 Ask the EditorsNovember 6, 2009Has The Bee been too graphic in the Mercado case?Two readers have complained recently that The Bee's coverage of the killing of Alex Mercado has been too graphic. A 14-year-old neighbor has been accused of molesting and murdering the Mendota boy. Both argued that the details of the crime should have been withheld from readers because they were painful -- especially for relatives of the victim. Continue reading "Has The Bee been too graphic in the Mercado case?" » October 17, 2009Should The Bee ban offensive images of Obama?From time to time Continue reading "Should The Bee ban offensive images of Obama?" » October 14, 2009Did The Bee show how disrespect in obit?Commenting on an editorial about UC Merced founding chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, who died on Oct. 10, one reader noted with approval that the editorial writer called the late chancellor "Dr. Tomlinson-Keasey." as opposed to our obituary, which called her "Mrs. Tomlinson-Keasey." I found it offensive that in the article in Monday's Bee about UC Merced's founding chancellor Dr. Tomlinson-Keasey's passing the writer refused to use her correct professional title. Only in the list of degrees was her Ph.D. mentioned. When was the last time the Bee referred to the President of Fresno State as "Mr." Welty? I can not remember a case of a male academic holding a doctorate being referred to as "Mr.", even in obituaries. I thought most people learned decades ago to credit women with their correct professional titles. In today's (Tuesday) editorial the writer got it right. Perhaps the reporter, editor, and proofreader involved in Monday's article should issue an apology to Dr. Tomlinson-Keasey's family. A clarification of the Bee's policy on this would be in order. Here is the clarification and the apology. But first we need a surprisingly complicated explanation that delves into the intricacies of newspaper style. Continue reading "Did The Bee show how disrespect in obit?" » June 25, 2009Is The Bee endangering children?For years -- decades, actually -- The Bee has run a popular weekly feature called "Scoopy Squad." It's a full page of features for young children that appears Thursdays in the Life section. A big part of the page is devoted to a question and the answers provided by kids, along with their drawings. Today, for example, the question is "What makes you happy?" One reader worries that the feature puts children at risk: I have strong feelings about the Scoopy Squad page that is published every Thursday in the Fresno Bee. We believe this reader's concern is misplaced. Some facts to consider:
I believe the answer is yes, for three reasons. First, the feature would be pointless if we provided so little information about the children. How many 6-year-olds are named Maria? Without the photo and other details, the children would be deprived of the recognition -- and feelings of pride -- they deserve. Then we must ask: How, exactly, does the feature help would-be kidnappers? Children are everywhere. Wouldn't it be simpler for him to just go to a school and pick out a likely-looking victim? Finally, there is a broader reason to resist limiting the feature. I believe we would be contributing to a corrosive paranoia if we were to take such a step with no evidence of risk. Our readers have plenty of things to worry about -- we don't need to add to the general atmosphere of mistrust without a good reason. Nevertheless, I recognize that some readers may feel differently. Any comments? June 17, 2009Did The Bee snub Chuck Poochigian?Readers occasionally suspect political motivation lies behind decisions on news coverage. Some think The Bee is a tool of the capitalist system and deliberately ignores stories that would upset big business, for example. Some think The Bee is a nest of socialists who love to advance a radical agenda. Neither is true, of course. Although reporters and editors are human beings, and occasionally let their personal feelings enter into their work, this newspaper -- like all respectable news organizations -- works hard to serve all readers, regardless of politics, respecting every point of view. Our mission is to tell important stories, interesting stories. Period. June 15, 2009Is The Bee turning tabloid?
June 10, 2009Did The Bee downplay Obama's Egypt speech?A letter to the editor today, along with some reader comments, raises questions about The Bee's decision to put its story about President Obama's much-anticipated Cairo speech low on the front page. See the question, and my answer, here. June 3, 2009Did The Bee exaggerate size of marriage rally crowd?Monday's story about a rally at Fresno City Hall in support of Proposition 8 and the traditional definition of marriage provoked complaints from some readers. They objected that the story exaggerated the size of the crowd. The whole episode illustrates a classic peril of daily journalism -- we rarely have all the facts by deadline. The best we can do is report what we know, say where that information came from, and update the story later as more information comes available. That's what we did in this case. Monday's story quoted organizers saying about 3,000 attended, based on a count of sign-ups. It also reported that this number was unconfirmed because police declined to estimate the size of the crowd. On Monday, we went back to police, who offered an estimate of up to 1,000, which we reported in a followup. In retrospect, I wish we'd been a little more cautious in Monday's story and in the headline to stress that the numbers we had were unconfirmed. Bee arts critic Donald Munro offers a smart discussion of this in a post on the beehive, where the issue has been a hot topic. May 7, 2009Does Fresno need an independent media auditor?Commenting on our story about the not-guilty verdict for Fresno Police officer Paul Cervantes, one reader suggests that independent auditor is needed more for local news organizations than for the FPD: ... somewhere there was a break down and it needs to get fixed so heros like officer Cervantes and his family are not subjected to media attacks. Shame on the media for their poor effort of reporting facts leading up to the trial. I sure hope someone in the media reviews their ethics. I think Fresno is ready for an independent media auditor. It is time the media is held accountable. ... It's rare in the United States, but a small number of communities actually do have independent media auditors. Continue reading "Does Fresno need an independent media auditor?" » May 6, 2009Why not name juvenile suspects?We recently published a bulletin on fresnobee.com about two teens, whom we did not identify by name, arrested near Robertito's Taco Shop on Blackstone Avenue in east-central Fresno. Police said one of the 15-year-olds was carrying a knife and the other a club. Reader bgraham posted this comment: We want to know their names! The law needs to be changed to allow the media to publish the names of juveniles arrested for serious crimes. If you are not going to publish their names, why even publish the article? This raises a couple of interesting questions. April 29, 2009Why not use the word "alleged"?A reader, commenting on a recent story by courts reporter Pablo Lopez, suggested that The Bee uses the word "alleged" in reporting on most defendants -- but not if they happen to be police officers. The reader felt this was evidence of bias against police officers. (My response was that Pablo's story didn't use the word "alleged" because he used other words to make clear that these were only allegations against an officer; I also said we don't treat accused police officers differently than other defendants. You can read our exchange here.) A deeper issue is this: Despite what some readers may remember from their high school journalism classes, "alleged" is not a magic bullet that somehow makes a story fair. It's just a quick way to note that a person has only been accused of something. Too often the word is used as a cheap substitute for real attribution that tells readers not only WHAT the accusation is, but WHO is making it. For example, I would rather see reporters write this sentence:
Peter Smith, accused by prosecutors of stealing the hearse while drunk, is the mayor's uncle. Than this:
Peter Smith, who allegedly stole a hearse while drunk, is the mayor's uncle. Why? Because the first sentence tells us who is making the allegation, thereby helping readers judge for themselves how much to believe it. "Alleged" by itself doesn't say much.
November 5, 2008Was quote about Obama out of bounds?The editors of the Fresno Bee had the choice whether or not to include the quote "I believe Obama is the anti-Christ." from Mr. Stephen Anderson, Jr., in the November 5, 2008, edition. The Bee chose to do so and presented it on pp. A20 as the the lead into a column of quotes, in the normal position for a column title at the top of the page and therefore in very high profile placement.Thanks for the interesting question. The quote was one of many from voters of various political persuasions reacting to the election of Barack Obama. I can understand how it would be upsetting to some. But it accurately represents how some people feel, and therefore was appropriate as part of our coverage. It's worth noting that news stories in any newspaper frequently quote people expressing opinions. Opinions, like facts, often are newsworthy. October 23, 2008Is The Bee ignoring Obama's citizenship?I know the Fresno Bee supports Obama for President. But the question of his citizenship is news. Why haven't I seen anything in the Bee about it? You can report it and still taint it toward your beliefs, but still report it. Whether I am for or against Obama does not matter it is still an important unanswered question that could affect the whole nation. Thanks for your question. There are two issues here, I think: a) Does The Fresno Bee select news stories based on the views of its editorial board? The answer is no. b) Should The Bee publish a story about Obama's citizenship? The answer is yes. On the first question, readers should know that The Bee's editorial pages are run independently of the newsroom. Reporters and editors have nothing to do with the editorial page's stance and are in no way influenced by it. This arrangement is standard at modern American newspapers. It is critical to the success of our business that readers trust the newsroom to cover issues objectively. The second question is a little more complicated. Internet rumors alleging that Obama is not a U.S. citizen have proliferated in recent weeks. The rumors are false -- see FactCheck.org or Snopes.com for details. But the fact that so many people are hearing these rumors is in itself news, and we will look for a story from one of our wire services that will explain the issue to readers. Thanks for bringing it up. October 8, 2008Why doesn't The Bee publish birth listings?Do you guys have birth records listed in the paper?? if not, why not??We stopped listing births in 2004 because local hospitals were increasingly unwilling to provide enough information to make the lists meaningful -- for example, hometowns of the parents. Some hospitals worried about violating new federal patient-privacy laws. Frankly, we thought these concerns were misguided or exaggerated. In one case, I'm told, a hospital official contended listing births would put babies at risk of kidnapping. We're sorry that these concerns forced us to stop listing births. One of the age-old functions of newspapers is listing the raw data of ordinary life -- deaths, arrests, bankruptcies, marriages -- that allow people in a sizable community to know their neighbors. It's too bad that the hospitals couldn't make a better effort to help us continue the practice. September 29, 2008Why highlight Amber Frey's foreclosure?Putting aside the fact that she is the biggest celebrity this town has going for it (apparently), why is her misfortune news? And why, why, why was it necessary to publish her home address? So we could all drop a casserole by?A number of readers wondered why The Bee reported that Amber Frey had fallen behind in her mortgage payments and could lose her home to foreclosure. The questions sparked a bit of a debate here. Responsible journalists always consider whether a piece of news about a private individual is legitimately newsworthy enough to outweigh the embarrassment it may cause. And we don't always agree with each other. With that in mind, we offer two answers. The first comes from John Rich, the second from Jack Robinson. John: Amber Frey chose a life in the public light when she hired Gloria Allred as her attorney and wrote a book, "Witness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson." It certainly is an interesting life, what with lawsuits, weddings and opening a spa. So when she gets caught up in the foreclosure mess, that's news that interests many. Did we have to publish the address? No, and that's not per style. It was a mistake that wasn't caught during editing. Jack: This would be an easy question if Frey was an elected official, or even if she was an entertainer or other celebrity who puts herself in the spotlight. A public person must expect her life to be of interest to the public. But this is trickier case. Amber Frey became famous because she was caught up in a news event -- the Laci Peterson murder. Yes, as John points out, she did seek to profit from her celebrity. But that also was some years ago, and I'm not persuaded that the public benefit of making this news known is worth the intrusion into her life. At the very least, I would have preferred to see this a small story inside the paper. It might have been best to leave it out entirely. August 18, 2008Did The Bee degrade women gymnasts?I am so sorry that you felt it necessary to do that front page article and picture FALL FROM GRACE on Wednesday August 13, 2008. And then with such a big picture and on the FRONT PAGE; come on; are you that hard up for business? With all the wonderful stores about the participants, why you would choose to give us such lousy and degrading information? Don't you think we all saw the slips and blunders happen on TV and our hearts went out to each participant in all events that did not match up to expectations. Don't you think all the competitors that did not do well are filled with their own guilt and remorse? Normally I am used to the paper giving us only negative information and slanted to be more negative as well but this is the WORST YET. If my husband did not absolutely require the Fresno Bee I would cancel on the spot and may still do so if I can convince him, it is not worth reading. Basically it has not been worth reading for a long time.I can understand why the front page that day may have been upsetting to some. It may have appeared that The Bee was going out of its way to celebrate the U.S. women's gymnastics team's defeat by featuring the event with a large photograph and headline.
I can assure you that this isn't the case. We don't like bad news any more than you do -- nor does it help sell newspapers, as many readers imagine. For example, take a look at the four other front-page stories we've had so far about Americans competing in Beijing -- all were about winners. Still, you are right to question the way we displayed this story. It was out of proportion to the importance of the event. Sometimes an athletic contest is so widely anticipated that even a loss is a front-page story. We would not be doing our job if we didn't prominently report a big setback to a team that readers care strongly about. But this event didn't rise to that level. We should have scaled it back to a more modest front-page story. Partly this occurred as a result of a miscalculation on our part. The event occurred late in our production cycle, so we planned for the story to occupy the same space on the page regardless of the result in order to minimize the disruption that would result from re-making the page on deadline. This was my decision, and it was a mistake. July 21, 2008Where's the Clovis news?Carefully reading the Friday 7/18/08 Bee I found one article belonging in the obituary section regarding Clovis. I think the Bee has failed to report and cover any news in the Clovis area since our beloved and treasured Clovis Independent newspaper, Editor Patti Lippert, and her outstanding staff was moved to the Fresno Bee HQ… then a few weeks later- shut down, disbanded, and no longer published. Closing the Clovis Independent wasn't an easy decision. We recognize the place the paper held in the city's history, but also couldn't continue to ignore the fact that much of what we published in the Independent already was available in The Bee.
Did The Bee alter this photo?Want a quick way to trash your journalistic reputation? Doctor up a photograph and publish it on the front page of the B section like you did on Saturday. Now every picture I see in the paper is suspect.  I can assure you that we do not alter photographs at The Bee -- that is a cardinal sin in our business, a firing offense.
But I can see how this picture appears to have been manipulated. What looks like a portion of an arm is actually a piece of paper in the deputy's hand. Because of the color, which is partly due to the effect of sunlight from behind, it appears flesh-colored. The effect was particularly confusing in print, where some nuances of light and color were lost. June 18, 2008Does a Shih Tzu trump a science prize?This past week, two talented individuals placed 2nd in differentially prestigious competitions, and were both reported in the paper for mastery in their respective fields. One of these competitors braved laudably over rivals for most resembling his master in a local municipal park; the other, journeyed 2,000 miles to compete against the brightest and most promising young minds in the nation in a high-pressure ring of ferocious mental prowess. Can you guess which of these silver medalists splashed the front page of the Local section with a colossal picture to augment the story?Covering academic achievements by local students has always been and continues to be important to The Bee. For example, in the past couple months our reporters have written many stories that focus on academics, including coverage of:
Our goal is to offer readers a look at many parts of life here, academic successes included. June 11, 2008Why call Barack Obama "black"?Yes I have a question why do they keep saying that Obama is Black when he is half breed his mother is white and his father black so answer me why does the new's media keep saying that he's black when he is half white and half black I don't understand their thinking so if you would please enlighten me I would be so appreciative. The short answer is that we in the news media adhere to the customs of our society, which traditionally identifies people as members of minority groups even if their heritage is mixed. To unilaterally adopt a different model of race would be not only presumptuous, but highly confusing. That leads us to question, of course, the tradition itself: Why are people with some measure of African or African-American ancestry customarily described as "black" when they are of mixed racial descent? Barack Obama is not the only example. Many people were surprised to learn that Tiger Woods, most often described as black, is part Thai, African-American, Chinese American Indian and Dutch. The Census Bureau, private scholarship funds and others have grappled with racial issues long and hard - yet they have so far failed to arrive at a definitive means of pinning down race in this "melting pot" of individuals who may be one-quarter this or one-sixteenth that. Sometimes, the lines of differentiation can seem blurred or even arbitrary. A final point worth making: We don't really have the luxury of leaving out racial designations altogether in stories about Obama. He is the first person of significant African-American ancestry to claim the presidential nomination of a major political party, and race is often a theme in his campaign. We will just have to do the best we can to identify his ancestry appropriately. Other Beehive BlogsOther Bee SitesRecent CommentsPrior Posts |
we get complaints about images that readers of fresnobee.com use as "avatars" -- little pictures that appear with each of their comments on stories. One avatar that draws particular anger is a photo of President Obama manipulated to give him clown makeup suggestive of that worn by Heath Ledger as the Joker in last year's "Batman" movie. One user recently asked: Why does The Bee allow such an image on its site?
