Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

[dick]

We've had some letters to the editor in our paper recently either bemoaning the fact that we (and other media) have gone hog wild over the little leaguers, while burying New Orleans death, destruction, and anarchy. Or they think it's a good thing to have warm, fuzzy stories overriding all else.

Just wondering what others out there think about that. Would you rather have Good Nooz or Bad Nooz splayed on A1?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Given a choice between Little Leaguers good nooz and Katrina / New Orleans bad nooz, I'd choose the bad nooz. It's just a bigger story.

[kimo55]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

why either / or?
why not both?

[1stwahine]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

I want Good Nooz because they deserve the attention as World Champs.

However, the devastation that Katrina has done, warrants exclusive coverage so that we know first what is happening to her citizens. Their struggles are just beggining...we must help to bring some light back to them...therefore, I vote Bad Nooz.

Auntie Lynn

[lavagal]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

We've had some letters to the editor in our paper recently either bemoaning the fact that we (and other media) have gone hog wild over the little leaguers, while burying New Orleans death, destruction, and anarchy. Or they think it's a good thing to have warm, fuzzy stories overriding all else.

Just wondering what others out there think about that. Would you rather have Good Nooz or Bad Nooz splayed on A1?

I'm sorry to hear you guys getting snarked up about it. I would imagine the other paper hears it, too.
Frankly, someone is always complaining at or about the papers, so there's always that.

Let's see. New Orleans is a phenomenal story. I hear the stories coming out of it are incredible and it is difficult to decide what to include, what to leave out. It's quite a dilema. New Orleans is to date our country's worst disaster: environmental, economical, societal. It shows the worst Americans can be, it shows the best Americans can be. Many of us are stunned by what we see, by what we read.
And here in Hawaii, we damn well know that what is happening in New Orleans and Mississippi--because it is no where near over--could just as easily happen here. My husband and I are discussing what we would get busy at once we knew a hurricane was about four days out. There's too damn much.

And then there's this feel-good World Series story about our boys. The fact that the people in the stands were chanting USA instead of Hawaii was so heartwarming. It really made me feel like our country has finally taken to our state. We need such a story for Hawaii and for our country. This is the kind of story that is an indication of our country's future, these boys are the kids who may grow to become heroes. They've gotten a taste of greatness and let's hope they all understand that this wave they are riding can take them through to a college education. They've seen they can BE somebody and they've seen how an entire country can support them.

The argument that the local papers don't do enough to cover national news is perpetual. It never stops. But I disagree. Our editors do what they can with what they've got. And I think they've done a fine job balancing these two particular stories.

Hang in there.

[RJC]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

I've been paying attention to the relative play of both stories all week, and I think the dailies have handled it well. I'm sure some folks feel like the Ewa kids are getting shortchanged by a national disaster, but that's only because it's true. Their moment was eclipsed by a staggering tragedy. And so it goes...

[LikaNui]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

We've had some letters to the editor in our paper recently either bemoaning the fact that we (and other media) have gone hog wild over the little leaguers, while burying New Orleans death, destruction, and anarchy.

Unless I'm mistaken, there's only been, what, two or three negative letters about the kids' coverage? The bulk has been positive letters about them. Count me in with that group!
And I agree with Kimo -- there's enough room on the front page for both stories.
Anyway, kind of a dead issue now ("dead issue"? no pun intended, I swear!) since the excitement over the Little League World Series is pretty much pau.
But if the UH Warriors beat USC tomorrow, that would be front-page news. If only for a huge banner headline and a blurb to see the Sports section for more info.
If the Warriors beat USC, I'd advise folks to grab their cameras and stay near a window cuz sure as heck there will be flying pigs.

[MadAzza]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Unless I'm mistaken, there's only been, what, two or three negative letters about the kids' coverage?

Actually, just one negative letter received and published, and many, many reacting in disagreement, which aren't published because there's no point beating the guy over the head with it.

[kimo55]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Anyway, kind of a dead issue now

oh, notty notty! spankee time!

[LikaNui]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

oh, notty notty! spankee time!

Thanks, but Tiny beat ya too it.

[mel]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Generally speaking the old saying in the news biz goes, "if it bleeds, it leads." Hence hurricanes, wars, terrorism, murders, plane crashes, etc. always make it to the top of the news.

Yesterday if the hurricane and the gas cap was not a major story, perhaps the 60th anniversary celebration of the end of WWII would have lead. But not, the pain from the hurricane is still the lead national story and the pain and confusion on the gas caps has replaced the feel-good baseball item as the local lead.

[The Lost Jackson]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Um, just for the sake of argument: There's something terribly depressing about an editor worrying about whether the paper is running too much good or bad news on its front page. What is a paper's function? IMHOP it's to inform, and not to worry about whether it's readers can handle -- of course Katrina should have been played larger than the little league thing ... not because it's a "phenomenal story" (as one poster put it) nor because it bleeds and therefore should lead. It's simply far more important to understand what happened to New Orleans, how it affects our nation, and its various ramifications to all of us than it is to have a front page sports story, no matter how feel good it is.
Personally, the reason I go to the Internet for all of my news these days is that I don't have to deal with this sort of editorial filtering, which gives readers very little credit.
No offense, just my thought on the subject, since you asked.

[lavagal]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Personally, the reason I go to the Internet for all of my news these days is that I don't have to deal with this sort of editorial filtering, which gives readers very little credit.
No offense, just my thought on the subject, since you asked.

Well, if you thought the Internet was this vast pool of unedited information, I respectfully beg to disagree. You're entitled, for sure. But you can also choose to read only conservative angles or liberal angles when it comes to a story. Many people I'm sure are on both sides of how the government of all levels handled the H-Kat disaster. If you only read one side or the other, then there's no balance in that.

You might be like me: I read the newspaper I grew up with in South Jersey; the New York Times and the Washington Post, The Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. We used to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. Now that my kids are getting into school, I could get back on that again. But I think this indicates that I'm a liberal news hound. I like MSNBC, I don't like Fox. Am I getting a conservative dose of news? I'll confess, probably not.

[The Lost Jackson]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Well, if you thought the Internet was this vast pool of unedited information, I respectfully beg to disagree. You're entitled, for sure. But you can also choose to read only conservative angles or liberal angles when it comes to a story. Many people I'm sure are on both sides of how the government of all levels handled the H-Kat disaster. If you only read one side or the other, then there's no balance in that.

OK, sorry, clarification: When I go to the internet, it's not to read the ramblings of whoever can muster half a brain to post their navel gazing online. It's just a lot faster and more effective for me to go to any number of news aggregators that are gathering the actual news and not stopping to worry about whether it's good or bad. Yes, I know, newspapers have to serve many masters in terms of people with various tastes -- my point remains that the issue shouldn't be the percentage of good news vs. bad news on the front page of a NEWSpaper, but simply the news we most need to know ... there are other sections of the paper that can fulfill everything from the Military Briefing to Thoughts on Religion.

[Pomai]

Re: Good Nooz, Bad Nooz

Several mainland folks also wrote in to our papers mentioning that the live game broadcast in their area was CUT OFF by breaking news about Katrina. From the east coast to as far west as Las Vegas. If I'm not mistaken, they cut the entire ending of the game at about the 6th inning. Ouch!

Imagine if they had cut the game off on TV here in Hawaii? Whoah!.. letters to the editors (and especially to KITV/ABC) would have been really ugly!

IMHO, SB and HA did a great job covering two MAJOR stories at once, cramming both subjects thoroughly and throughout the August 29th editions of section A (day after the win, day of landfall for Katrina).

Being Honolulu papers, the Ewa Beach Little League champs rightfully received the front page HEADLINE of that day. And rightfully so, Katrina dominated our local front page headlines ever since. That is until the gas price issue.

I agree with Kimo and LikaNui though, there's certainly room - even a REQUIREMENT - for BOTH good nooze (sports, entertainment, etc.) and bad (crime, catastrophe, war, etc.) on A1. Most editors and journalist wouldn't have it any other way.