheet of the paper, and said, "Here. Proof this. You have 10 minutes."

I got the point and never complained about it again.

Captain Morgan said:

Well, I should perhaps be truly honest too, and mention from my past I have had a few reasons to consider newspaper writers at the bottom of the totem-pole.

My last month I was living in that home-town of mine was one of them.

I just happened to have seen my picture on the newspaper cover, despite no one had even ASKED me to use my picture, no permission request at all. Someone just showed up at a place I was at, and took a few pictures of me without even saying anything (I remember that guy, and thought it quite rude as he was in my face), though at the time I didn't even know what the hell he was doing. Guess we all know now!

Then a week later there was some crime near my highschool. Well, I was asked questions by a cop; I don't know if newspaper writers just use a police scanner to guess and put together the pieces or what, but look at my surprise when....

My name shows up in the paper, and I am listed as one of the THIEFS. And then the article claimed I was arrested by the police.

WHAT??

Isn't this something that the public should be able to sue a company over?

I had to explain to my parents, how "no, I didn't get arrested for theft, and it's BS". Of course, my parents thought I was covering up some sort of lie, as how can the newspaper be wrong, it's in the city newspaper for everyone to read!

Then I had everyone else in town thinking I was some sort of thief as well.

One thing is for certain, I have never given much credibility to anything in the papers since...

And every time they sick their pushy telemarketer gang on me, I have a few stories to tell them, and where they can SHOVE that bundle of papers. This happens more than once a year, as their Do-Not-Call-List seems to always be faulty. No surprise there.

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I'm not saying this isn't the truth, but I just find that hard to believe. For one thing, you could sue, especially if you had never been arrested. All of our crime stories come from crime reports put out by the police. At our newspaper, if you hadn't been arrested, your name would have never been in the paper.

We have reporters out all the time taking pictures. We've never really asked permission if someone's picture could be in the paper, especially if it's a crowd shot. Now, if it's an up-close shot, then we have to ask so we can get their names. If they don't want their picture taken, we don't do it.

The thing is, you can't group all newspapers together just because of a bad experience with one or two. I stand by what I said in my first post that we do a huge service to the community.