It doesn’t matter what is happening in your area, the newspaper is printed on time every time regardless of whether or not it is a “slow news” time. The ads have been sold and the number of pages have been determined long before any of the news has even occurred. All that remains is the decision of what is and what isn’t news. Agenda setting.
What stories are going to get covered? What stories aren’t? What is going on the front page and what will we bury on page 12? The decisions aren’t always made on whether or not the story is newsworthy. For many stories, it could be a matter of timing, other stories just might “fit the hole.” It doesn’t matter what process made one story end up on the printed page while another is quickly forgotten in Circlular File 13 (my trash can). What matters is you have just set the agenda. You just determined what is important in your community and the way it will be handled.
The job of reporters and journalists is to report what is happening without being a part of what is happening. It is a good theory, but no one can do that. As a regular part of my job, I attend council and board meetings. When I first began attending the meetings and no one knew who I was, I was able to report on the meeting without influencing it at all. As the members begin to recognize me, however, that changes.
It doesn’t take much for the council or board to recognize I’m a reporter. My scribbling in a notebook throughout the entire meeting usually tips them off that I am a reporter from somewhere. And the fact that there is a reporter attending the meeting DOES change how things are done. Sometimes people grand stand for their position, other times they use vague language to discuss items they don’t want publicized. Other times, they are more obvious and make comments to me directly like, “don’t print that,” or “maybe we can have a front page story about this?” I usually try to ignore these comments or make noncommital noises. I don’t want to be part of the meeting.
But I am whether I want to be or not. My presence and eventually my artice may change the outcome of an issue just because it was publicized. Council and board members have done complete reversals in their position once they fall under the scrutinty of the press.
When you attend community events to take photos, when you report on council meetings and school board meetings and when you interview the high school kid who won an award, you are sending a message about what is important in your community.
So, the next time you are faced with a “slow” news week, be sure your choices of what to cover and where to put it are made realizing you are setting the agenda for the community.
