Ask the Post: Managing Editors Take Your Questions

The Washington Post's managing editors, Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti were online Monday, July 20 at noon ET to take questions about both the newspaper and Web site, as well as the current state of the news industry.

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Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Hi. This is Liz and Raju. We look forward to chatting with you over the next hour.

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Dallas: What plans does the Post have to expand or put more resources into its investigative stories? I feel like that's the most important part of the Post's coverage (watergate and all that) but i worry that papers are paying less and less attention to taht just by necessity.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Despite some financial difficulties, our investigative reporting continues to be at the core of what we do and will get all the resources that we think it needs to fulfill that mission. A good example of this team's work was in evidence this past Sunday in a piece about interrogation tactics after 9/11 that are being investigated by Congress. We will continue to make sure adequate resources are devoted to investigative stories.

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Washington, D.C.: It really burns me up that I can get features for the Sunday Post online before the paper.

What incentive do I have to keep my subscription?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Web traffic is generally very small over the weekend. And with 84% of wp.com's web traffic coming from outside our newspaper distribution area, the idea is to expose the Sunday stories to more readers online. But the Sunday paper certainly has much more than we preview ahead of time on the web.

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Washington, D.C.: Why do newspapers insist on using a medieval typeface for their names on their front pages? Much of the discussion of the future of print newspapers I've seen focuses on the competition from newer technologies. USA Today recognized that, and its name is not in Blackletter/Gothic type. So why do you all persist? (Not that changing the type will solve all your problems, but...)

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Later this year, we do plan to redesign the look and feel of the Post. But the title is very well recognized around the world and we feel there is strong value in continuing that association in terms of the type face and fonts. But most other sections of the paper as well as key parts of the website will be redesigned, including with some new type faces and fonts.

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Honolulu, Hawaii: Why are you not doing any investigative reporting about the C Street House?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We did an early front page story on this and had more details about who lived there and the general nature of what happens in that house than any recent articles on the place.

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Vernon, British Columbia, Canada: Thank you for this chat and opportunity. I have a problem with poll results being the lead story on the Web page, whether they are for or against the President. They are the results of an infinitesimal amount of opinions based on specific questions, of which we have no knowledge of. And the article about the surgeon general nominee and how her personal religion MAY clash with her job requirements? As most of the commentors stated "this is news?" "who cares?" and since when is MAY used in a headline? That just makes it gossip, and puts our beloved WaPo in the same dung heap as the tabloids.

washingtonpost.com: Surgeon General Pick's Stance on Abortion May Clash With Church's

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We believe that we apply very carefully thought through standards and guidelines on how we conduct polls and also on how we report on other polls. They are not meant to express positive or negative views but get a snapshot of public opinion. The sample size is also fairly carefully picked to make sure that the results of the poll are representative. We also don't report about certain polls that are conducted by groups with clear vested interests and are very cautious about certain telephone polls as well that aren't always what they seem to be.

As for the surgeon general nomination story, the article was reflecting what could emerge as sticking points in her confirmation. It was based on facts about her positions and not gossip.

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Alexandria, Va.: I recognize its economics in a web-world, but I'm mightily angry at AMC for dropping their Style section daily advertising. Is it unsportsmanlike for The Post to tell me how to complain?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We believe that those paid ads by AMC giving timings for movies locally was indeed an important reader service and were disappointed that they pulled all such advertising. We have been passing on reader feedback to them so will be happy to pass on your comments as well.

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Anonymous: Why aren't there more investigative reporters at newspapers, radio stations and TV stations? There were all kinds of illegal situations going on in Wall Street, Madoff was ripping people off and the SEC was not doing their job but no investigative reporters were looking into these stories until everything fell apart and then you report it. After the fact. We need investigative reporters like in the Watergate era. Where are they?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: While we have continued to invest in investigative reporting, you are correct in saying that several media houses have cut back. It is true that there was much that the media missed ahead of Wall Street's woes. But at the same time, Post's Steve Pearlstein won a Pulitzer Prize last year in part because his columns raised the curtain on sub-prime mortgages and the potential fallout. Once financial difficulties at companies such as AIG emerged, the Post was very aggressive in not only covering it but also identifying how the problems came about.

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Northern Virginia: I think there is no doubt that the Washington Post endorsement of Creigh Deeds was a primary cause, maybe even the primary cause, in determining the Democratic nominee. It wasn't just the fact of the endorsement, it was the detailed, point-by-point argument. I literally took a Brian Moran sticker off my car and voted for Deeds because your endorsement editorial persuaded me to change my vote. I am very glad Deeds won. However, I wonder whether it is healthy to have a situation where a small group of Washington Post editors effectively pick the next governor of Virginia, or at least the next Democratic nominee. I assume you run endorsements to make a difference, but usually they don't make this big a difference. How do you feel about what happened?

washingtonpost.com: Creigh Deeds for Democratic Candidate for Va. Governor

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Endorsements are made by our editorial page, which is separate from our news operations. This ensures that we cover all candidates objectively. But part of Washington Post's editorial mission is to help readers make informed choices and endorsing a candidate, based on their track record. It is true that endorsements alone don't make that much of a difference. That is also the reason why our news side reported on the impact of this endorsement on the outcome of the race.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: What is the Post policy on disclosure of reporters' conflicts of interest? Can reporters report without disclosure on competitors of parties they're paid by (e.g., Howie Kurtz reporting on Fox and MSNBC)? Can reporters cover without disclosure topics in which their spouses are paid to support certain positions?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Reporters or editors are supposed to disclose any real or perceived conflict of interest with their editors according to our policy. Based on such disclosures, their editors could bar them from covering a specific story or topic or industry. Reporters are also not allowed to give campaign contributions or participate in political activities.

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Springfield, Va.: I am intrigued by The Post's decision to deliver the TV Week magazine only to those subscribers who ask for it.

Currently, the delivery person needs only to know which house should receive a paper. Now they also need to know which version of the paper to deliver to which house. How can you ensure that the delivery person does this accurately?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We believe we have a fairly robust delivery tracking system for distributing the right paper/section to the right household. Among 700,000 copies, it is always possible there will be a few slip ups but hopefully we will stay on top of it.

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Movie Title Both: A movie that opened last Friday was incorrectly titled in the print review, not once, not twice, but every time it was mentioned. The headline of the review even played off the incorrect word assigned to the title.

I know mistakes happen, and this one was caught for later editions. But the Web version of the review remained incorrect for most of Friday. Why doesn't the left hand of the print edition talk to the right hand of the online edition?

Also, where does the blame for such a mistake fall? Does The Post have fact-checkers? Was a copy editor responsible for the gaffe? Did the writer get the title wrong?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We are sorry it took so long to get it fixed on the Web site. Usually when someone notices an error or it is pointed out by a vigilant reader, a correction is promptly made. We are actually in the process of integrating our print and web operations--they were in separate states--and that also should sharply improve our reaction time. Given the amount of information that is put out every day, there will always be the occasional error that will slip through.

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Washington, D.C.: Can the website and print edition do more to highlight articles on substantive policy proposals offered by politicians and other groups instead of the weekly rants of Michael Steele, the latest polling data, and President Obama's quest to find the tastiest burger in the metropolitan area?

On health care alone, you could take about the virtues and drawbacks of the public option, ending or limiting the tax exclusion on health insurance, and whether research into comparative effectiveness will actually save money.

I'm not saying you all don't do this type of reporting, it just seems like it isn't front page stuff (or the online equivalent) when it should be, you know.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Healthcare is one area where we feel that we have devoted considerable space and resoures both in print and online. We do write about the politics, for instance of health care reform, and try to assess the momentum behind various initiatives. At WP.com, for instance, we have an entire section devoted to the very issues you raise. We also do significant enterprise reporting on how various proposals will effect real people and who stands to gain financially. Health care reform is a critical issue this year and you will see the Post devote significant space to the issue.

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Chantilly, Va.: What can you do to make the ads on the Washington Post Web site more relevant? The paper has ads for local stores, events, and restaurants, but you don't see any of them on the Web site.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: The printed newspaper--with its significant reach--still remains an ideal vehicle for local advertisers. Meanwhile with 84% of our web audience coming from outside our region, wp.com is quite appealing to national advertisers. But we do have significant autos, homes, jobs and other local classifieds on the site. Of course we would love to see more local advertising come our way on the web site too.

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Washington, D.C.: Perhaps a smaller question in the scheme of things, but it is disheartening to see the once-reliable Post filled with typos, bad grammar, etc. ... it seems the copy editors took the buyout. Especially bad in columns etc. Is there less pressure to be "right" grammatically in the face of all the other challenges?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: In tough times, we are being forced to save resources across the newsroom. It is true that the copy desk has shrunk over the past two years but we believe we have adequate numbers across the paper to routinely avoid the kinds of mistakes you are describing. There is no let up in wanting to be "right" grammatically.

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Hyderabad, India: Hello Raju,

Everyone in India know that your father, Innaiah does not believe in horoscopes and astrology.

I found a horoscopes column in the Washington Post. Do you believe in horoscopes?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: I don't. But a newspaper needs to serve a very broad audience and horoscopes are very, very popular among WP's readers.

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washingtonpost.com: Health-Care Reform 2009

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Hackensack, N.J.: Thanks for answering our questions! I really value The Washington Post Web site, and the reason its my first stop every morning is the wealth of analysis, viewpoint and interaction that your reporters, columnists and bloggers provide on your Web site. You simply do a better job at this, especially through the daily chats, than any other news outlet that I'm aware of.

That said, I can't understand how the Post can find no room to keep so valuable a contributor as Dan Froomkin. Surely, if you feel that Mr. Froomkin represented too strong a viewpoint for some reason, the proper response was to hire someone with a different viewpoint, not to sack Mr. Froomkin and by extension sack his readership.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Much has been written about the end of Mr Froomkin's contract with WP.com. All we want to note is that the decision has nothing to do with his viewpoints. Even on the Post website, let alone on the web, there are dozens of voices across the political spectrum and we are constantly evaluating the best use of our shrinking dollars.

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Reading the paper online: I've always been interested in how people read online content. Is there a way to read the paper online efficiently? With the print paper, I just work my way through the sections, but with the online paper, I find myself wandering all over the place. Do you have any recommendations for moving through all your content in an orderly fashion?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: The web does offer multiple ways of getting to content you are most interested in. A large majority of our readers start with the home page and then click through the main topics in the navigation bar. But you can also go through the site much as you would read the paper by selecting Today's Paper at the top of the home page and then clicking through various sections.

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Washington, DC: Why are AMC theaters no longer included in the movie listings in Style? Given their large share of the market, dropping them seems to severely limit the usefulness of the movie listings.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Those listings were actually paid advertising by AMC. The movie chain decided to pull all such advertising from the paper, something that we thought was a disservice to movie goers in our region.

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Bowie, Md.: I understand that the Post is really struggling with circulation, and the only way it has to go is DOWN. Therefore, why not make a subscription to the Post more valuable? I feel that the Post website is probably too good to give away for free and the print edition can be cumbersome for many. A medium should be struck to ensure both can survive as viable businesses.

First, the online version of the Post that is currently "free" to access is much too detailed and far too often is superior to the print edition. Access to a "full" online version of the Post should only be available to print subscribers or those who pay for an "online" subscription.

Those who don't pay should only be granted access to the headlines, bi-lines, and story synopses. This model has worked for many news agencies, and would work for the Post that has a very strong web presence and sagging print circulation.

Would the Post please start charging for online content so that your talented and experienced staff would stop leaving?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: We, like most other newspapers, would love to figure out a simple way to charge for content online that doesn't hurt our web traffic. A significant majority of our online readers come through a specific search for a specific article and are from all over the US and the world. With current technologies and availability of information on multiple free sites, we believe it would be difficult to start charging. But we do hope we can figure out a way to get paid for our content online, as we do in print. Stay tuned.

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Arlington, Va.: Do columnists have to abide by any code of journalistic credibility or objectivity when writing columns for the Post? Sally Jenkins writes continually about Lance Armstrong yet readily admits she's a close friend and not objective when it comes to him. She also takes every opportunity to remind readers that she has written a book about Lance which smacks of advertising for personal gain. I find it objectionable.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Columnists do have far more leeway than reporters to express opinions and points of view, which is why they are marked as columns. In the case of Sally Jenkins, it seems like a good practice on her part to regularly note what someone might otherwise view as a potential conflict. Because she has written the book, she is also among the best informed about cycling and hopefully that comes through in her writing on the subject.

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Paid wall for the Web site?: There's a lot of chatter on the Web about moving newspaper's Web content behind a paid wall. Any chance of that happening at WaPo?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Nothing imminent though we are constantly evaluating ways to get paid for our content.

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Arlington, Va.: I find it annoying that when you find typos in an article online, there's no obvious way to report the error. It would be nice if every article had a link on the same page where errors could be reported. If there aren't enough copy editors to catch this stuff, then why not let the public eye help you catch them?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: It is a good idea to make it easier for readers to flag errors in stories. While we do give emails of reporters with every story, clearly that isn't the fastest way to get errors noticed or fixed. Thanks for the suggestion.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm so grateful that you have maintained the Food Section as a stand alone section. With Arts and Book World gone, I was worried it would be cut. It's what I look forward to most about subscribing to the Washington Post.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Thanks. Food editor Joe Yonan and his team indeed put out a terrific weekly section (check out their All You Can Eat blog if you haven't at wp.com).

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Washington, DC: AMC pulled its advertising? I noticed there weren't listings for certain theaters, but I had just assumed they'd gone under.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Pulled, with a capital P.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: What types of diversity do you feel are important to have in the newsroom? Should the only measures be race, gender and sexual orientation?

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Age, languages, education...any sort of life experience that can help reflect the texture of the communities we write about.

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Less NFL, More Other Sports: Is there any chance the Sports desk could devote more of its shrinking resources to other local teams and sports, even if it's at the expense of The Post's (over)coverage of the Washington Redskins football team? I mean, you have one person covering the NHL, one person on the NBA beat, one person for DC United, and how many assigned to Redskins Park? If you're cutting coverage, why haven't you cut back on the inches and people devoted to the NFL like you have nearly everywhere else.

I'll cite as an example of this imbalance how, last year, a minor league affiliate of the local baseball team, the Washington Nationals, won its league championship. The team calls Woodbridge, Va. home -- certainly part of your paper's circulation area -- yet The Post not only didn't send a reporter to the title-clinching game played in Woodbridge, it didn't run a wire service story about it or even put the box score of the game in either the print editions or on washingtonpost.com.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: The Redskins, whether one likes it or not, remain extremely popular with both our print and online readers so we cover them very closely. We do cover sports outside our region, be it golf, tennis and other major sporting events. But we do travel far less than we used to and rely on news wires and other content providers. With shrinking resources, we feel that we have to cover local teams well and readers do have access to a lot of other sports coverage on the web.

We have very strong coverage of high school sports and other local sports though we might miss something once in a while, like we seemed to have done with the minor league affiliate that you mention.

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slower: Any chance the photo/article lead-ins on the main page of your website could go a little slower? I barely get a chance to see what the photo is introducing before it's switched to the next. Thanks.

Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: You can pause the rotation and manually move to the next picture at your convenience.

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Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti: Thank you for joining us today. We look forward to catching you the next time. Liz & Raju

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