When you see that, it invariably means the newspaper's staff had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Usually, it is a press release which may have minimal editing done to it, or may run as is.
Something a bit more disturbing was the article the Neosho Daily News ran on Neosho banker Rudy Farber in its Tuesday edition.
The article is written in feature style and begins like this:
Rudy Farber's smile said it all.
When he walked into the lobby of the downtown branch of Community Bank & Trust, Farber was greeted by a large crowd gathered to honor him for his 50 years of service to the banking industry.
This is not the first time Farber has been honored for his efforts in banking, but this time it was a surprise because U.S. Congressman Roy Blunt was in attendance to honor Farber with a resolution.
The article ends with quotes from Blunt. I have no major problems with the article, but I like to know the source of information. Was this article written by someone with Congressman Blunt's staff, someone from the bank staff, or someone else entirely.
It would be nice if newspapers, instead of using the inaccurate term "From Staff Reports," would simply put in a one-line credit saying something like "This news release was received from..."
who cares?
ReplyDeleteRandy,
ReplyDeleteThat's a common sense solution to a regular problem with newspapers.
Of course, if Post-Dispatch readers knew how much of their political reporting came from DNC faxes...
Actually - they probably already know, which is why conservatives don't bother to subscribe to the local paper.
If we want to know what the DNC is writing, we just pick up a copy of the NY Times.
My God, can you find anything less important to gripe about?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't think knowing the source of the information you receive from the media is important, then you probably are willing to swallow just about anything that is handed out. When it is possible, and in this case, it was certainly possible, readers should be told whether this is a press release, if so, who it came from, or if it was actually the product of Daily News reporting. I agree that this particular story is not important, but this is not the only one story that has received such treatment by the Daily and by other media sources. Someone should take the phrase "from staff reports" and relegate it to the trash bin forever.
ReplyDeleteBob Watson said:
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't argue that it would be nice to know who authored the story, at the Jefferson City News Tribune, "By the News Tribune staff" means SEVERAL reporters contributed to a story and no one of us was the principal author.
In our paper, straight rewrites of news release get NO by-line -- -- after all, no local reporter did any original work on them.
We will sometimes add a reporter's byline to a story that came mostly from a news release, IF that reporter added original or additional information to the basic release.
I suspect -- but can't prove -- that more newspapers follow a policy similar to ours than do what Randy cited, saying "staff reports" for a story generated only from a news release.
Many times, in our stories, if it came from a release, we'll tell you.
And Randy's MAIN point is correct ----readers deserve to know who generated the story.
ESPECIALLY if it's a feature story like the one that started this thread ..............
If the all-knowing controller of this blog would read the "real" newspaper, he might have a good clue about who contributed to the little business item. The photo in the newspaper was credited to Rick Rogers.
ReplyDeleteI vote that Randy not be able to criticize anyone or anything unless he's read the print edition which often has more or related information.
I'd have to agree with that last poster.....Rick Rogers was there representing the Daily.
ReplyDeleteThe Daily does use the "Staff Reports" byline all too frequently, including on news releases typed in word for word.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the author of this story felt the appropriate shame of doing such a sickeningly sweet fluff story on someone who used campaign contributions to buy himself a seat in Jefferson City on the transportation commission. (something the Daily never has mentioned.)
I wouldn't want my name on this either.
To the last poster--
ReplyDeleteShould the story have lead off something like —
"Rudy Farber's smile said it all.
Of course, he should be smiling after buying a seat on the traffic commission.
But today, when he walked into the lobby...."
John Hacker would have told the entire story. Nobody reports the news like the red-headed wonderboy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Hacker's mom. Yes, I'm sure your little boy would have done a great job of rehashing speculative garbage whenever Farber is mentioned for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteA story about 50 years in banking has NOTHING to do with either campaign contributions or his position on the state traffic commission.
I supposed both facts should also be mentioned in his obituary when his time comes.
Maybe Hacker can write the obit himself.