Explain Yourself ...

An update, Texas connection

Barry Bearak, the New York Times reporter held in Zimbabwe, has been freed and charges have been dropped.

We noted his capture earlier, and the Texas connection: His wife, Celia, is the daughter of Ronnie Dugger, a founder of the Texas Observer.

As Times editor Bill Keller said, Bearak was arrested for just doing his job. He's headed home now.

Perhaps it's also worth noting that an AP photographer has also been freed from captivity. The case is a little different, though. He was held for two years by the United States ...

--Rex Seline

Breaking news ...

I have a theory about journalists. There are three primary motivations for getting into this profession:

--You want to make the world a better place, chiefly by identifying the problems and solutions.

--You like to tell stories. You're a raconteur.

--You like to be the first to tell people news. You're a news junkie.

We all mix strains of those, but I would guess I fall primarily in the third category. Alas, for most of my time in this business, newspapers have ceded immediate coverage of breaking news to broadcast or cable TV. We have owned context and depth, explaining the events you might see as they happen on TV. And we cover the important and interesting stuff that isn't always visual. In addition, we often break news with enterprising journalism. (In these cases, we often see our TV colleagues catch up the next day, standing in front of some official building echoing the news we put in print earlier.)

Of course, that's not the same as going live with a spot news event.

But the world is changing. And as we head into spring storm season, it's a good time to take note. With our Web site and digital storytelling, we can be as live and local as anyone. And with our much larger staff -- and our larger base of readers -- we can actually cover more territory with greater detail than our broadcast colleagues.

Yes, they've invested millions in radar and meteorological staff. They're good at that, and we applaud them. But if you want to know about your neighborhood or city, we're more likely to be there. And if you want to tell us or show us your neighborhood or city, drop us an e-mail or add a comment to our blogs.

Don't worry, we're still going to paint the bigger picture -- with depth and context -- in print. That's where we'll sort through the many feeds to provide the best, most relevant information you need to know. And we're still going to be the best watchdog, looking out for your interests while providing enterprising news.

But yep, it's fun to be the first to actually tell you breaking news, as it happens. Watch our Web site.

--Rex Seline

 

Snow daze

There's something about snow in Texas. It starts to fall, and the energy picks up in the newsroom.

Perhaps it has something to do with the rarity of snow. Perhaps it has to do with scale and severity. A weather event encompasses the region, so everyone is involved and interested. But while snow and ice do pose a threat, with bad roads and the like, the risk is relatively manageable. The danger is less urgent than it can be with thunderstorms, floods, hail, tornadoes and hurricanes. So it's a good news story to cover, all things considered.

Our crew did a great job yesterday and overnight, online and in print. For a quick taste, check out the photos from all over. And what a great headline on 1A: "Snow angels, devilish traffic."

--Rex Seline

Close to home ...

One measure of news is impact: What does this mean to me?

It's fair to say that many of our readers will have little interest in the realignment of districts announced today by the University Interscholastic League. But for high school students and their families, it is a very big deal. There will be new rivals, and old rivalries will fade. Some schools will have to learn the routes to new stadiums, and some of those are pretty distant. Abilene, for instance, is in a district with Burleson, Richland, Haltom City, North Crowley, Weatherford and Paschal.

Sure, teams and team parents will feel the impact directly. But so will band members and parents (halftime shows, if nothing else), as well as participants in other competitive endeavors.

You'll read a lot more about it online and in the Saturday paper because, by our definition at least, it is important news.

--Rex Seline 

Story-telling ...

There was a time -- not so long ago -- when we had a fairly limited set of tools to use in telling a story. We learned to use them well, but it limited us on some stories. The Web has given us new tools.

From the latest news cycle, consider the story of the Watauga police chase in which an officer collided with a motorcycle. We can describe it in print, but the web allows us to actually post the dash cam video. Alas, the video alone would not explain the odd fact that it was apparently leaked to a web site. The police did not release the video when we asked for it under the Freedom of Information Act.

In pairing words and images -- across two platforms -- we can do a better job of telling the story for the readers. Good work by Melissa Vargas.

-- Rex Seline

Mall mayhem ...

The shootings at a mall in Omaha touched a nerve here in Fort Worth. We recall a similar tragedy at Wedgewood Baptist Church. Some of us have even closer connections; I was born in Omaha, I still have family there, and I have shopped at that mall.

From a journalistic perspective, it's worth noting one of the challenges in covering such tragedies: The initial curiosity is about the shooter, but you don't want to focus on the shooter to the exclusion of the victims. That challenge is heightened when authorities are slow to release the names of the victims, as they have been in Omaha.

The authorities are justifiably trying to be sensitive to the kin. But we have found that families often want the stories of the victims shared, too. In the end, the families don't want the spotlight solely on the shooter, and telling the stories of the victims is one way to begin the grieving process.

As journalists, we also want to share the stories of courage in the face of tragedy. We've already heard a few stories from Omaha about store employees and shoppers shepherding people to safety in back rooms. I'm sure more will come out.

If Wedgewood is a guide, Omaha will find a way to mourn and heal. My thoughts are with the residents there today.

--Rex Seline

   

Blame the messenger ...

I was a distant observer as the college coaching carousel spun last weekend. One aspect of it bears mention here, in a blog about journalism. Les Miles, the LSU coach, called an unusual, brief press conference to announce that he had not made a decision to leave LSU for his alma mater, Michigan. He later elaborated, saying that he would not be leaving LSU.

Miles was reacting to an ESPN report from Kirk Herbstreit that he would leave. The report apparently unsettled LSU, hours before it was to play for the conference championship. Miles moved to quell the concern. He was angry. The LSU athletic director followed up with his own blast: "It's a crock. How do these people get away with this?"

I have no idea who Herbstreit's sources were. But as tempting as it may be, you might pause before you jump on the blame-the-irresponsible-media bandwagon. The media do make mistakes. Herbstreit, it turns out, was wrong. He may have misunderstood something his sources said. I doubt that he simply made it up.

More likely, his sources were "wrong." And in this case, that word has shades of meaning. Many coaches, athletic directors and university presidents play the game: They establish plausible deniability. No offer has been officially made. No offer has been officially accepted. No "direct" contact has been made. Intermediaries are involved. Contact is couched and conditional: If they make an offer, would you be interested? Nothing official, mind you. But suddenly, there's the new coach, standing at a press conference with the university tie around his neck, saying how excited he is to be at State U. And plenty of people along the way -- university officials, big boosters, agents, other coaches -- knew what was going on. Some of them talk. Sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes coaches change their minds.

Is that what happened with Miles? I don't know. Herbstreit may have simply blown it. But the scenario plays out often. And many coaches who vent their frustrations on the media would have a hard time passing a polygraph. A year ago, Nick Saban said publicly he was staying with the Miami Dolphins, until he showed up at Alabama to accept the job there.

All of the attention makes it imperative for journalists to be very careful. But careful readers and viewers should also know that many coaches who express shock and dismay at such leaks are also playing a game, and I'm not referring to football.

--Rex Seline

Top 10 stories ...

The Associated Press asks newspaper editors each year to rank the biggest stories of the year. Because news judgment is more art than science, it's never a simple task. Indeed, I could make an argument that the selections say more about the person making the choices than they do about the apparent news value of the stories. But that's a topic for another day.

Want to take your own crack at the ranking? We may ask you for more formal input later in print. But for now, here's the AP ballot. (Pardon me, but it is a long list.):

The AP’s suggestions follow in random order. We’re asking you to pick the top 10 stories, with the first choice being No. 1, the second No. 2 and so on..

—Political crisis in Pakistan: Musharraf declares state of emergency.

--China’s export industry buffeted by cases of tainted toys, toothpaste, other products.

--U.S. housing and home-lending sectors battered by slump; stocks volatile.

—Wildfires ravage Southern California; hundreds of thousands evacuate homes.

—Tony Blair departs after 10 years as British prime minister; Gordon Brown takes over.

--Alberto Gonzales quits as attorney general after string of controversies.

—U.S. dollar falls; Canadian currency more valuable for first time in decades.

—Anna Nicole Smith dies; fight over her burial and baby ensue.

—Severe drought wracks Southeastern states.

—Bangladesh devastated by cyclone; more than 3,000 killed.

—Bush administration assailed over torture, Guantanamo detentions.

—Attempt to forge compromise on illegal immigration collapses in Congress.

—Scientists create equivalent of embryonic stem cells from ordinary skin cells.

—Intense campaigning in both major parties for 2008 presidential nominations.

—Nicolas Sarkozy elected president of France, vows to strengthen ties with U.S.

—Iran spars with international community over its nuclear program.

—Afghan war: deadliest year since 2001.

—Death penalty under scrutiny as painlessness of lethal injection questioned.

—Supreme Court bans a controversial abortion procedure.

—Military regime in Myanmar cracks down harshly on protest movement.

—Under pressure from critics, Paul Wolfowitz resigns as president of World Bank.

—Methane blast kills 110 workers at Russian coal mine.

—U.S. troop surge in Iraq takes effect: violence drops but does not halt.

—Palestinians feud among themselves heading toward peace talks with Israel.

—Russian President Putin signals he intends to maintain power even after term ends.

—Tropical Storm Noel kills more than 100 people in Caribbean.

—Darfur: Attempts at peace talks falter as violence continues.

—President Bush, Democratic-led Congress at odds over health coverage, Iraq, spending.

—Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez moves to consolidate power, extend rule.

—Oil prices soar worldwide.

—Global warming: new warnings from experts, Al Gore wins Nobel Prize for his advocacy.

—NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap rival for affections of space shuttle pilot.

—Duke lacrosse rape case collapses; district attorney ousted in disgrace.

--Gunmen kills 32 people at Virginia Tech; deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

—Massive wildfires in southern Greece kill at least 65 people.

—Former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby convicted in CIA leak case.

—Nancy Pelosi elected first female speaker of the House.

—Revelations of shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

—CBS fires Don Imus from his radio show for demeaning remarks about Rutgers athletes.

—Highway bridge collapses in Minneapolis, killing 13, injuring about 100.

—Barry Bonds breaks all-time home run record, then indicted in steroid investigation.

—Six miners, three rescue workers die at Utah coal mine.

—Earthquake in Peru kills more than 500, wrecks at least 40,000 homes.

—Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleads guilty to dogfighting charges.

—Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho refuses to quit despite guilty plea in airport vice sting.

—FBI investigates role of Blackwater USA security firm in killings of Iraqis.

—Plane skids off wet runway, killing 199 in Brazil’s worst aviation accident.

—Koreas: North moves to scrap nuclear program, signs reconciliation pact with South.

-- Rex Seline

Cowboys on TV ...

The Cowboys game was the big story of the day, judging from our front page (and the competition).

One thing that gave it extra news value was the cable TV brouhaha: In many areas of the country, the NFL Network is not offered by cable or satellite systems. So many fans could not see the game. Here in North Texas, a local station carried the simulcast from NFL, making it available to all.

The fans who missed it may not be happy, but there's some consolation: They were spared a surprisingly bad cablecast. Bryant Gumbel has a distinguished record in news and sports, and Cris Collinsworth is one of the smartest, most candid commentators. But they had an off-game. Of course, I'm just an every fan. I don't get paid to review TV or sportscasts, so I have no expertise. But the announcers seemed to lack any edge or pace.

One thing that really stuck out for me: Gumbel never trusted the (superimposed) first-down line. He rarely said a player made a first-down, or fell short, even when it seemed obvious. I lost count of the number of times he told viewers that a player "appeared to make" the first down, or "appeared to miss."

I applaud his attempt at precision, which is too often ignored in live broadcasts. But when it's not close, why hedge?

-- Rex Seline

A basic right

Here it is Election Night and I’m doing what I do every Election Night – waiting for the returns to see what the voters have decided.

Lots of things in the news business are repeat stories. That’s why experience counts. Been there, done that, means that the hands aren’t shaking quite so much on the second tornado story as on the first. But there comes a point when you’ve done enough tornadoes and floods and plane crashes.

But I find that I never do enough elections.

Elections are living things – the heart of a democracy. Doesn’t matter whether the office is local or nation or whether the issues are major or minor.

The fact that people get to go to the polls and make changes in their government is a beautiful thing to behold. Early today, there was actually a line at my polling place. It was exciting – but also sad that I considered it so unusual.

But the fact that they could be there and that they were there is a right to be cherished.

-- Paul Harral, Editor of the Editorial Page