International coverage discussion, thin slices, tangents

Big discussion this morning was about the China earthquake story on the front page. Read it here, Workers dig for survivors after massive China quake and here are some of those discussion points:

• Senior innovation editor Carla Savalli, previously senior editor for local news, didn’t feel like that story belonged in that spot. It’s very unusual that a newswire item, national or international, is used with dominant photo as the ‘centerpiece’ story.
• Counter-argument: increased interest in Beijing news due to upcoming Olympic Games

• There were no other options for that story spot, according to managing editor Gary Graham. The biggest limitation for the center story spot is the availability of a compelling photo to match.
• S-R could have switched stories around to put a local story in that spot, but that could have created a void in another section.
• Should the news staff feel obligated to add local reports to a newswire story? deputy city editor Dan Hansen asked. Editor Steve Smith said only if it’s feasible and it helps.

Editors compared this news coverage to that of the recent Myanmar cyclone, or tsunami coverage in early 2005. The tsunami made front-page coverage more than once, but in a different layout spot. Here’s the Jan. 9 2005 edition , and a Jan. 13, 2005 edition for reference.

For a discussion about whether Myanmar belonged on the front page, managing editor Gary Graham blogged on this topic at News Diary , and a discussion on China’s earthquake posted this morning .

Thick slices

• Plane crashes into parked pickup : What a strange story, but this crash made it into the print edition despite being so late-breaking. The story was ready by 10 p.m.-ish and the photo by slightly after 9-ish.

• The power of sleep : Lack of a good night’s rest can have an effect on everything from your weight to flu and other infections, even cancer.

• Doug Clark is looking for people to join him for the annual Street Music Week, where musicians fundraise on downtown streets to help the food bank. Call The Doug at (509) 459-5432 or he prefers to be emailed: dougc@spokesman.com.

Morning meeting tangents

• Copywizard Tom Green’s grandfather had one of the first automobiles in his small Washington hometown (Current population there is slightly more than 600). Which led to the discussion about…

• Growing up, photo director Larry Reisnouer said his family had the third television set among the locals in their North Dakota hometown. But what did they watch? “A test pattern outta Texas.”

Which led to a discussion about whether S-R’s younger staffers have ever seen a test pattern. People “also know what dinosaurs are - It doesn’t mean we’ve seen one,” another editor observed.

Fresh multimedia from Video Journal

Gonzaga’s undergraduate commencement took place Sunday morning with Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, who will step down as university president in July 2009.

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