Reply-to: "Eric Meyer" 
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> Gentry, Leah wrote:
>
> > I'm working on a side project looking at how newspapers and news sites
> > can reconnect with readers.
> > This is one of my favorite urls -- I never miss a week.
>
> > http://www.sisna.com/moabpd/blotter/blotterns.html

Ah, I can see most of you folks have never worked at a rural weekly. 
Some cop (or, most likely, dispatcher) is playing cutesy with the 
routine stuff. The problem is, if something truly interesting or 
important comes along, chances are you won't ever hear about it. 
You'll be lulled into believing that you're covering everything,  
with a sense of humor to boot, when in fact you've simply let the 
police department determine not only what you'll report but also 
how you'll report it. This is really an ingenious public relations 
strategy. Give the newspaper somethings that sounds good and it will 
stop looking for more. It really is the same strategy as politicians 
follow when they routinely offer up sound bytes instead of responding 
directly to direct questions. 

              ERIC K. MEYER - meyer@newslink.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------
           managing partner - NewsLink Associates  
           online publisher - AJR NewsLink  
    asst prof of journalism - University of Illinois
visiting research scientist - Natl Center for Supercomputing Aps

- "Tomorrow's News Today" critically acclaimed guide to strategic 
   planning for online publishing (mailto:report@newslink.org)
- "Designing Infographics" (http://www.newslink.org/book.html)
-  http://www.newslink.org, web's top media resource: 8,000 
   links, more newspapers, hundreds of journalism jobs 

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