I’ve noted a couple times in this blog that editors in the newsroom frequently disagree with each other on news decisions – and I think that’s healthy. Open debate almost always leads us to decisions that are more sound than those made in a vacuum.
So on that note, I’m going to disagree with Nick Jungman, our senior editor/nights, in his post below about a headline in the paper today.
The headline (“Mexican sentenced in accident that killed 3â€) was on a short story on the front page of the Local & State section. I’m not disputing that it’s correct, and the person is Mexican. But any time you refer to a person only by their ethnicity, as a noun, out of context (which is what headlines often have to do, by their nature of brevity) – the result often sounds crass to a reader’s ear.
I made the same argument years ago at another newspaper about referring to “a black†– a usage that most newspapers (including The Eagle) have stopped.
Though ethnicity is relevant to the overall story today, I can understand why it would sound prejudiced to a reader when isolated in a headline. Nick made the point to me that Mexican is a nationality, not a race. But I think many readers consider it a deeper cultural or ethnic description.
The headline today made ethnicity the single most identifying fact about a person. Would we do the same for others? I can’t imagine us referring to a white person simply as “a white†in a headline. In this case, “Driver†seems to me to be a more relevant headline word than “Mexican.â€
I don’t think there’s a right answer on this. But it’s made for several vigorous debates in our newsroom today (three that I know of), and I’m willing to wager that our readers have similarly varying viewpoints.
Sherry
The one issue I hear most about from readers is how they can get their travel photos in the paper. Our "Best Shot" feature, which showcases readers’ photos, appears regularly on the front page of the Travel section. It is one of the longest-running and most popular reader-participation features in the newspaper.
As a result, we have a tremendous backlog of images. It literally can take months before a submitted photo appears on the Travel page.
Not all photos get used, however. Photos need to be in focus, well
composed and show something inviting or unusual about a destination.
Photos of your family on vacation or of a flower in your back yard are not what we’re looking
for.
That said, there are two ways to get your photo to us. You can mail a 4-by-6 print to Best Shot, Travel, The Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201. Or you can e-mail a jpeg version of the photo to adavenport@wichitaeagle.com.
Be sure to include a short description of the photo (where, when and how you took it), your name, address and daytime telephone number. If you want your photo returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Taking great travel photos requires thought and preparation — and plenty of practice. One of the best resources for improving your travel photos is www.fodors.com/focus/
We’ve heard from one reader today who thought this headline, which appeared over a brief item on Page 1B today (the third item here), was inappropriate:
Mexican sentenced in
accident that killed 3
The complaint centers on the word "Mexican." The reader thought it sounded prejudiced or racist here.
I think I understand how that would be the case if the person in question were a Mexican-American and we’d shortened that to "Mexican" (which we would never intentionally do). But in this case, the person is a citizen of Mexico — a fact that’s particularly relevant in a story about illegal immigration. The man was sentenced on a count of unlawfully transporting illegal aliens resulting in a death. If the man had been from Guatemala or Colombia, I’m sure we would have said "Guatemalan" or "Colombian," and I’m not sure that we’d have heard from anyone about it.
Has "Mexican" become a sort of epithet? I hope not. But let us know what you think. Post a comment below, and let’s have a conversation.
Nick
On Sunday night, more than 30,000 people are expected to converge on Cessna Stadium at Wichita State for the Rolling Stones concert. And it seems like 29,999 are calling editors and reporters at the Eagle with questions about concert logistics.
OK, that’s a gross exaggeration. But we’ve received enough calls and emails to know that many people are curious about how everything is going to work at the concert, from parking to street closings, tailgating to security, and more.
It’s our job to try to help people navigate this event, and we have been running stories in the past month or so trying to answer some of those questions. We’ll continue to do that in the coming days. If you’re among those looking for info, please be sure to look at the Eagle’s GO! section on Friday for concert details, including a map that will show where the satellite parking lots are, street closings and parking lots on campus.
On Sunday, we’re planning to run that information again, and more as we continue to get new details about the concert. For now, if you have parking questions in particular, take a look at the story we ran last week.
Today I announced to the newsroom that I am promoting Jean Hays to metro editor, effective immediately.
As metro editor, Jean will supervise The Eagle’s reporters and editors who cover crime and safety, courts, politics, government, education, neighborhood coverage and enterprise projects. She will also join us here as one of the editors contributing to this blog.
Jean is a talented journalist who has demonstrated the skills,
news judgment and dedication necessary to take our metro report to new
heights. Jean is dedicated to improving The Eagle’s
investigative efforts, watchdog reporting and in-depth beat reporting across all
metro teams. We are poised now to focus intently on adding vital depth and
energy to our local report.
Jean has been leader of our public life team since 2003. She started at
The Eagle in 1976, when she was an undergrad at WSU, and worked her way up as
a reporter in a variety of beat assignments before becoming a team leader. She and her husband, Jim Cross, have one daughter, Rachel Cross, who is in middle school.
Jean replaces Tim Rogers, who left The Eagle in July to become editor of the Wilson Daily in Wilson, N.C.
Theresa