AFTER DEADLINE
Advertiser cares about covering stories most meaningful to you

By Saundra Keyes

Advertiser editors meet at 3 p.m. each day to decide what you'll see on the next morning's front page. Section editors describe their most interesting stories, our photo and graphics editors present their strongest visuals, and then the debate begins.

We're generally unanimous about two or three stories that deserve front-page display, but there often are four or five contenders for the remaining spots. That's when we start applying various filters.

For example, at a recent meeting, our business editor explained that a Mainland company was negotiating to sell its Hawai'i subsidiary. As we discussed whether that story belonged on the front page or in the Business section, another editor asked, "What does it mean to me?"

That's not as self-centered as it sounds. His real question was whether the story's impact was limited to a financial transaction or whether something would change for readers if the sale went through.

We've always asked similar questions as we make news judgments. But this year, we're stepping up our efforts to include the answers in our coverage.

We're increasing the number of stories that explain what the news means to you. And we're broadening our definition of news to include more information that is meaningful to you.

There's a difference between those goals, and newspapers have historically done better with the first than with the second.

We have a long tradition of providing context for news developments. We try to explain the impact of budget and public-policy decisions, publish analysis along with news stories, provide Internet links to sources of further information.

Deadline challenges limit our ability to do that for every story, but we hope you're noticing our efforts to increase such information.

We're also working to tell major news stories through their impact on real people. That's why you saw us cover the recent concrete workers' strike in terms of its economic impact on individuals — not just management and labor, but also managers, workers and consumers affected by spillover on related companies.

It's why you're seeing reports from an Advertiser writer and photographer who are traveling with Hawai'i-based troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It's why you see a different approach to our polling. For example, instead of focusing a recent poll exclusively on whether you prefer Gov. Linda Lingle's or legislative Democrats' education reform proposals, we asked general questions about what you believe would improve public schools.

We're also broadening our definition of news to better recognize events and ideas that are meaningful to you.

We've always covered important moments in the lives of readers and communities. But where recurring events are concerned, it's easy to slip into a been-there, done-that approach to coverage that can keep meaningful news off the front page.

For example, if we're not careful, we forget that although we've written hundreds of stories about the first day of school, each year there are thousands of Hawai'i parents and children for whom that day is a momentous new experience.

We want to cover such moments of life with appropriate weight.

And we want to cover topics such as government from the ground up as well as the official perspective.

That's why reporter Treena Shapiro recently used this space to ask parents what they most want to know about their children's school experiences.

It's why we're soliciting ideas this spring about what would help you most in our coverage of a variety of topics.

We're not abdicating our responsibility as editors by asking for this feedback. We know you rely on us to provide a credible and comprehensive mix of local, national and international news, and we're going to keep doing that.

But we're asking for your feedback on whether we're doing it in ways that show you what specific news events mean to you, and that explore the topics you find most meaningful.

Please share your thoughts by e-mail (skeyes@honoluluadvertiser.com) or U.S. mail (605 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96813). As always, we appreciate your input.