Ask The Editors

You give extensive coverage to high school sports. Why can't the arts get a fair shake? I teach theatre at Bullard High, so I'm interested in getting publicity for my hard-working actors. I'm not asking for play reviews, but a simple listing of what's ahead on the high school theatre scene would be a welcome addition to the paper. Calvin Hoff

Listings for high school productions, however, do not appear in our entertainment calendar in Friday's Weekend section. High school productions vary widely in terms of quality and may only appeal to people who are friends or family of participating students. Because of the volume of productions, we don't have the staffing to try to make a value judgment as to which shows have general appeal. We ask theatergoers to rely on other traditional ways to find out about school productions, such as word-of-mouth, school and community newspapers and posters.

As for The Bee's coverage of high school sports, our collective viewpoint is that readers have more interest in the handful of sports we do cover, more so than the arts. While I can't say that I agree with this, it does give us something to think about.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Each year, I see article after article regarding the three main sports in high school: football, basketball and baseball. Your paper provides ample space to talk about and celebrate each of these sports, and yet the lesser-known sports get what ever room is left over.

Each year goes by, and little space is provided for a sport that has more leagues and more youth participants than football, basketball and baseball combined. The sport in question is soccer. It may seem a trivial item to you, but for those high school athletes who have potential to enter into college, this is one avenue that allows them to be seen by college recruiters.

Thank you for your time

Brian Bresnick

It is true that football, basketball and baseball/softball get the most attention in our sports section. We see this not as a slight to other sports, such as soccer, but as a reflection of what the majority of our readers are interested in. That's not to say that we will ignore other sports, in fact we plan to cover as many of the major events as our staffing allows.

Posted by Jennifer at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a complaint that is more for the pressroom than the editor. Why does management allow the paper to be sent out with folds and creases across some of the pages? A lot of articles I start to read have an overlapping fold that runs through the piece horizontally. It's very annoying to have to stop and "iron" out pages before reading them. This is after the press operation and in the folding sequence, because the type is all there, just obscured by the tight folds in the paper. Isn't this an adjustment to the rollers? Jim York

We asked the Bee's Jeff Gledhill, Vice President of Operations, to respond to this question. Here is his reply:

Dear Mr. York:

I agree that the overlapping fold or wrinkles in the paper are annoying and make the paper difficult to read. The cause of the wrinkles is usually due to a buildup of ink on a roller or a misalignment of rollers somewhere along the path in the printing process. One of the challenges of our process is the tight production window in which we have to produce the paper. Due to the speed of the press and the variables in the process, wrinkles sometimes do occur, and we can't immediately take the downtime to correct them.

When we do have the time available, we will stop the production process to rectify the problem. We take proactive maintenance measures to try and ensure we produce a newspaper free of wrinkles, but unfortunately that is not always the case.

Posted by Rich Marshall at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I would like to compliment the article Wednesday regarding the county decision to preserve ag land. As you know, ag is a $ 4 billion dollar industry and it is well documented that if we continue to allow cities to expand their spheres, we will consume all or most of this land into cities spheres within the next 5 yrs. On Tuesday, the board put a hold on sphere expansions for the next 6 months to allow staff the time to designate prime ag land belts that we can designate as preserves for the next 100 years.

As you can imagine, the ag and building industries and small cities will spend the next 6 months trying to stop this effort.

My question: With this being one of the most significant issues facing this county and the direction the board gave on Tuesday, how did this story end up on B-2? This should have been top of the fold A-1 sending a signal to the public to engage on the most important subject that will face this community in the next year. If we allow our ag base to be destroyed by development, what other economic development engine do we have ready to replace the $4 billion ag economy.

Thanks
Henry Perea

The Bee's Marc Benjamin wrote a front-page story last month that forecast Tuesday's vote and explained its potential significance, but you raise a good point. Arguably news of the vote deserved to be at least on the cover of the Local section.

But there was a lot of news that day, and the board's action was only a first small step in what will be a long process. Once action is taken that commits the county to a new course, the news will certainly merit more prominent display.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I wonder why there is so little ever in the Sports section about figure skating and gymnastics. I keep watching, and also I see very little on TV, as well. This is what in past years I have watched closely, and now there seems to be nothing. Surely you could put in a little less football and make room for these other sports. Lola Jean Merrill, Fresno

The Bee's Sports section puts a lot of thought into what our readers want. Overwhelmingly, reader interest is in the Big Three sports -- football, basketball and baseball.

Coverage of sports such as figure skating and gymnastics -- as well as track and field -- are cyclical. Their biggest events correspond to the Olympics, which are every two years on a rotational basis between the Winter and Summer games. Additionally, there are no high school or college-level skating or gymnastics teams in our area. If this were the case, there would be a greater desire for daily, weekly or monthly coverage.

Other sports, such as soccer, are in a similar situation. Our attention isn't drawn to them on an annual basis.

Posted by Rich Marshall at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In response to my previous question, you mentioned your relationship with The Sacramento Bee. It seems to me that they use electronic media better than The Fresno Bee. Every day, I get an e-mail from them with highlighted stories and Daniel Weintraub's recent blog entries. I hit delete on many, but many others are interesting. If The Fresno Bee has such a thing, I don't know about it. True, I do get the paper at home, but it's easier to catch stories between other things electronically.
Chuck Burks
Reedley

We currently offer two main newsletters: our daily Morning Buzz and our as-needed Breaking News Bulletin.

The Morning Buzz is sent out by 6 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. weekends and holidays. It contains links to the major stories throughout the Web site's coverage.

Breaking News is sent when there's a news story that we feel our readers should know about as soon as possible. It's an e-mail containing the headline and important information of the story as well as a link to the site where the story would be updated as more information becomes available. It's a great way to keep on top of the news throughout the day.

To sign up for either, you can use our form at http://www.fresnobee.com/491/index.html. Just be sure to choose "Sign up for the Morning Bulletin" or "Sign up for Breaking News Alerts" in the subject line. Or, you can send a blank e-mail to subscribe-fresnobee_bulletin@nandomedia.lyris.net to receive the morning bulletin or subscribe-fresnobee_breaking_news@nandomedia.lyris.net for the breaking news bulletin.

We're also looking at putting some more regular bulletins together. Any suggestions on what you would like?

Posted by Rich Marshall at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When is Get Fuzzy coming back to the Bee? Who, in their right mind could think that Pearls Before Swine is funnier? I have talked to many people and most of them agree that Fuzzy is funnier! Fuzzy calendars, Fuzzy books ... look around, Fuzzy rules!

Right now, I am forced to get the San Francisco Chronicle to Get Fuzzy. Do those sophisticates in 'Frisco' know something that we here in 'Fresburg' don't?

Jack Jackson
Fresno

Thanks for your feedback regarding Get Fuzzy.

Within the last year, The Bee conducted a comics survey in which we asked readers to list their top five favorite and least favorite strips and to give us their opinions on a handful of strips we were considering publishing. Get Fuzzy received, by far, the most "least favorite" votes. It also ranked very low in the "favorite" votes category, as well. Pearls Before Swine, however, received many, many thumbs-up votes, indicating to us that readers found it interesting and/or amusing. That feedback is what guided us when swapping out Get Fuzzy for Pearls Before Swine.

We conduct comics surveys pretty regularly, so there's always the chance that Get Fuzzy could be voted back in.

Posted by Rich Marshall at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I note that your business section contained no mention of the stock market indexes for Monday, December 4, 2006. Fortunately, I take the Wall Street Journal and note their headlines: "Stocks rebound on takeovers, oil-price decline." The Dow Jones Industrial average rebounded 89.72 points, or 0.74% to finish at 12283.85. It is up 14.6% in 2006, less than 60 points from the record 12342.56 hit last month. Is this information not newsworthy? I can't believe that your business section makes not mention of the stock market performance for the previous day.

Gary M.

Your question still raises an important issue, however: How much space should newspapers devote to reporting the previous day's market news?

Our philosophy is to give those stories -- barring a major jump or drop in the market, of course -- only modest attention. One reason: any investor can use financial Web sites -- including our own business page -- to keep posted on the market minute by minute. Yesterday's news is already history to anyone who follows the market.

Another reason is that we think space in the business section is better used, when it comes to markets coverage, for stories that help readers make long-term investment decisions. On Tuesday, for example, we put a story on the business cover about a banking deal that would create a new financial-services giant that many stock analysts think will do well for investors.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Someone had mentioned to me that there was a day (I believe it was Thursdays) when the public could attend a meeting at The Fresno Bee office and sit in at a meeting that was for picking stories or picking what was on the front page, or something along those lines. Is there actually anything like this at The Bee?

Devon Jones
Fresno

Yes, you can attend our daily news meeting, but not just on Thursdays. It is open to the public Monday through Friday. All you have to do is contact my assistant, Kay Soares, at ksoares@fresnobee.com and arrange a time to come in. The meetings are at 2:30 p.m. each day. It's best to come to at least three to really get a good feel for what we do. You can come for a whole week if you like.

I hope to see you soon.

Posted by Rich Marshall at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why did Fresno Bee staff writer Chris Collins today in the article titled "Residents reclaim their street" state openly the name of Albert Hood Sr. as the individual that testified in court against his two assailants that shot him? Now that fact has put Mr. Hood's life in further jeopardy.

What is your policy and procedure in those kind of cases?

Reyes Monreal III
Sanger

Because Albert Hood Sr. had already faced his assailants when he testified in an open courtroom, there was no need to protect his identity. Hood is an example of residents in this southeast Fresno neighborhood who decided to testify because they wanted to take a stand against violence on their street. To not use his name would have left part of the story out.

The Bee does consider safety when quoting people in stories on crime. For example, reporters have left out names of witnesses describing a crime if the witness indicates that he or she fears for their safety. Reporters and editors discuss each instance to decide if the person being quoted adds something factual and relevant to the story.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In reading Saturday's paper, I was disappointed in the lead paragraph of the Clovis East vs. Clovis West football story. The reporter wrote ..."It was East vs. West, blue collar versus white collar, a Clovis Unified School District festival with hundreds of balloons and an overflow crowd of at least 9,000 Friday night at Buchanan Stadium." I felt labeling the teams as blue collar and white collar was a stereotypical view and an overgeneralization. I could see that description being appropriate when talking about some professional teams but it seemed odd using it in a local high school sports story. I believe the game pitted two strong football teams against each other, one from the east side of Clovis against another from the west side of Clovis. I don't think the socioeconomic status or "class" of workers that these children may represent was a good, fair or appropriate description. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Mary Long

Thanks for your question. The phrase was not meant to be a reference to the socio-economic status of the neighborhoods involved. Instead, it was a metaphorical usage.

The "blue collar versus white collar" reference was a nod to the respective teams' style of play: Clovis East prefers to grind it out with a 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust mentality ... a factory-like approach. Clovis West's style, by contrast, is much more of the high-flying variety ... more creative and dynamic.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Excuse the undiplomatic header, but that's [the] most straightforward wording of the question on my mind. I'm thinking particularly of your opinion and op-ed pages. It seems to me that opinion columns to currently come in two varieties. ... It seems like the "old school" is seen as boring and pedantic, while the "new wave" is seen as better for propping sagging newspaper readership.

Moreover it seems like the Fresno Bee's coverage of California issues on the state level amounts to about a 33-50% subset of the Sacramento Bee coverage. As a practical matter, I find myself subscribing to the Reedley Exponent and the Fresno Bee to stay informed on a local level, following the Sac Bee website to stay informed on the state level, and subscribing the Wall Street Journal and following the New York Times and Washington Post web sites to find articulate news and commentary on the national and international level.

Chuck Burks
Reedley

Ask the Editors is not intended to address questions about our editorial and opinion pages, which are produced by a separate staff. But while we're referring your email to Editorial Page Editor Jim Boren, one part of your question I can address: The Bee's coverage of state news.

As you point out, we often run state government stories from our sister paper in Sacramento. The two Bees have been corporate siblings for nearly a century, and we're lucky to have access to Sacramento's excellent coverage of the Capitol. We also draw heavily on reports from the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times to keep readers informed on state government news.

Most readers, however, expect us to make local news a priority. So we focus the efforts of our 150-plus newsroom staff on local stories -- the ones only we can tell. Even E.J. Schultz, the Fresno Bee's Sacramento reporter, devotes his time to covering legislative issues that are of particular interest in the central San Joaquin Valley.

Posted by Jack Robinson at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)