August 29, 2007
Find it first, fast on connpost
Our efforts to make connpost.com your source for local news are moving ahead at a steady pace. John Schwing, our metro editor, now heads up a morning team that aims to get fresh content on the Web by the crack of dawn (which these days is shortly after 6 a.m.) and throughout the day and evening. Aided by reporters John Burgeson and Rob Varnon, a photographer and others, Schwing's goal is to start your day off with breaking news and other news you can use. Maybe it's info on a power failure in your town or a tie-up on the highway. Schwing and company are on it, trying to keep you informed.
And to help educate some of us who are newspaper dinosaurs, Jeff Bustraan, our Web guru, is conducting classes that may not make all of us Web-geniuses but will at least teach us enough to get stories and photos onto connpost faster and more efficiently.
Posted by Ted Tompkins on 3:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2007
Cat lovers show their claws
Our story this morning on "Fat cats," those felines with weight problems, elicited several responses from readers who own cats. We can always count on stories about animals to be controversial. Last Tuesday, for example, Stratford denied a homeowner's request to continue running an animal rescue operation. Before noon Wednesday the story on connpost.com had generated more than two dozen comments, some, unfortunately, of a nasty variety. So nasty, in fact, that our webmaster removed them. Why is it that stories about animals spark such a reaction? One woman called today to say we were "tasteless" asking for readers to submit pictures of their large cats. She went on to say we were being "disrespectful toward animals. You wouldn't ask for pictures of "the fattest mother in law, would you?" I'm guessing she's right about that.
Interestingly, a report Monday morning revealed that obesity in people in the U.S. is on the rise, with 31 states showing increased rates over last year. Mississippi became the first state to crack the 30 percent barrier for adult residents considered to be obese. West Virginia and Alabama are next, according to the Trust for America's Health http:////healthyamericans.org, a research group that focuses on disease prevention. The healthiest people seem to live in Colorado, which had the lowest rate at 17.6 percent. Must be all that mountain climbing. Connecticut is at 20 percent.
So how about some outrage over that?
Posted by Ted Tompkins on 12:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 22, 2007
Can we talk?
What is it that you love about connpost.com and the Connecticut Post? And what is it that bugs the heck out of you?
Do you have a question or comment about something you’ve read on our Web site or in the newspaper? We want to know, and we hope by opening a dialogue that you’ll get a feel for the reasoning behind some of the things that go on in the newsroom of the newspaper and Web site.
Maybe it has nothing to do with news. Maybe you’d like to talk about the comics, crossword puzzles, one of Chris Elsberry’s sports columns or something the Geezer, Charlie Walsh, had to say. Plenty of you voted in our Web site Top Dog hot dog contest over the summer, so I know you’re out there.
Whatever it is, bring it on.
Timothy McNulty, the public editor of the Chicago Tribune, recently listed some of the things that upset readers at his newspaper, such as:
Wet papers
Limited stock listings
Dumb grammatical mistakes
Stories they don’t agree with
Opinion columns
Stories jumping to the wrong page
Here at the Post we’ve had those and more. I’ve been greeted by messages on my voicemail from readers who disagreed with a headline, pointed out a mistake in a story or photo caption or wanted the return of the comic strip “Red & Rover” (we obliged). One woman asked us to stop throwing the paper on top of her hedges. Another asked us to print the Baghdad temperatures so she could get a feel for what her son was experiencing as he served in Iraq. It was the least we could do.
Sometimes we even get calls thanking us for publishing a story. And whenever you’ve left me your name and number, I’ve called you to try to solve the problem, or at least explain what happened.
And as we strive to make connpost.com and the Connecticut Post your source for local news, we’d like to open a dialogue.
Ted Tompkins
Assistant managing editor
203-330-6382
ttompkins@ctpost.com
Posted by Ted Tompkins on 5:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2007
Behind the Lines
Check back in the next few weeks for our newest blog, behind the lines!
Posted by connpost on 3:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
