My conclusion that two of our area newspapers have given far more coverage to athletics than to academics has drawn some response, mostly pointing out the error of my ways and the errors in my writing.
I have been told that the Joplin Globe did run a small item saying that the Honors Signing was going to take place last week at Missouri Southern State University, but had not run anything since because the university had not released the names of those who received the four-year, full-ride scholarships.
Let me think about this one a second.
Wouldn't the Globe have been able to come up with the names of those who attended by actually offering in-person coverage of the event. Sure, there were stories that were juicier by Globe standards, but the Globe's editors would have been sending a statement that academics is a major story. Besides, a good reporter can come up with a solid feature about anything he or she covers.
By covering that event and other similar events, the Globe can point to them the next time that someone says, "All you do is write negative things about the university," and note that that isn't exactly the case.
And if, for some strange reason, there was no way the Globe could spare a reporter to cover the event, couldn't one of its reporters simply have picked up the phone or e-mailed Southern and asked the public relations office for a list of the scholarship recipients?
I was told the list will be in Sunday's paper. That is good news, but I will repeat my earlier point...you sure aren't going to find the Globe waiting more than a week to run an article on some athlete signing on at a college or university. For some reason, that is considered to be can't wait news.
On the other hand, the Neosho Daily News provided specific examples of page-one coverage it has given to academic concerns, and I will happily concede the point. The Daily has done more than many other small newspapers to put academics front and center.
But in the same e-mail message I received from a Daily representative, I was told that the Daily actually runs more academic stories than athletic stories. It has four special sections devoted to areas of academics.
I don't necessarily believe the argument about having more academic stories than athletic stories, but I will concede that the Daily has run some fine special sections about academics.
I will still put The Carthage Press up as the gold standard among area newspapers when it comes to covering academics. Press Editor Ron Graber is intelligent enough to know that by offering coverage of academics, beginning at the pre-school level and going through college that you have a better opportunity to land the kinds of young readers and their parents that newspapers across the United States have been losing for the past few decades. The survival of newspapers depends upon coverage of local activities and in small towns, the most important local activity that will attract readers is coverage of the schools, from school activities to school board decisions.
I am pleased with the level of discussion that this topic has attracted.