[Boston-editorial] center article?

Fri Jun 3 13:42:33 PDT 2005

The interview looks OK to me. Is there a reason it was hidden?

As a general rule, I don't think checking in on whether or not to 
center an article makes sense. We've developed the center column 
guidelines collectively to guide our individual decisions. The only 
time folks really need to check in is if something is iffy. That way we 
can get article up promptly. Occasionally, there are disagreements, 
when one person thinks something that someone else centered is 
inappropriate, but those are surprisingly few. But we've been over this 
before and I've no desire to beat dead horses ...

In this particular case though, I would have liked it if Sofia had 
waited for a response before centering it. Why? Because she's a new 
editor and still learning the ropes. Indeed, when we agreed to make you 
an editor, you had indicated you would check in on things like this, 
Sofia. It's what Tim did when he first became an editor, last fall. 
It's what I did when I first became en editor, a couple years ago. I 
don't think this "apprenticeship" period would need to last very 
long--a month or so, depending on how active you are in editing. I know 
you've been lurking on this a while, which means you probably have a 
good sense of how we make decisions, but it would still be good for you 
to check in--you're now actively applying the criteria we developed, 
instead of passively watching others do so, and it would be good to 
make sure that you're on the same page as the rest of us (in so far as 
any of us are on the same page) now that you're actively involved. That 
way we can keep any mistakes and resulting heated exchanges to a 
minimum. This is a as much about keeping the peace in the collective as 
it is making sure we have good material in our center column.

Last editorial meeting, we agreed we'd like to revisit the center 
column guidelines sometime in the near future (after we finish revising 
the general editorial policy, which Pete should be drafting based on 
our collective in-put at the last meeting). If all of you who are new 
editors get actively involved in that conversation, that would actually 
be really good--then we'll all have been a part of deciding on the 
guidelines and everyone will have an active understanding of what they 
are.

bread and roses,
Matt

On Jun 3, 2005, at 12:12 PM, Sofia JarrinT wrote:

> hi,
> yup, I know we've talked about this many times. It's
> hard.  We mentioned letting at least 1 day to go by to
> allow members weigh in, unless it's a timely issue. We
> also mentioned having at least 2 members say yes, and
> then moving forward.  I guess for something as
> sensitive as this, I should have waited 1 day.
>
> Ps: I don't think Jay is with MFSO.  See his bio at
> the end of the article:
>
> Jay Shaft is a freelance writer and the editor for an
> independent news group Coalition for Free Thought In
> Media http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CFTMGroup. He has
> covered numerous issues, including homelessness and
> poverty, human rights, the use of cluster bombs and
> depleted uranium, civilian and military deaths in the
> ongoing US-led wars and occupations, and civil
> liberties and freedom.
>
> Jay has conducted many interviews with soldiers who
> have served in Iraq, in which service members exposed
> the issues of the military's failure to provide proper
> equipment and training to US troops, and he has been
> on the forefront of investigating the price that
> soldiers are paying as a result.
>
> Jay has also published many letters from parents
> speaking out against the deaths of their children
> serving in Iraq.
>
> SEE:
> A US Soldier Writes From Iraq
> http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0402/S00088.htm
>
> Letter From A Soldier's Mother: Soldier's Are Not
> Combat Ready!
> http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0402/S00099.htm
>
> For Families of Some Killed in Iraq: Grief, Outrage
> and Protest
> http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=705
>
> Celeste Zappala Interview "The pain of my son's death
> does not get any better, it just gets worse as time
> goes on."
> http://www.williambowles.info/iraq/zappala.html
>
> Sue Niederer Interview- President Bush, You Killed My
> Son!
> http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0409/S00032.htm
>
> 8/29 RNC/NYC Anti-War Protest Interview With Sue
> Niederer
> http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0408/S00302.htm
>
> US Soldiers to America: Bring Us Home Now (Part 5
> linked to other 4 parts in series)
> http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00195.htm
>
>
> --- sharpie at riseup.net wrote:
>
>> Hey sofia, thanks. I just emailed Jay asking him for
>> the contact info of
>> his  connection at MFSO, hopefully we'll hear back
>> soon.
>>
>> To everyone on the list, this is my main concern
>> with letting folks just
>> center things after such a short period of time.
>> Obviously Sofia had the
>> best of intentions, but I had a concern that she
>> just didn't consider.
>> This is why I think we should have a more ordered
>> process for centering
>> articles.
>>
>> I think if someone from within the collective were
>> to say "yo, i'm going
>> to write an article about fred phelps" that's one
>> thing, and perhaps we
>> can figure out a way to make it clear that each
>> article written by a
>> collective member reflects their specific take on
>> our collectively agreed
>> upon process/mission. But if its from the newswire,
>> I feel like there
>> definitely needs to be a more specific process for
>> centering.
>>
>> peace
>> sharpie
>> PS its my feeling that there should be a more
>> ordered process for all
>> "features" but I am certainly more willing to bend
>> on collective members'
>> work
>>
>>> oh, I'm sorry!! I just centered it.  Should I put
>> it
>>> down?  I don't have a problem with you wanting to
>>> check it out.  I also just wrote Jay thanking him
>> for
>>> his submission...  sorry! I guess I went ahead of
>>> myself...
>>>
>>> peace,
>>> sofia
>>>
>>> --- sharpie at riseup.net wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey folks, not to always be a negative nancy, but
>> is
>>>> it ok if I email this
>>>> Jay person first, check with him and find out who
>>>> his contact with
>>>> Military Families Speak Out is?
>>>>
>>>> I just get a weird feeling about this article and
>>>> would like to check the
>>>> legitimacy of it as best as possible first.
>>>>
>>>> Is that cool? does anyone have contacts with
>> MFSO?
>>>>
>>>> peace
>>>> sharpie
>>>>
>>>>> I'm for it.
>>>>>
>>>>> -Jon
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Jun 03, 2005 at 07:27:38AM -0700, Sofia
>>>> JarrinT wrote:
>>>>> :hi editors,
>>>>> :
>>>>> :I would like to center the following article:
>>>>> :
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
> :http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/37748/index.php
>>>>> :
>>>>> :Interview with an Iraq veteran. Let me know
>> what
>>>> you
>>>>> :think.
>>>>> :
>>>>> :cheers,
>>>>> :sofia
>>>>> :
>>>>> :
>>>>> :
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