US: Britney “big deal” for AP, LA Times sends 3 reporters
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on January 11, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Three Los Angeles Times editors have gone online to defend the paper’s use of three reporters to cover Britney Spears’ latest meltdown. And an AP memo recently told journalists that “now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal.”
It probably is a big deal when two of the US’ respected news organizations devote that many resources to Spears.
La Times’ editors, trying to defend their commissioning for the Spears story, wrote online:
Said Shelby Grad, editor of the story in question:
"We wouldn't have put three reporters on a story just about her custody case -- which is sad, but similar to hundreds of others. What made this especially newsworthy is the role of paparazzi in L.A. -- it's big business here and it affects people; if you live in L.A., you see it. Also, this standoff represented something new in this relationship between celebrities and the celebrity press."
Said Megan Garvey, assignment editor:
"We are different from the people who follow her 24/7. We don't camp outside her house. It happened here in L.A., it involved law enforcement and the courts -- it was a news story."
Fortunately, the LA Times doesn’t yet follow Spears 24/7. But it seems like traditional media are increasingly indulging in this type of reporting, at a time of shrinking resources and increased need for quality coverage to sustain their credibility.
Perhaps the editors would argue that this is a way of generating revenue to focus on other types of coverage…
Source: LA Observed blog
La Times’ editors, trying to defend their commissioning for the Spears story, wrote online:
Said Shelby Grad, editor of the story in question:
"We wouldn't have put three reporters on a story just about her custody case -- which is sad, but similar to hundreds of others. What made this especially newsworthy is the role of paparazzi in L.A. -- it's big business here and it affects people; if you live in L.A., you see it. Also, this standoff represented something new in this relationship between celebrities and the celebrity press."
Said Megan Garvey, assignment editor:
"We are different from the people who follow her 24/7. We don't camp outside her house. It happened here in L.A., it involved law enforcement and the courts -- it was a news story."
Fortunately, the LA Times doesn’t yet follow Spears 24/7. But it seems like traditional media are increasingly indulging in this type of reporting, at a time of shrinking resources and increased need for quality coverage to sustain their credibility.
Perhaps the editors would argue that this is a way of generating revenue to focus on other types of coverage…
Source: LA Observed blog
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