Armando Acuna, Public Editor of the Sacramento Bee, has an unusual view of what is newsworthy.Today he writes a column to explain to readers why the Bee hasn't done many articles about the drop in violence in Iraq. His reason: the drop in violence might not be permanent.
Acuna favorably quotes Mark Melnicoe, The Bee's national editor. "I've been looking for stories that quantify the drop in violence. ... It's nice to have relatively good news out of Iraq for a change," he says. "But you don't know what's going to happen. I think journalists are a little wary because we've been burned on Iraq before ... There have been lulls before, and it comes roaring back."
Got that? McClatchy doesn't do stories on the drop in violence because it's possible violence could get worse.
So here is the McClatchy Standard: A car bomb explosion killing dozens is news, but a decline in violence is not newsworthy - because it might not be permanent.
By the way, you don't have to wait on the mainstream media to report the facts in Iraq. While Armanda Acuna and Mark Melnicoe sip their lattes and tut-tut the unsophisticated people who want to know about what is happening in Iraq, bloggers are actually reporting the statistics on violence. I blogged about November's drop in violence here.
