L.A. Times actually does some good when it comes to on-line reporting [Pigs Fly Alert!]
[posted by Justin Levine]
Patterico does a fantastic job when it comes to pointing out the (very) many flaws of the L.A. Times. But that shouldn’t stop us from taking notice when it manages to move in the right direction.
The L.A. Times’ homicide blog is definitely a step in the right direction. Every big city newspaper should have a site like this one. [hat-tip: LAObserved.com]
It is cynical to think that a newspaper doesn’t have the space to cover every murder that happens in its city, but that is the cold reality of all general interest newspapers working in large metropolitan areas. However, there is no excuse for not providing such coverage on a newspaper’s website. This is one indication that the L.A. Times may just learn to “get it” after all when it comes to how best use this medium. Kudos!
[posted by Justin Levine]
UPDATE FROM PATTERICO: I already praised the blog here. But I guess it can’t hurt to reinforce the point.
UPDATE x2 FROM PATTERICO: To avoid two comment threads on the same topic, I’m shutting down comments on this post. Go to the other post to comment.
Should this be filed under “Justin doesn’t read this blog?”
Veeshir (dfa2bf) — 2/6/2007 @ 6:23 amJustin is right to praise this new Times effort. Now they need to take the next step — marking them on an interactive map (e.g., Google) and grouping the narratives by municipality/neighborhood/section of the region. It wouldn’t be that much additional work per item and even if it were, it’s the kind of information that is of high value to the readership.
And, come to think of it, if you’re logging all the homicides, you could leave a field in your database or spreadsheet to record the disposition of the case a year later – unsolved, solved with conviction (and sentence), awaiting trial — which would produce yet more valuable information about the justice system in the community.
Hmm, sounds like how to do journalism…
Reformed Journalist (08ce8f) — 2/6/2007 @ 6:32 am