52nd City

Your Thoughts on the P-D Editorial Page Sought

Eddie Roth, a longtime St. Louisan who moved to Ohio a while back to take a job with the Dayton Daily News, is working on a project discussing the role of newspaper editorial pages in today's new media climate. With the opening up of the P-D's editorial page editor slot, he sent a note to Dave Drebes of the Arch City Chronicle and to 52nd City, asking readers of our blogs to contact him and/or comment on their views re: the P-D's editorial page. I'll note below a goodly chunk of the text that Eddie sent us earlier this week:

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I have been thinking a lot for the past two years about what's next for newspaper opinion pages -- on how they can harness new media and collaborate with the alternative press and citizen journalists and draw closer to readers (audience) and become more useful in helping to solve local problems, make democracy work better, and promote the quality of life in the community.

I've been working on these questions with some really smart, progressive, energetic opinion editors and writers from large and small dailies through the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW).

The Kettering Foundation is located here in Dayton. Last fall I began conversations with them about the future of newspaper opinion pages

This has culminated in their hosting a meeting at the foundation on 6/26-6/27 organized by the NCEW how to move forward.

I see where the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will be appointing a new editorial page editor, the first such change in ten years -- a decade that has seen dramatic changes in the news industry and in how information and opinions are shared.

Here is a link to Lee Enterprises ad for the job:

http://www.lee.net/shared-content/topads/showad.php?adid=4994468

Here's what I would be interested to learn from you, your readers, and the larger community of St. Louis readers and audiences:

Would you add, omit or change anything in the job announcement to get what you would like to see in daily (mainstream) opinion journalism in St. Louis? If so, how would you rewrite the ad?

I know some people would have fun with this. Which of course is fine.

But please know this a serious inquiry, and the responses would be shared widely in the newspaper industry and could have an impact.

I would collect the comments you and your readers post and offer them for discussion at the Kettering conference (at which I am serving as "meeting reporter"). I also would share with you to pass on to your readers the reactions I receive.