‘Maybe a lapse of judgment’: Arkansas Week’s Steve Barnes on omission of NWA newspaper merger | Ink By the Byte
Banner, Ink By the Byte, Opinion — By Christopher Spencer on November 9, 2009 at 8:34 PM
[Disclosure: I'm a previous employee of The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I was laid off from The Morning News in April 2009]
By Christopher Spencer
Ozarks Unbound
Arkansas Week’s Steve Barnes said today that it wasn’t a conscious decision that the show, which features prominent news events around the state, failed to touch on NWA’s newspaper merger last week.
It was certainly an “above the fold” story a week ago when it first happened, Barnes said. But by Friday, as the show was filmed and aired, he said it was no longer part of his “front page consciousness”
A large number of employees for Stephens Media and WEHCO media news properties were fired at the end of October. Other employees were hired for the merged Northwest Arkansas Newspapers company.
“I think maybe I gave it a moment’s thought,” he said, but ultimately other news – Blanche Lincoln’s political survival, lessons from an off-year election, state finances and Republicans’ role in the Arkansas House – made the cut for the show.
“And maybe that was a lapse of judgment,” Barnes said about the omission.
It’s difficult on a panel of journalists to find one who isn’t affected by the merger, he said. Having those involved discuss the event could violate professional media ethics that call for those commenting to not be biased about a topic.
“What kind of panel do you assemble to talk about that,” he wondered.
Barnes, himself, was dropped as a columnist from The Morning News several months ago
“Which was about a year after I thought I would be dropped,” Barnes said.
The issue might be covered in a later show, he added.
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- AETN’s Arkansas Week ignores NWA newspaper merger | CF at 1:11 AM on November 7, 2009
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2 Comments
Republicans in the Arkansas House is a hot issue????
Doesn’t size matter anymore?
C’mon Steve. You could easily have a series of panels and topics devoted to how recent mergers threaten traditional journalism and its (your role as the “fourth estate”.
Your usual panels represent the few remaining traditional (ethical) journalists in the State. So, if you guys — as veteran journalist who have practiced and lived it –don’t deal with demise of Arkansas’ (and national) newspapers, then who will? A central question would be: If it “could violate professional ethics” to comment on such issues — what’s to be said about the ethical violations if you guys DON’T. Many of us readers and viewers rely on your show and its panelists to do some of the heavy-lifting in helping think through the implications of what we’re experiencing in the merging of Northwest Arkansas media.
So it seems to me that your show could outline a series of panels or debates to cover some of the current dollars-and -cents issues that have our newspapers on their knees. You could also deal with the more nuanced issues of how a single editor might fairly manage the centralized editorial page(s/content of multiple media.
With deepsst respect for you and your panelists,
A long-time admirer
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“It’s difficult on a panel of journalists to find one who isn’t affected by the merger, he said. Having those involved discuss the event could violate professional media ethics that call for those commenting to not be biased about a topic.