THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508270039
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: Cole C. Campbell, Editor
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Last Sunday, we asked for feedback on our coverage of Hurricane Felix, using our InfoLine telephone information system.
We asked whether our coverage provided you the information you needed on a timely basis. Of the 350 respondents to our nonscientific survey, 272 said yes, while 78 said no.
We also asked whether you felt alerted or alarmed by our coverage; 237 said alerted, 109 said alarmed.
On timely information, respondents tended to agree with Diane Berry of Portsmouth: ``An outstanding job, from the charting maps to the flood zone maps to answering questions before during and after. Good work.''
``The coverage was great,'' said Scott Taylor, who lives on 49th Street in Virginia Beach. ``I've lived here 60 years, and I wish I had it all those years.''
``I've lived here for 63 years, and I've read the paper all my life, and this was one of the best coverages I've ever seen,'' said Betty Bass of Portsmouth. ``Overall, the paper isn't as good, though, because the national news isn't there.''
We'll work on that, but we also realize that most of our readers want us to put top priority on local news.
Some callers suggested we run flood maps and emergency lists sooner and reprint the hurricane charts, which get messy tracking such a looping storm.
On whether our coverage was alarming or alerting, most callers agreed with Mary Smith of Virginia Beach, who said: ``It was excellent coverage. Felix was alarming, and the paper provided the alertness. One day it is not going to stall, and we need to be prepared.''
One caller who didn't leave a name said: ``I was alarmed because the facts were alarming - I don't want you to think it was excessive, though.''
Critical callers took exception to ``alarmist'' and ``Chicken Little'' headlines, including this longtime resident who also did not leave a name:
``I've lived in Virginia Beach for 64 years, and I've been through all the hurricanes, but I've never been as terrified as I was when I read your headlines.''
``Your information made me feel alarmed,'' said Ellen Miller of Norfolk. ``If the media keeps hyping up the hurricanes, when it really happens we are going to disregard your information and we aren't going to pay any attention.''
Some callers praised our InfoLine hurricane hot line, including Irene Stevens of Virginia Beach, who said: ``I liked calling the InfoLine to get information about Felix better than watching the news on TV because I could get the information anytime of the night or day. Thanks.''
Some callers were frustrated by busy signals. The InfoLine hurricane hot line logged 25,190 calls on Tuesday, Aug. 15; 27,249 calls on Wednesday, Aug. 16; and 19,335 calls on Thursday, Aug. 17.
Frank Gibson of Norfolk said we were irrelevant: ``The TV coverage was too good to pay any attention to the paper.''
But Rodney Van Houten of Virginia Beach said our coverage complemented broadcast coverage: ``The TV, of course, gives us up-to-the-minute coverage, but your information gave background that put all that information into perspective. You did a fine job.''
My predecessor, Sandra Mims Rowe, hoped that The Virginian-Pilot someday would be such a great proving ground for editors it would become a source of senior leadership for other newsrooms - the way some college football programs serve as a ``cradle of coaches'' for other schools.
Ironically, she initiated that herself when she left to become the editor of The Oregonian in Portland in 1993. Since then, Education Editor Rosemary Armao has become the executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors, a national journalists association; Maria Lettman, night metro editor, and Kathy Williams, editor of our Women, Family and Children team, have become assistant managing editors at the Fort Myers News-Press in Florida and The Idaho Statesman in Boise, respectively; and Deputy Managing Editor Janet Weaver has become managing editor of The Wichita Eagle in Kansas.
This week, we say farewell to News Editor Brian Stallcop, who will become managing editor of The Sun in Bremerton, Wash., near Seattle. In seven years at the Pilot, Brian moved from photo editor to copy editor to designer to design coordinator to metro editor to news editor. In each assignment, he has made the paper better. We will miss him.
As we bid farewell Friday to The Ledger-Star, we received the final data from a yearlong study of how the people of Hampton Roads use our newspaper. We'll tap this information as we explore new ways to make The Virginian-Pilot a stronger, more vital part of your life and of the lives of our communities.
We hope to introduce the first improvements in September. We'll keep you posted on our progress. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Brian Stallcop by CNB