LAST WEEK some Cavalier Daily readers exercised their writing muscles and supplied my e-mail inbox with interesting and important comments.
The most substantial came from David L. Starmer, president of Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, Inc. Starmer responded to coverage of firefighter training from Tuesday's Life page that he found problematic. This piece was rife with basic reporting errors that ruined what could have been a very valuable and interesting story about hands-on training of firefighters.
The article in question, "Burning Down the House," was a report from a weekend training session near "Fontana, Va.," a town which technically does not exist. Fontana actually is a Charlottesville subdivision located near the intersection of routes 250 and 20. Rescue and firefighting squad names are used in the piece somewhat interchangeably, which creates some confusion, especially when the article refers to the number 80 ranking of the "Albemarle County Rescue Squad," a unit that Starmer points out has not been in existence since about 1962.
Statistics of some sort are used throughout the piece, often without attribution. "Of the 110 on-the-job firefighter deaths in 2003, 11 occurred during training," the article states, but how do readers know that fact is true? What organization compiled that figure? If the number was provided by an individual at the training event, that person should be cited.
Errors such as these may seem small, but piece by piece they form obstacles between the writer and his or her readers.
First and foremost, reporters are fact-gatherers. They go out, make calls and visit sites all in an effort to collect the facts that build a story. It is important that reporters first of all seek out numerous sources, and it is imperative that they assemble the facts gathered in a clear, coherent manner.
Unfortunately, what could have been a substantial and fascinating look at what it takes to be a firefighter instead was a mess of jumbled facts with little personality. A cursory glance over the piece reveals some attribution to human sources, but no quotations from anyone -- not one set of quotation marks. This is a huge problem for a piece that should have been a solid profile on firefighters-in-training. Photos accompanying the article featured several firefighters whose words I wish had found their way into the text. Failing to include them in first-person is disappointing. How does it feel for them to step into their first burning house? How do the heavy suits help and hinder them? What do their families think of their chosen profession or volunteerism? What kind of stories do the veteran firefighters have to share with readers? How has training such as this benefited them out in the field? Articles are supposed to answer questions, not leave readers with more queries than they had coming into the piece.
Also finding its way to my inbox was criticism of The Cavalier Daily's coverage last Wednesday of the first appearance of the brand-spanking-new Cavalier HOOps Band at a men's basketball game. The writer was disappointed that the article didn't mention the presence at the game of members of the Pep Band, which has been stripped of official playing duties since efforts began to establish more traditional bands to accompany sporting events. This detail would have given the article a more well-rounded account of the game, or it would have provided a more interesting lead for the neighboring piece concerning Student Council's efforts to support the Pep Band via a resolution.
Another e-mailer chimed in to thank The Cavalier Daily for making him laugh. Regrettably, he was not referring to the Comics page or Jake Hostetter's bizarrely entertaining Life column from last Monday. The alumnus was reading The Cavalier Daily via its Web site and found spelling and word-use errors amusing enough to write in.
Lastly, I received a note asking if the horoscopes in the print edition could be included on cavalierdaily.com. I think that this is a good idea, but since the feature is a syndicated one -- that is, The Cavalier Daily pays to have Joyce Jillson's daily forecasts -- I believe that it would entail further cost for the paper. If the cost was minimal, I too would like to see the horoscopes online. Otherwise, they, like the puzzles on the Comics page, should be print-only features.
Thanks to Cavalier Daily readers for sending me your thoughts. Keep them coming.
(Emily Kane can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.)
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