[USAT's Page One version, circled, omits references to Gannett]
From televangelist Kenneth Copeland to Gannett's top executives, business and government officials have all turned to a little-known program that lets private plane owners block their flights from view in the government’s system for tracking air traffic, so the public doesn't see where they fly, investigative journalists at non-profit ProPublica have found.
But you wouldn't know about Gannett's involvement if you read a version of ProPublica's story on Page One of USA Today this morning. GCI's top paper published a truncated version of ProPublica's full piece. The Page One mainbar doesn't mention Gannett's use of the program; that information got kicked to a sidebar it created for Page 2, widely read blogger Jim Romenesko notes today.
Here's what appeared inside:
"Gannett, parent of USA TODAY, has made such a request. Company spokeswoman Robin Pence said Gannett shields its flights mostly for competitive reasons, such as when it looks at possible acquisitions and investments. Security in a post-911 environment also is a concern, she said."
The story notes at the end that "USA TODAY editors helped prepare this story."
What's more, the lead paragraph in USAT's sidebar credits earlier reporting by South Dakota's Argus Leader in Sioux Falls -- but it fails to mention that the paper also is owned by Gannett.
Was USA Today's treatment of its owner sufficiently transparent? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: today's paper, Newseum]
Taking advantage of this program also allows Gannett to shield its flights from nosy bloggers. That's been a problem for some of my volunteer researchers over the past two years.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect from a company that consistently, lies, cheats and steals without compunction every day that it operates? Blow the whistle on someone else, but they are like cats covering up their own sh*t. Our human resources dummy keeps wondering out loud who is your source or sources and she is vehement that those people should be fired. What a hypocrit.
ReplyDeleteSome of the flight info is still available, albeit in an oblique way through ACARS. It is a bit tedious to do.
ReplyDeleteWhat a non-issue. The story could have made a perfunctory reference to Gannett using the program, but instead USA Today went the extra mile and highlighted -- not buried, but highlighted -- Gannett's involvement by producing a small but separate sidebar. Yes, it was inside but readers got more information than they would if the information had been somehow wedged into the tight space on the front page.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today stories can't jump.
Now whether Gannett's use of this program is good or bad is another matter.
But Usa Today went the extra mile to be transparent and it's unfair to manufacture a cover-up controversy where in fact none exists.
1:03 pm: "Cover stories" do, in fact, jump to inside pages.
ReplyDelete"Gannett's top executives, business and government officials have all turned to a little-known program that lets private plane owners block their flights from view in the government’s system for tracking air traffic, so the public doesn't see where they fly"
ReplyDeleteTry driving, like the rest of us do.
"4/09/2010 1:03 PM
ReplyDeleteJim said...
1:03 pm: "Cover stories" do, in fact, jump to inside pages."
Well - as you can see, this was not a cover story. As a previous posted noted, what a non-issue. If you want to slam the company for doing something wrong, fine. This is just smoke.
When I was at USAT, any reference to Gannett in a story -- no matter how perfunctory -- required that we run it past top publicist Tara Connell, in case Corporate wanted to add a comment. It was a mandate that we extended to no other company. Perhaps other publishers have similar rules in place.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the requirement suggested that real stories about Gannett would be difficult to get into the paper. I learned that lesson firsthand when I wrote a story about then-CEO Doug McCorkindale's membership on the board of failed telecom giant Worldcom. The story ran, but only after extraordinary intervention by some of the most senior editors.
Does anyone really believe that Gannett's muckety-mucks are jetting across the country on vital, secret missions? The private plane is a lavish perk for the benefit of a privileged few. Sell the plane and use the money to hire a few reporters and copy editors.
ReplyDelete