Less Than Candid

"Assume, for instance, that 12 news organizations do the same story on the same day about how Hillary Clinton has a tough road ahead of her to get the nomination. Which story is going to get the most links and therefore the most readers? Is it the one that cautiously weighs the pros and cons, and presents a nuanced view of her chances? Or is it the one that says she is toast, and anyone who thinks different is living on another planet? . . .

"Left unsaid in this is something which the Politico's editors and writers (not to mention everyone else in the news business, including me) know well. If you say something provocatively, in a new way, or with an unexpected spin, you will succeed online. If you play it safe, you will not. So we see the difference in style between the Politico story and, say, Adam Nagourney's more nuanced story on the same topic a day earlier or again in another story Tuesday. Suffice it to say, Friday's Politico story earned a Drudge link over the weekend, and Nagourney's did not. That's money in the bank for Politico.

"This trend . . . is a blessing and a curse. It is forcing better writing, quicker responsiveness, and it is increasing the value of actual news-making and clear-eyed thinking. But it is also increasing pressure on reporters to push the boundaries of provocation. I am not sure that the Politico story crossed any boundaries, or distorted the truth. I do believe that what Allen and VandeHei did is very much the future of news."

Update: Drudge did link to Nagourney's latest NYT effort, and, in a hall-of-mirrors effect, to Scherer's own critique.

The Washington Post's Facebook application -- a compass that gauges your views, from liberal to conservative -- has been downloaded 350,000 times. And speaking of The Post, the City Paper floats the rumor that with a new publisher (Katharine Weymouth) having taken over, Executive Editor Len Downie might pack it in soon:

"When asked about all the gossip, the 65-year-old Downie merely confirmed that it existed: 'The newsroom's full of all kinds of rumors,' he said. When pressed on whether he wanted to knock down those rumors, Downie showed a degree of message discipline often found in his paper's own pages: 'The newsroom's full of all kinds of rumors,' he repeated."

Have you seen the new inside design of the NYT, which for some conspiratorial reason launched yesterday on the same day as the WP's more modest revamp? I couldn't believe the paper, in this belt-tightening era, would waste the first two pages on a boring index (although Page 4's guide to what's on the Web site is an intriguing idea).

Jeff Jarvis, who once supervised the creation of an index at the Chicago Trib, doesn't mince words:

"I hate the new and expanded news summary The New York Times introduced on pages 2 and 3. It's inefficient, wasteful, and ultimately insulting . . .

"The problem with The Times' latest effort is first that it's inefficient and inappropriate to the form. They forget one of the still-great advantages of the interface of the paper: As I browse, I see every story and I get to decide then and there how deep to dive in: the headline or caption may tell me enough, the lede may, the first five grafs may. The beauty is that it's all right there. If instead, I see a story of interest on The Times' new page 2, I have to go shuffling through the paper to find it and keep reading."