Big news happened in Joplin Thursday and it made page one of the Joplin Globe, purportedly the city's newspaper.
Five residents had to be taken to the hospital and two firemen were treated for dehydration after a fire at the Mayflower Apartments. Thursday night's news was less urgent, but an important part of Joplin life nonetheless...businessman Hal Roper was named Citizen of the Year by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, other businesses were honored and four top teachers received the Golden Apple Awards.
The way the stories were played give no doubt that the Globe considers itself a regional paper and has no particular interest in playing up important stories in the community in which the greatest number of its subscribers live.
Both of the top stories in this morning's edition were from Neosho. Admittedly, both were important stories. Staff writer Linda Greer covered the civil trial of a family which is suing the Neosho R-5 School District for wrongful death after a six-year-old boy was run over by a school bus. The other story, written by Andy Ostmeyer, concerned a visit to the federal fish hatchery in Neosho by federal officials.
The fire story was placed beneath the lawsuit, barely above the fold, while the Chamber story is at the bottom of the page, running beneath the other stories I have mentioned, plus a Cherokee County, Kan., article.
Again, as I have pointed out numerous times on this blog, the placement of stories is the way a newspaper shows what it considers to be important. Close to half of today's page one is devoted to the fish hatchery story and photos. When it comes to Joplin, apparently it's not such a big deal to the Joplin Globe.
Is it any wonder the Joplin Daily, even with its numerous flaws, has been so readily accepted by the local community? Joplin readers want to know that their newspaper considers them to be their number one priority. Clearly, the Globe has different priorities.
If news is "what people are talking about" than the school bus story plays to a larger audience. The Mayflower was a dive complex and everyone made it out O-K. The school bus story appeals to all families...and has much more "sex" appeal to the media.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Joplin residents are the only subscribers to the Joplin Globe.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have no quarrel with the first commenter's assessment of the school bus story and its appeal, that is not the point I am making. The school bus lawsuit does belong on page one, unquestionably. However, it is The Joplin Globe and the top of the page is where Globe editors should show virtually everyday how important the home city is to them. Obviously, the Globe has readers in other communities besides Joplin, but Joplin has to be the major focus. As long as those other communities are covered, that should not be a problem. I can't imagine anyone from Neosho would have been offended if the fish hatchery story had been placed on an inside page. Unless there is a major national story or a regional story of overwhelming interest (such as the Riverton situation last week), the top of page one should belong to Joplin news. The smaller newspapers, such as the Carthage Press and the Neosho Daily News generally reserve most of page one for local news. The larger newspapers, such as the Kansas City Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Springfield News-Leader, generally lead with the top stories from their home base. It is only the Globe that seems to have forgotten where its home base is.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they have not forgotten where they are, they would rather pretend they are elsewhere. Instead of being a great Joplin paper they are a so-so paper for the region, I hate spending 50cents for something with 5 stories and a bunch of car ads, the Big Nickel is for car ads, and that paper is free.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joplin Globe for covering two important news stories - even if they weren't in Joplin.
ReplyDeleteAs the largest paper in the region, I believe your coverage is greater than the city limits of joplin. The trial over the little boy's death and the visit of three top government officials are both worthy news, regardless of the city limits involved.
Both stories have broader implications than the host of this blogs apparently understands.
Good job and thank you for the coverage of the region.
Seems to be a lot more pro-Globe comments lately. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteThe top news story in Joplin on any given day no matter how trivial should be played on the front page of the Joplin Globe. Then there's the "talker." That's the story that everyone will be reading and asking their co-workers if they read it. That can come from anywhere.
ReplyDeleteBoth of those Neosho stories were after the Neosho Daily News already beat the Globe to the punch. The Daily News began covering the trial on Tuesday and the Daily also had the Fish Hatchery story on Thursday. Once again, The Joplin Globe tries to make a big splash but after the fact.
ReplyDelete