I will be out of the office until Aug. 26 and away from my computer. Please feel free to leave comments and/or questions. I look foward to hearing from you.
Alicia Shepard
Ombudsman
No matter the medium, every news organization in America is trying now to figure out how to survive and thrive in the online world.
In NPR's case, the network is learning how to transfer what it does well -- radio storytelling -- to the visual medium of the web. This means that NPR staffers who write gripping radio scripts must now write newspaper-style for the web, which is a very different skill. It also means people who capture sound must also shoot video or take photographs to illustrate a story.
It's an exciting time of experimentation, but there can be public missteps. NPR's online version of an All Things Considered (ATC) report about low-income Americans and the economic downturn drew ridicule from the blogosphere for using an unflattering photo of two women in the story and an insensitive headline.
Continue reading "NPR LEARNS FROM A MISSTEP ON ITS WEB SITE " >
