Cultural shift at Washington Post
A great sign that Washington Post reporters are starting to really get the Web: "Many if not most print-side reporters now want their significant, breaking stories to be published online right away," Bob McCartney, the assistant managing editor for continuous news, tells Steve Outing. "While none are required to assist the Continuous News Desk, it's now commonplace that they do take the time to do so. The newsroom culture has adapted to the idea that washingtonpost.com is as important a venue to publish important, timely news as the print edition."Post reporters with significant news that can't hold till the print edition often call in with material to be crafted into a Web deadline story. Sometimes print-side writers have the time to write a Web story on their own -- as well as the usual print piece -- but more often they'll work with (a writer on the continuous news desk) to produce a co-bylined story. A common drill is for one of them to take notes talking to a reporter, then perhaps do some additional reporting on their own and draft a story for the Web."
The Post's Continuous News Desk truly came into its own in August. By the way, The Post isn't the only one with such a setup. Other newspapers who have had similar continuous news desk operations for some time include The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
Jan 22, 2004 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT | PERMALINK | DISCUSS(0)
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