News-Record.com

Lex I am not sure if this is what you are after here but if not you would know who to pass this suggestion on to: I would like to see a weekly, or even bi-weekly, listing of the bills( with specific details and content) currently, or soon to be, before Congress for a vote. We often get information about a situation that needs Congressional action and then hear no more about its resolution. The only way currently to keep informed is to go on line and research the issue. And it really makes no sense to contact your Congressman giving him/her your opinions months in advance of the Congressional vote on the issue. Beside which your opinion may very well change over time given more facts, or with the specific wording of the bill offered. This would also be very helpful to people if done on the state, and even county and city, level. Our lives are too busy to run these things down ourselves but if informed we can certainly take time to make a phone call or send off an e-mail.

Lex, I don't think the obstacles are money and technology, but rather a lack of willingness to consider citizen-recommended stories legitimate -- a matter of the culture of your enterprise. I have asked, to no avail, that the N&R cover the failure of the inspections department to get tenant permission before entering occupied apartments and the degredation of water quality caused by the airport expansion. Word came from "on high" that there was in interest in both of those stories, but so far, it looks like nothing more than lip service.

Since the N&R has declined to persue these stories, I'd say the ball is in your court. Before asking how you can get story ideas from the community, tell us what your criteria are for following through on citizen-recommended stories so we don't waste our, or your, time offering ideas that get ignored.

Roch, the reference to money and technology had to do with things we in News would like to do to the Web site irrespective of what news stories we choose to cover. Sorry that wasn't clear.

As for your other questions, I'm seeking some clarification and will report back when I have it.

Brenda: Good suggestion, in particular for reviewing these massive state budget bills that get dropped on legislators' desks for a vote at the last minute after a bunch of 3 a.m. tinkering to benefit various special interests. Having a bunch of sharp-eyed folks willing to divvy up such bills and highlight obvious examples of waste and/or pork would be a real public service. (On the federal level, too, although, if we attempted that, as they said in "Jaws," we'd definitely need a bigger boat.)

Lex, I did an entry on my blog last night and also Greensboro101 about the problem of "earmarks" (that back room tinkering). With the Abramoff scandal this is a great opportunity to get rid of them at the federal level. If Black continues his shenanigans in NC and the people get fed up enough we just may someday get an opportunity to stem the packing of pork on the budget at the state level.

Roch: I'm back. Sorry for the delay. While the e-mail server was out, I sent messages via the messaging function on our publishing system, forgetting that that system KILLS ALL THOSE MESSAGES NIGHTLY AT MIDNIGHT. So, um, it has taken me a while to get answers.

The short answer is: We have no particular criteria other than that the stories be of interest to the wider community. My supervisor, Mike Grossman, and I can pick and choose while keeping Mike's boss, City Editor Mark Sutter, in the loop.

That said, there's many a pitfall between idea and publication, so anyone seeking a no-risk template for a story idea is out of luck. Sometimes, we decide in principle to do a story and then other things come up. Sometimes, reporters pitch story ideas that, for various reasons, we pass on. Sometimes we pursue ideas that turn out to be dry holes (or, less bleakly, that turn out to be different from, and less interesting than, the original idea).

And then there's that whole fact-vs.-opinion thing, on which some people, my e-mail suggests, still haven't got a good grasp.

All of that said, I'm not LOOKING for reasons to reject an idea. Quite the opposite: I'm looking for ways to show that the kind of partnership we envision can work. So let us hear from you.