new news is good news
an interview with barbara blake of the asheville citizen-times
by julie savage parker

They say "No news is good news." They might also say: No news—that appears in mass media—is good news. It is, by and large, all bad news. Bad news sells headlines; bad news gets people to tune into the evening news. Or does it?

A WNC weekly (that shall remain nameless), like many other forms of media, is so addicted to bad news for its headlines, it creates bad news out of whole cloth if no genuine bad news exists. For example, the headline for one issue roared "SHOOTING IN ____ COUNTY"! The small print explained a film was being shot in the county. Another headline from the same rag spoke of a terrorist attack at the new I-26 highway Visitor's Center. The terrorist attack? Someone had expressed himself with a can of spray paint.

In a world where it seems all major media organizations seem to think "If it ain't bad news, it ain't news!", the Asheville Citizen-Times is taking steps to shift that paradigm. Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, not long ago assembled the gang at the Citizen-Times and gave everyone new marching orders—something being called Real Life, Real News.
Barbara Blake—a veteran reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times—gave an example by way of explanation. She spoke of the recent trial in Asheville where a woman stood accused of killing her abusive husband. In the past, she explained, reporters would have sat glued to the courtroom, waiting for the verdict, waiting to scoop the competition, waiting for The Big Headline. The shift now is that instead, AC-T reporters are more likely be hanging out with women at the domestic violence shelter, talking with the folks at Helpmate and Our Voice (formerly the Rape Crisis Center).

They are turning their attention from the tip of the iceberg, it seems, to all that lies below, realizing the story is not just this one woman, but it is the story of many women and men and children whose daily lives are the stuff of nightmares. And the story is not just the nightmare, but what exists to make it better. As Paul Harvey would say, they are now looking in depth at 'the rest of the story'.

Making it better is of vital importance to Barbara Blake. She has covered just about 'all the news that's fit to print' in this area, having been a reporter at the Citizen-Times for the last 30 years. She arrived at the door of AC-T in December of 1974, an Literature major with a minor in secondary education, fresh out of college (having taken an extra semester to prepare for teaching) looking for something to keep her busy for six months until she could start her career in the classroom. There was an opening doing obituaries, as someone was leaving for a six-month medical leave of absence. She started what she thought would be a temporary stint at the paper. At the end of the six months, there was an opening for a general assignment reporter. She took it, and has never looked back.

The early days (back when it was The Citizen and The Times, morning and evening papers) were a romp with a crowd of all young and mostly unmarried reporters. With the boundless energy of youth, they worked hard, then left the office together and played hard—until the wee hours of the morning, often ending up at Barbara's place for a game of Trivial Pursuit, perhaps, before getting a few hours sleep and arriving back for their afternoon shift.

She found this life way more fun than she ever imagined teaching English to be.
In the twenty-nine years since, Barbara Blake has covered most beats, including local, county, and some state government. She covered the entertainment beat for a while, and did a piece on the Doobie Brothers they are still talking about in the newsroom. Her experience with what's what in this area is both wide and deep.

A little over a year ago, she opted for a beat called Good News. Good News? She's out to celebrate regular people doing good stuff in this community. "The paper as a whole is moving from the courtroom and the boardroom to the classroom and the backyard", she explained. They are shifting their focus to more and more local coverage. They are moving from a mentality of "We got it first " to "What does it mean?"

"Somewhere deep inside me I am a social worker." she explained. "I want to make things get better." Where was the crusty, cynical reporter I half expected to find?
When she attended last spring's gala fund raiser for the non-profit Little Pearls,* she focused her attention on how deeply moved the audience was by what they were seeing: the man with a tear rolling down his cheek, the woman with her hands over her heart. (The beautiful work of the women who created Little Pearls is more Good News that is evidence that the times, they are indeed a-changing.)

She continued: "I have tremendous respect for the power we have raise to awareness in order to make things better. What we do can make such a difference in a positive or negative way. We can't slack off because, well, I'm tired today. No matter who I'm writing about—to them, their family, their organization, it is a big deal. I take that so seriously"

Not only AC-T, but its parent company Gannett is cutting through layers and down to the people, asking what does it mean to our readers and why should anybody care? They are conducting focus groups to learn what is important to their readers, to better be responsive to their needs. Not wanting to be "destroyers of community" or "extinguishers of hope", they are breaking into brainstorming teams Gannett-wide, to learn to serve the public in the most responsible fashion. This, indeed, is Good News.

Julie Savage Parker is (with Sandi Tomlin-Sutker) publisher and editor of Western North Carolina Woman, whose goal, too, is to be the bearer of Good News.

[ julie@wnc-woman.com;828-689-2988 ]

Some quotes about The News:

“Are we supposed to be boosters or promoters? What are we supposed to be? Not destroyers of community; not extinguishers of hope. We need to think about our impact. We tend to say we don’t have one; we just pass along the news. Readers say otherwise.”
- Geneva Overholser (Washington Post Ombudsman, July 20; about the impact her newspaper has on its city)

“Throughout my career I have covered much pain and suffering. I feel what I have been doing lacks balance. It is not enough, in fact it is too easy, to show just the bad things in the world. People are inundated with images of violence and grief. So much so that many don’t want to see it any more and they close their minds and hearts. I have found...that people are thirsting for images of goodness in order to maintain their hope in a difficult world. Sometimes, the measure of our work as journalists is not the professional recognition of colleagues, but rather the mark we make in the hearts of readers who see our work.”
-Gerald Herbert Photojournalist; in a news photo exhibit in NY

“If news is not really news unless it is bad news, it may be difficult to claim we are an informed nation.”
-Norman Cousins (Editor of Saturday Review)

“I think the press, including t.v. journalism, has an ethical responsibility, a sacred responsibility, a service mission.... to make good news just as entertaining (as we’ve made sexy the violence).”
-Marianne Williamson

“Every thought we think changes our biochemistry. Your hormones are all effected by your thoughts. Pay attention to things that bring you joy. Walk away from negativity. When I read the newspaper, I look for the good news.”
-Dr. Christiane Northup-Oprah show, 1999

“I think there needs to be a change of consciousness with the news...to try to seek a higher ground. Why can’t it be more representative of the way the world really is? Or is news designed just to bring bad news? I think we don’t know what the bombardment of the crime and violence does to our minds-I think we’re in denial about it.”
-Oprah Winfrey, September, 1997

And finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about these things.
-Paul's letter to the Philippians 3:8