Outside looking in provides perspective on school shooting reporting

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For many years I was on the reporter’s side of collecting news. When the massacre at an elementary school occurred in my hometown of Sandy Hook, Conn., I no longer was a member of the press, but rather a resident watching reporters, videographers, radio press, international writers and Internet bloggers descend on a hamlet that has one stoplight. (Editor’s note: This is a preview of a story that will appear in the next print issue of Gateway Journalism Review.)

GJR readers choose top stories of 2012

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Thanks to everyone who participated in the Gateway Journalism Review survey of the top stories for 2012. We have divided the survey results into two parts. The first part takes a look at the survey results for the most important international, national and regional/Midwest stories for 2012, in addition to the most important international media and U.S. media stories. The second part of the survey results – which will include the categories of what media coverage totally missed the mark, what international and national stories of 2012 deserved more/better coverage, and what was the most frivolous/overcovered story of 2012 – will be revealed next week.

Post-Dispatch column touches nerve in reader

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A column written by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bill McClellan touched a nerve in at least one reader, who wrote a letter to the editor that begins: “I was startled to read Bill McClellan’s column, ‘Crime Czar,’ in which he declared that the solution to a perceived crime epidemic was to ‘declare martial law and suspend the Constitution’ and to mandate ‘racial profiling,’ ‘frisking … young black men’ without cause. He also thought it a good idea to jail African-American women, bridging both racial and gender bigotry.”

Some stories deserve to be covered every year

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If you’ve ever strapped on shoulder pads and fastened up a helmet, this is a special time. High school football practices are gearing up across the nation and the media is pulling out all the familiar heart-string pulling methods to remind all of us too old to play but young enough to remember this time of year. This year the memories start by listening to country music radio stations.