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Ombudsman Freshness, In DC -- Yes DC.
Author: Raine    Date: 2011-08-08 12:02:59

Many people aren't aware that many newspapers have a person on staff called an ombudsman. For those that aren't aware of what this position does, let me me allow the Organization of News Ombudsmen explain:
What is an ombudsman?
An ombudsman is someone who handles complaints and attempts to find mutually satisfactory solutions. Ombudsmen can be found in government, corporations, hospitals, universities and other institutions. The first ombudsman was appointed in 1809 in Sweden to handle citizens' complaints about the government. The word is pronounced "om-BUDS-man" and is Scandinavian in origin.

What is a news ombudsman?
A news ombudsman receives and investigates complaints from newspaper readers or listeners or viewers of radio and television stations about accuracy, fairness, balance and good taste in news coverage. He or she recommends appropriate remedies or responses to correct or clarify news reports.
Why should a newspaper or broadcaster have an ombudsman?
  • •To improve the quality of news reporting by monitoring accuracy, fairness and balance.

  • •To help his or her news provider to become more accessible and accountable to readers or audience members and, thus, to become more credible.

  • •To increase the awareness of its news professionals about the public's concerns.

  • •To save time for publishers and senior editors, or broadcasters and news directors, by channeling complaints and other inquiries to one responsible individual.

  • •To resolve some complaints that might otherwise be sent to attorneys and become costly lawsuits.
    • There is far more at the link, but I think you get the gist of what an important job it really is. This is the person (or department) that is the people's representative to media outlets while at the same time they are the media outlets' representative to the people. It can't be an easy job to balance such things. Many times, they are contracted independently to a media outlet. For those that have been there -- think arbitrator. It's a relatively new concept to American journalism -- it's a concept that began in 1967 to serve 'readers of The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times.'

    I'm sure by now, you are wondering where the heck I am going.... I ask that you just indulge me a few moments of your day.
    Continue reading...

    65 comments (Latest Comment: 08/09/2011 04:02:54 by BobR)

    The Candidates Part 8
    Author: velveeta jones    Date: 08/07/2011 15:15:53

    Santorum. Just the word strikes fear in some; it is a name coated in ambiguity, reeking from being in the depths of some deep, dark, secret hole. Unpleasant, to say the least.

    But still, he remains committed to running for President in 2012. Here, for your consideration, are the facts about him as far as I can tell from the internet.
    Continue reading...

    6 comments (Latest Comment: 08/08/2011 00:45:25 by BobR)

    Kongruss kilt my blog!
    Author: TriSec    Date: 08/06/2011 10:11:40

    Good Morning!

    Ah, the early morning Saturday blog. By know you know the drill. I know I just posted about this two weeks ago, but thanks to the nature of platelet donation, I can go twice within a two-week period, but then I have to lay off for a month. In any case, it's still summer, the need is still great, and there's still a national shortage. So what are you waiting for?
    Continue reading...

    8 comments (Latest Comment: 08/06/2011 20:42:29 by Raine)

    One Voice, One Vote
    Author: BobR    Date: 08/05/2011 13:05:04

    A little over a week ago, I wrote a blog about voting. Wisconsin had implemented a voter ID law, and then Governor Scott Walker was (is) closing down DMV offices in areas that tend to vote Democratic, so "he could extend hours in other offices" (in Republican districts). Voter suppression is an easier way to steal elections than hacking voting machines and is as old as the poll tax. It's also seems more rampant than ever.
    Continue reading...

    46 comments (Latest Comment: 08/05/2011 23:25:59 by Raine)

    Happy Birthday, Mr. President.
    Author: Raine    Date: 08/04/2011 12:38:29

    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/50/120197716_7b50e8893e.jpg


    Continue reading...

    64 comments (Latest Comment: 08/04/2011 20:59:22 by Raine)

    Now What?
    Author: BobR    Date: 08/03/2011 12:52:14

    Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed the bill passed by the House and Senate to raise the debt limit and begin to get a handle on the increasing deficit and federal debt. The news and pundit cycles have talked of nearly nothing else, and the armchair quarterbacking and second-guessing and hypotheticals will likely continue for several days. So much has been written about it that adding more words to the pile seems like a waste of time at this point. Now that it's done, what's next?
    Continue reading...

    77 comments (Latest Comment: 08/04/2011 04:02:06 by Raine)

    Ask a Vet
    Author: TriSec    Date: 08/02/2011 10:30:55

    Good Morning.

    Today is our 3,058th day in Iraq, and our 3, 586th day in Afghanistan.

    We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

    American Deaths
    Since war began (3/19/03): 4474
    Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4335
    Since Handover (6/29/04): 3615
    Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 246
    Since Operation New Dawn: 46

    Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
    US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,680
    Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 931
    Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
    Journalists - Iraq : 348
    Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

    We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

    $ 1, 229, 368, 600, 000. 00



    Well, the debt package has passed the House (according to the news this morning), so it's on to the Senate. The NECN presenters were openly wondering if the Senate would be able to vote in time for the President to sign before the midnight deadline. We'll see.
    Continue reading...

    75 comments (Latest Comment: 08/03/2011 02:22:45 by Raine)

    So, there's a deal.
    Author: Raine    Date: 08/01/2011 12:41:50

    I'm still processing this one, to be quite honest. I'm not sure I am in the mood to try to win people over this morning regarding the deal, because I just don't know enough about it.
    Continue reading...

    74 comments (Latest Comment: 08/01/2011 23:17:37 by Scoopster)

    Marketing
    Author: velveeta jones    Date: 07/31/2011 14:27:17

    The other day I found myself in the chip aisle of the grocery store. I decided I needed to buy a bag of chips. But wait, Velveeta doesn't really eat chips on a regular basis, so what's going on? Why, I was only in this aisle because I was cutting through to the other side of the store to shop for dairy products; the chip aisle was just a handy pass-through. I could have used the cleaning aisle or the pet food aisle or the pharmacy aisle that is also laden with auto parts. (I sometimes confuse my night cream with Synthetic Transmission fluid since I'm at that age where I must endure the extreme heavy stuff). But I chose the chip aisle and found myself feeling the need for Jalapeno flavored Cheetos and Cool Ranch Ruffles.
    Continue reading...

    11 comments (Latest Comment: 08/01/2011 03:52:53 by Raine)

    Why not a fee?
    Author: TriSec    Date: 07/30/2011 11:10:10

    Good Morning!

    After a rainy night, the sun is breaking out, and it's looking like a beautiful day over on Spot Pond. For a modest fee, I'll even take you out on a kayak today.

    Ah, but let's talk a little bit about fees today. Lost in all the debt ceiling debate is the fact that all non-essential FAA services have been shut down for over a week now. While planes aren't falling out of the sky, all construction, minor airport operations, and tax collection has stopped.
    Continue reading...

    5 comments (Latest Comment: 07/31/2011 00:11:31 by TriSec)

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