Nothing against the president ... or women

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When the president of the United States wins the Nobel Peace Prize, is that front-page news?

That’s one of those subjective decisions that newspaper editors make – a decision not everyone will agree with.

Some people noticed that this newspaper placed the story about President Obama’s award on Page 12 of the Oct. 9 edition.

Some questioned that judgment.

Others assigned sinister motives to our decision.

Just another day in the news business.

SO, WHY WAS that story not on Page 1?

After all, it was on the cover of the New York Times, Washington Post and countless other newspapers around the world.

Is a Nobel Prize front-page news?

The answer is, Not in every newspaper.

The previous Monday, a short article about the three Americans who won the Nobel Prize in medicine was published on Page 9 of this newspaper.

The next Monday, the report on the two Americans who won the Nobel for economics was on page 12.

Those, too, were Page 1 stories in some newspapers.

But not here.

MAYBE THE simplest reason for our decision is a two-parter:

1) The story is not local, so 2) our readers can (and probably will) get the news from some other medium, most likely television. This editor first learned about the peace prize from his car radio.

When editors decide what stories go where in their newspapers (and which stories go nowhere), a number of factors are considered.

The most important of those is often “proximity”: Did it happen here? Or, Does the story have a big impact on a lot of people here? “Here” is important.

The story about a Nobel Prize – whether it be for peace, economics or medicine – does not generally qualify for the cover of a community newspaper like this one. Our focus is local news, the stuff our readers cannot get anywhere else.

In fact, the week in which the peace prize was announced, every Page 1 story in every edition of every day of this newspaper was locally reported and written. Nothing from New York or Washington – or Stockholm.

The Times and the Post are different. They see themselves as national newspapers, with hundreds of thousands of readers, many scattered across this big country. The focus of their front pages is not so local.

While we did get a few complaints about placement of President Obama’s prize, no one said anything about where we placed the other Nobel stories. But then, hardly anybody had ever heard of those other winners.

Another twist in the plot.

THIS MESSAGE CAME from a newspaper employee who took notes during a phone conversation with a caller who assumed, it seems, that President Obama’s prize did not make Page 1 of this paper because he is black.

“President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, and we hid that on page 12, while on the front page we put a picture of a black murderer,” the note said. “She said she and a lot of the black people in Sterling/Rock Falls are talking about not subscribing anymore. She was brought up to respect all people, regardless of race.”

The murder suspect is local. That crime happened here. And it was the best-read, most-followed story in this newspaper for days after the crime occurred Sept. 11.

We have nothing against President Obama. Or blacks.

Or women, for that matter.

The Indiana University professor who shared the Nobel Prize for economics was the first woman to win that award. That fact was worth noting in the article, but that didn’t make the story worthy of Page 1 in this newspaper. ...

Unless she had been a resident of this community. Then it would have been a local story – a Page 1 story.

And if President Obama (the third U.S. president to win the peace prize) comes to town, rest assured, the report will be on the front page, with big pictures, and several other stories inside the paper.

That would be a great local story. We hope he comes.

Have any of you invited him?

DOES OUR GOAL to be a local newspaper make us a “yokel” newspaper?

That’s what one Chadwick reader wrote in her letter to the editor.

The front page of our Friday edition usually includes a Top 5 (and, sometimes, a Top 10) of local things for people to do over the weekend. That feature offers just a couple of sentences about each event to explain the what, where and when.

The Chadwick reader took exception to one of the Top 5 from Oct. 9, a 2-inch item about a fundraiser for an animal shelter.

She thought stories more worthy of Page 1 included the U.S. search for water on the moon (which was on Page 2), the problems that recent rains will cause for the fall harvest (Page 3), and the Nobel prize for the president (Page 12).

Newspapers should avoid pushing local news to Page 1 just for the sake of being local. When we don’t have enough interesting and/or important local stories for the front page, we usually look first to state and regional news – just trying to stay as close as possible to home.

If our Page 1 includes a national or world story, that means 1) it’s a really big story or 2) we’re really desperate.

Yes, our proximity bias is showing again.

OF ALL THE factors used to determine what is newsworthy, proximity is among the top three.

That murder investigation in Dixon? Dozens of homicides occur every day across this country, but they usually don’t get reported in this newspaper. Proximity can mean a lot.

So can prominence. Even before cable TV helped to create our celebrity-crazed culture, prominent people always added an importance (an interest, at least) to news events.

If the mayor gets injured in a car accident, it’s Page 1 news. If it’s you or me, probably not. ...

Unless there is something strange or bizarre about the accident ... say, your car hits a unicorn. Then you could end up on the front page – as well as in the hospital.

How important are prominence and the bizarre to people’s reading habits? Isn’t that the simple formula for the success of supermarket tabloids?

Other factors that define news are conflict (Who doesn’t love a good fight?), currency (Is it a topic people have been talking about lately?), and timeliness (The word “new” is a big part of news.).

Of course, impact is also a newsmaker. Even a national or world story is local news if it affects local residents.

IN THE END, each person chooses what is front-page news to him or her.

That’s part of what makes editing a newspaper so difficult. Each reader has different interests, experiences and standards that affect judgment about what is important or interesting.

Newspaper folks use their journalistic experience, their knowledge of the community, and their interaction with readers to offer a daily mix of news and features that, we hope, offer the information that most customers need and want.

But that is not an exact science. And we can’t please everybody.

That’s why we encourage readers to let us know how we’re doing, what they like, and what they dislike.

You see, you’re a factor, too.

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