News-media roundup: A Gannett ghost; a corrections dilemma; explaining reporting in stories; a GoFundMe to save a great rural paper in a town devastated by tornado

Publishing corrections increases accuracy but reduces audience trust, a study has found. "I fear that some journalists will read this as an invitation to forego corrections," Dan Gillmor writes for NiemanLab. "Not only is that ethically suspect, it’s counterproductive, since someone else is bound to notice the error and tell the world, usually with the help of other media critics. . . . Journalists should want, more than anything, for their audiences to be correctly informed. If posting corrections means a hit to their credibility in the short term, that is a risk they should be willing to take."

Trusting News suggests that in-depth stories include "explanations and insight into the reporting process," which "can help people better understand your goals and motivations while also improving perceptions of your news organization. We also know this type of transparency helps prevent people from making negative assumptions about your work, which can lead to distrust," Lynn Walsh writes. Using an investigative report by Phil Williams of Nashville's WTVF as an example, Walsh cites key points to make: the story's purpose; where the idea came from; how sources were contacted; and how information was verified.

Salinas, Calif. Los Angeles Times photo by Wally Skalij

As Gannett Co. says it expects to sell more daily newspapers, its Salinas Californian is a ghost paper, with no reporters. Over the headline "A city yearns to know its stories," James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times reports, "When brown water overflowed the banks of the Salinas River in January, flooding thousands of acres and throwing an untold number of farmworkers out of jobs, the leading newspaper in this agricultural mecca did not cover the story. Candidates in the November race for mayor also went absent from the pages of the 152-year-old news outlet. Ditto non-coverage of a police staffing shortage so serious that the police chief said the department might not have enough cops to respond to all complaints of theft, fraud, vandalism, prowling and prostitution. . . . The only original content from Salinas comes in the form of paid obituaries, making death virtually the only sign of life at an institution once considered a must-read by many Salinans." 

Ogden Newspapers is selling The Park Record, Utah’s oldest, continuously published, non-daily newspaper, to Tatiana and Matthew Prince, a prominent Park City couple who "plan to convert the paper to a non-profit or public benefit corporation to best align its mission with the community. They hope to make print copies freely available, refocus on the paper's digital experience, and bring back locals' “2-for-1” restaurant specials, the Record announced.

Natalie Perkins edits the Deer Creek Pilot at home.
(Photo by Barbara Gauntt, Clarion-Ledger)

A GoFundMe campaign is on to help the award-winning Deer Creek Pilot in Rolling Fork, Miss., a town of 1,883 devastated by a tornado Friday. "The commercial base of the town was destroyed by the massive twister," says the Mississippi Press Association, which is putting the money in its 501(c)(3) foundation. "All proceeds from the fund will be used to cover critical operating costs of the small local newspaper, the only local media located in Sharkey and Issaquena counties." Ross Reily of the Clarion-Ledger profiles Editor-Publisher Natalie Perkins, who is also a local diaster coordinator.

UPDATE, April 3: MPA's Layne Bruce writes, "The Deer Creek Pilot has survived for years in a town sorely lacking much retail base — and now nearly devoid of it — on the reputation of its spunky and unflinching editorial product. And on the pure force of will of Natalie and Ray" Mosby, the longtime editor who died in 2021.

When the Texas Observer said was going to close, the 68-year-old liberal magazine's staff started a GoFundMe campaign and nearly reached its $200,000 goal by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the total was $186,846, reports Ariana Garcia of the Houston Chronicle. The next day, the owner, the Texas Democracy Foundation, said "We have secured near-term pledges to bridge our immediate budget shortfall and feel confident that there is time for the Texas Observer to determine its future, thanks to the extraordinary success of the staff’s fundraising this week. We apologize to the staff for the abruptness of the layoff vote and deeply regret that they found out via another media outlet and the uncertainty and stress of this week."

Google is adding ‘Perspectives’ and ‘About this author’ to its search function to help verify information, "while also expanding some of its current tools, including 'About this result'," TechCrunch reports.