Newscoma

The worst thing that ever happened to news was sales getting involved in editorial. The Dallas Morning News can spin it all they want but when you are getting involved in different editorial factions of the newspaper, the line has been crossed.

So, I’m with Michael on this. The damage is done and there is no way you can candy-coat it. When we have huge stories and multiple Northwest Tennessee units leave this area, 3,000 troups head to Mississippi briefly before they head to the Middle East and we are still talking about Tiger Woods front page or the business of the month who will buy ads if you write about them, yeah, there is a problem.

Business news is vital, but it shouldn’t be under the wing of a sales department. Another question, do the writers get a piece of the commission if they are working with an advertising person who is making money off a potential story? If they are writing the story, compiling the art or etc … ? I was just wondering.

Features, however,  are wonderful things. When you talk about the family that has three generations of farming discussing this year’s harvest or how a nonprofit is celebrating Christmas, I love those things. And I love the business stories such as this one regarding entrepreneurship in a local market, that’s wonderful. It tells a story.

There is a blurry middle ground though.

Yeah, money is money.

Yet, isn’t news, news too and that includes business, sports and real estate news in the mix? And when advertising is involved, it ceases to be news. It’s basically just a press release that journalists are having to write. There is a place for that, I’m not saying there isn’t, but as I said before, the lines just got fuzzy on what is what.