University of Maryland Department of Communication C!

MM3"#$ %&periential 'earning( )pring 201

Meghan Kelly April 3, 201

*!+,- *A*%.(( D%-%.M+,+,/ %D+-!.+A' .%)*!,)+0+'+-1 )u23ect4 Certain positions at a ne5spaper are included in the 6ocus data2ase 5hereas others are not4 A position must have editorial responsi2ility and must 2e 7pitcha2le8 to remain in the research tool4 0ac9ground4 :hen updating and verifying contact information in the data2ase, 5e are re;uired to confirm a person<s official title4 :e need to ensure that the person<s title is pitcha2le, in other 5ords, that they have editorial responsi2ility and either 5rite, edit, or assign stories4 *ositions 5ithin the copy des9, social media department, or 5e2site=paper layout design are not pitcha2le4 +t is important to ma9e sure that only pitcha2le contacts are included in the data2ase to avoid confusion for the clients4 :e are discouraged from saying the 5ord 7pitcha2le8 on the phone 2ecause some contacts disli9e the idea of story pitching, therefore, 5e use the term editorial responsi2ility4 Discussion4 + 5as assigned -ier 2 >e2ruary 201 records to 5or9 on throughout the 5hole day4 + verified the information for each contact per usual4 + as9ed for each person<s official title4 +f it 5as not straightfor5ard or if + 5ere unsure of 5hat it entailed, + as9ed for further e&planation4 + as9ed if the contact had editorial responsi2ility, such as 5riting, assigning or editing stories4 +f they said no or if they said that they 5or9 5ith the copy des9, social media or layout design, + deleted them from the data2ase4 +f they said that they do have editorial responsi2ility, then + update the rest of their information and include a researcher note that their title is pitcha2le4 -he records 5ere successfully completed 2y the end of the 5or9day4 .ecommendations4 Determining editorial responsi2ility can 2e ;uite difficult4 )ome positions at ne5spapers are vague and undefined so it can 2e difficult to get people to e&plain 5hat they do over the phone4 +n addition, some people get confused a2out the term 7editorial responsi2ility48 + then have to e&plain 5hat + mean 2y the term, 5hich can ta9e some time 2efore they understand4 -here is no cut and dry rule that governs 5hat is pitcha2le versus 5hat is not4 >or this reason, 5e are encouraged to tal9 it over 5ith senior media researchers 5ho can help us decide 5hat to do 5ith the contact4 +n some cases, 5e may have to call 2ac9 in order to as9 further ;uestions a2out the position4 -he guidance from senior media researchers is helpful in this regard4