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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 10, 2002

AFTER DEADLINE
Recent cases in which staff could have done better job

By Anne Harpham

Despite some recent evidence to the contrary, we take comics seriously. And we know our readers do, too.

So what explains two recent instances of missing and/or duplicated comics pages? Inattention by people in the newsroom and the pressroom.

On Tuesday, Jan. 8, most copies of The Advertiser did not have a comics page, but had two E6 pages. The error occurred when the printing of the Island Life section was stopped Monday afternoon to correct a name on Page E6. Island Life is a section that is printed in the afternoon and is then inserted into the rest of the newspaper before it is delivered. Press operators mistakenly put the new plate for E6 in place of E8, which was the comics page. Pages are supposed to be checked during the run, but the error was not caught. The problem was noticed later that night, but the section already was printed and could not be corrected. To compound the problem, the newsroom was not notified of the problem in time to warn readers with an editor's note. In short, a system that was in place to catch problems was not followed.

Last week, we let down our comics readers again. On Monday, we mistakenly ran Tuesday's comics. And then we ran Tuesday's comics on Tuesday, meaning the same page ran two days in a row. In this case, a page designer picked up the wrong computer file when she put the Monday page together. (The syndicates electronically send us their comics a week in advance of publication, so it's up to page designers to pick up the correct file from where they're stored.)

As a result of this most recent mistake, Presentation Editor Lorna Lim Wong has instituted new measures to double-check the date of the comics page before it leaves the newsroom. The comics page, instead of only being checked by the page designer, will also be checked by a copy editor, then by the Island Life editor before it is sent to press.

In addition, our pagination department will print a proof that is identical to the plate that has been sent to the pressroom. That way, the newsroom can check to see whether any errors were made in the pagination process. And as soon as the first Island Life sections come off the press each afternoon, the section will be checked in the newsroom as well as the pressroom.

If it's any consolation, there's a fair amount of embarrassment in the newsroom over this. And there should be.

We also could have done better in our handling last week of a story about the decision by the state Ethics Commission not to pursue charges against Board of Education member Carol Gabbard.

Last June, when we reported on allegations against Gabbard that were being investigated by both the Campaign Spending Commission and the Ethics Commission, we put the story on Page B1, the cover of our Hawai'i section. After the front page, this is the most prominent spot for local news. In December, when the Campaign Spending Commission dismissed the complaint against Gabbard, the story appeared on Page B3.

Last week, on Page B5, we printed the story about the Ethics Commission decision to drop its case.

Did we do right by Gabbard in our story placement? No. She hasn't complained to us, by the way.

As Tom Brislin, professor and chairman of the University of Hawai'i School of Communications notes, when there is conflict in a story, it has a natural competitive edge for prominent placement in the paper. When the charges go away, so does the conflict, making it less interesting to journalists.

But, Brislin argues, when the charges go away, it's not only more important to the subject of a story but also to the community, "who in this case might find it extremely valuable information on which to base future decisions in the voting booth and in the support of public officials."

Brislin, who teaches journalism ethics, says that in making decisions on story placement, journalists "need to think what purposes it will fulfill to the public and to the subject, not only to our own sense of story-telling impact."

Absolutely. And we didn't give the placement of the story about Carol Gabbard that kind of thought.

I heard from state Attorney General Earl Anzai about the story on his decision to recuse himself from the Hawaiian-Aloha airlines merger case because his wife, Lyn, works for Hawaiian. He felt we should have made it clear that Thomas Keller, who will oversee the case, is first deputy attorney general. Anzai felt we should have described Keller's position so that it was clear he was handing over the case to a top-level lawyer, not just any staff member.

The reporter checked the Legislative Reference Bureau's "Directory of State, County and Federal Officials" to get Keller's title. He was listed as deputy attorney general.

There was no intent to downplay Keller's prominence, but with such a sensitive story, we should have been more precise. We did note in the story that Gov. Ben Cayetano is satisfied with the arrangement.

Senior editor Anne Harpham is the reader representative. Reach her at 525-8033 or at aharpham@honoluluadvertiser.com.