USA Today's closely watched Your Life vertical has such an overarching coverage theme -- health, fitness and food -- that it could include pretty much any story.
Today's example is headlined, "CDC: U.S. murder toll from guns highest in big cities." Written by Seven [sic] Reinberg of the HealthDay online news syndicate, the story delves into one of the more hot-button subjects: gun control. No wonder, then, that it's the most popular article on the site at the moment, and has drawn 246 comments.
It's an OK story -- but with a significant shortcoming. The author (his first name is actually "Steven") refers 12 times to various murder rates cited in a Centers for Disease Control study that's the basis for his article. Yet, Reinberg never once provides any of the crucial per-capita rates; I had to dig up the original CDC study to find them. Such are the shortcomings of USAT's relying on low-cost syndicates for news and information to fill up a web vertical that's ostensibly authoritative.
But USAT's readers were nonplussed. They found plenty of grist for intelligent, umm, debate, based on my review of the comments that earned the highest reader scores. Word-for-word, here's one posted by reader mvbrooks at 11:39 a.m. today:
"And, in particular, 86% of homicides are gang related crimes.... and not just gang related, but racial *minority* gang related, in particular, black and Hispanic. The conclusion, so kindly provided by the authors, is that blacks and Hispanics are innately dangerous animals that ought not be permitted to live amongst us. THANK YOU! If a conservative had published that sort of conclusion, they would be accused of racism, but seeing how that is coming from a liberal, a Brady Bunch lefty at that, I am quite certain that the conclusion is inevitable. I await your suggestions for dealing with these minority animals. Do we simply flat out kill them, deport them, lock 'em up, or is there some form of early intervention that has a chance of civilizing them?" [Updated at 10:40 p.m. ET: After I posted this, USAT removed the comment.]
Earlier: Needing juice, Your Life gets a new editor. Plus: USAT smacked for "assembly-line" travel content.
["No. 1 with a bullet?"]
It's an OK story -- but with a significant shortcoming. The author (his first name is actually "Steven") refers 12 times to various murder rates cited in a Centers for Disease Control study that's the basis for his article. Yet, Reinberg never once provides any of the crucial per-capita rates; I had to dig up the original CDC study to find them. Such are the shortcomings of USAT's relying on low-cost syndicates for news and information to fill up a web vertical that's ostensibly authoritative.
But USAT's readers were nonplussed. They found plenty of grist for intelligent, umm, debate, based on my review of the comments that earned the highest reader scores. Word-for-word, here's one posted by reader mvbrooks at 11:39 a.m. today:
"And, in particular, 86% of homicides are gang related crimes.... and not just gang related, but racial *minority* gang related, in particular, black and Hispanic. The conclusion, so kindly provided by the authors, is that blacks and Hispanics are innately dangerous animals that ought not be permitted to live amongst us. THANK YOU! If a conservative had published that sort of conclusion, they would be accused of racism, but seeing how that is coming from a liberal, a Brady Bunch lefty at that, I am quite certain that the conclusion is inevitable. I await your suggestions for dealing with these minority animals. Do we simply flat out kill them, deport them, lock 'em up, or is there some form of early intervention that has a chance of civilizing them?" [Updated at 10:40 p.m. ET: After I posted this, USAT removed the comment.]
Earlier: Needing juice, Your Life gets a new editor. Plus: USAT smacked for "assembly-line" travel content.
["No. 1 with a bullet?"]
It also refers twice to a program called "Cease fire" which the story does not otherwise explain. I found a web site for the group, which says it is a Chicago-based violence intervention group.
ReplyDeleteI saw this story before you posted this item on it, but didn't read it then because it stated what I felt was obvious: most homicides from guns occur in high-crime areas.
Former Gannett employees on this organization's board:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.healthday.com/healthday-management-team.html
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ReplyDeleteThe story also ignores a central part of the CDC report, which involves suicides by guns. It's part of the debate, so should be in there.
ReplyDeleteDo comments like this one -- and we know there are many others that don't get taken down -- unite the nation in the way USAT Founder Al Neuharth pledged in first issue?
ReplyDeleteThe WPO and NYT do a generally good job policing their comments, and I find some of them interesting, thoughtful and worthwhile of my time reading them. USA Today seems to attract a completely different audience. If they want to continue to get the clicks and the cash that comes with them, they have to put some police on comments scrubbing duties.
ReplyDeleteThey should start by removing comments from insane people like Jim Hopkins.
ReplyDeleteThe only insanity is what's purportrated at the crystal palace, dude.
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ReplyDeleteUSA TODAY continues its slide into journalistic irrelevancy. Just on a casual glance, I can point out 20 things a day that USAT does more poorly now - in print and digital - than it did just five years ago.
ReplyDeleteUSAT isn't even worth getting worked up over anymore. I suspect a lot of readers are beginning to finally see the results of how a chronic lack of integrity has made this a second-rate news brand.
I can't count on USAT getting it first or even right anymore. Sad, because this was a news source on the upswing for many years -- a brand built on a lot of blood, sweat and tears of people who have mostly been driven out for all the wrong reasons.
It will all change soon. The cowardly lion (hillkirk) will develop a backbone and end his disappearing act. Ice box (chet) will get a heart and soul. Clueless (Weiss) will put people with news sense in charge and the meddlers (Stevens and Ullman) 28) will actually find something to do.
ReplyDeleteForget about the paper, morons running the web and mobile platforms need to be fired. What kind of actual journalism have they ever done?
ReplyDeleteYour Life and USA Weekend are about to be merged. And no, I'm not making this up.
ReplyDeleteWhat would that mean for the print version of USAW?
ReplyDelete