Resolutions for The Post and Readers

The interests of readers and journalists often intersect in my office. Maybe a better word would be clash.

Journalists and readers don't always think alike. In fact, journalists, who can be a contentious lot, don't always agree with one another. One of my great challenges is negotiating the gap -- sometimes a chasm -- between how readers perceive journalists and how journalists perceive themselves. Looking for ways to increase understanding between readers and journalists is my new year's resolution and a subject worthy of returning to often in 2007.

Paying attention to readers' needs is my job -- and the job of Post reporters and editors. But you can't do a readership survey every day to decide what to cover and put on Page 1 and what size the headline type ought to be and what the lead ought to be. That's the job of journalists.

The best journalists know what needs to be reported, how to display the story, photo or graphic, and what the headline should say. But readers can see that judgment as cynical or off base.

What many readers see as intentional bias, journalists see as hard-hitting reporting. What readers see as sloppiness can be a story breaking late, with few sources available. Buyouts or the flu can mean fewer people on a copy desk one night, and mistakes slip by.

What can put journalists in a funk is when their work -- sometimes under tough or dangerous conditions -- is constantly second-guessed or not appreciated by readers.

So I'll start with some new year's resolutions for readers and Post journalists, fully understanding that this may be a no-win situation. But, hey, I must be a glutton for punishment or I wouldn't have taken this job.

· Resolution for journalists and readers: Maybe it's the season, but this journalist and reader would like to see journalists feel less defensive about questions and criticism and for readers to feel less animus -- and occasionally even be appreciative -- toward those who do the vital job of keeping us informed.

· Resolution for The Post and washingtonpost.com: Make it easy for readers to talk back.

Bylines that serve as online e-mail links were a good start, but readers often tell me that it's still not easy to contact Post reporters or editors. Washingtonpost.com executive editor Jim Brady says a feedback page on the Web site is being redesigned. Actually, there is a better "contact us" feature on the Web site than in the paper, though it could use updating. It would be good to design a box that tells readers how to contact The Post by phone, e-mail and postal mail. That box should appear frequently in the A section or in Post promotional ads.