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Meet the staff

Several years ago,  The Tribune in Salt Lake City made headlines after two of its reporters sold information to the National Enquirer. That controversy led to the longtime editor's departure and a new leadership team.

The team studied how to repair credibility problems that might have grown out of the incident. One recommendation was to have some get-togethers for the public to meet the staff. The concept: If the public actually met and talked to the staff, they might feel more confidence in them, and they might even look forward more to reading the paper because they know the players putting it out.

If The Post and Courier were to do something similar, would you have any interest in going? What kind of setting would make it most appealing?

Saying "goodbye"

Herb Frazier resigned from The Post and Courier to pursue new interests after working here 18 years. His leaving has sparked a debate among some staffers. The question? Should the newspaper write a story about his resignation?

Running columnist David Quick talked about Herb in a column this week. That worked nicely because Herb was, in addition to a journalist, a running enthusiast, and a column reflects the writer's personal interests and perspectives.

But one staff writer was unhappy that the paper didn't write a news story about Herb's leaving. He is an award-winning journalist and he is a heck of a nice fellow. He contended that Herb deserved a story.

I'm a Herb Frazier fan, but I disagree. If Herb had been a regular columnist with a public persona, I'd agree that readers would need to know why his column had disappeared. He was not. The paper does not write about routine resignations in other businesses. Why should it treat The Post and Courier staff differently?

When the paper's staffers win awards, they are reported in the paper with more prominence than many other professional awards won by real estate salespeople or design firms. Double standard? I don't think so. It is helpful to readers of the paper to know about these awards so they can assess the professionalism of the paper.

Shooting story

Today's editions of The Post and Courier led with an unsettling story about two shooting incidents on peninsular Charleston Sunday. The shootings left two people dead and three wounded. The headline stripped across the top of 1A was "Gunfire rips downtown."

A reader was distressed. She has lived in Charleston 22 years and does not consider it a dangerous place to live or walk on a Sunday afternoon. She was particularly unhappy that the story was given such prominence during the Spoleto Festival USA when visitors might read it and be alarmed.

Ironically, it is because of the Spoleto Festival that the story was a shoo-in for the front page. At least two of the venues for Spoleto events are within a block or two of where one of the shootings took place. Guests enjoy walking from venue to venue. The shooting is information they need to know -- as do local readers.

"If it bleeds, it leads" isn't my idea of good news judgment. Almost every day, the newspaper has brief stories inside the B section letting readers know about crimes, but not inflating their newsworthiness.

I hope it does not happen that The Post and Courier's readership area becomes so accustomed to crime that two killings is not significant news.

Dueling stories

The State newspaper recently published a series of stories about the Hunley submarine and the public money that its recovery and restoration has drawn. After reading the stories, many readers concluded that Hunley Commission member Sen. Glenn McConnell had obtained lots of public money without much public scrutiny to further his pet cause.

Some readers of The Post and Courier called to complain that this paper was holding back information of interest to taxpayers. They wanted to know why.

So reporter Brian Hicks, who has reported on the Hunley over the years for The Post and Courier, did his own investigation of the situation. In his Sunday story, he reported far fewer dollars allocated for the project than The State reported. He also explained that a partnership between the Hunley Commission and Clemson University was not as sweet a deal for the Hunley as The State series indicated.

Now? A few readers are accusing The Post and Courier of publishing an apologia for McConnell. That reaction shouldn't be surprising since The State series has spawned a lot of conversation in government circles. Brian chafes at the idea. He reported the story straight, he says.

Crowd estimates

The Post and Courier today reported that some 4,000 people attended an immigration rally in Charleston's Marion Square. The rally was to advocate for equal rights, dignity and fair treatment for illegal immigrants living in the country.

Several people took issue with the crowd estimate and said it was probably half that size. The reporter, however, had used the estimate provided by the event coordinator. The number was derived by counting the signatures of people who attended the event.

The apparent discrepancy was probably something simple: People came and went during the day, so the number who attended was higher than the number assembled in the park at any one time.

The paper could have avoided confusion if the story had attributed the crowd estimate to the event coordinator and explained that the number was based on actual signatures.