Critique: Nov.

12-16
Controversial call dooms Lions, Page 1, Monday
A word, in this case three words, on the photo we ran with this story: It was
terrible.
Yes, we needed a photo of the controversial fumble. Yes, the photo we ran
was the only one the AP provided of the play.
So, what could we have done differently? We could have found a different
photo.
We had 24 hours from the end of the game to production to do some
homework. Had we done this homework, we would have found at least two
newspapers with outstanding photos of the play. Call these newspapers and
ask for permission for a one-time use of the photo. That sort of thing
happens all the time.

QB Matt McGloin: Were not going to get that call ever,

Page 1, Monday
This was an excellent job by Stephen Pianovich of moving the story forward.
By Monday, our readers knew that Penn State lost to Nebraska. At that point,
the story was the fumble and especially Matt McGloins post-game remarks
about the play. Stephens story captured all of it.
In this particular case, Stephen didnt need to share above the fold space
with himself. His other story, Controversial call dooms Lions, was a quasi
recap of a game that was two days old. Move the story to the Lions Wrap-Up.

Trader Joes opens to crowd of visitors, Page 1, Monday

Two things
First, I couldnt help but notice the cutline to the photo: Trader Joes opened
Friday morning, and was greeted by a rush of people. Custo000mers were
welcomed with flower leis upon entering.
Never mind that we gave human characteristics to an inanimate object.
(People greeted the store?) The most important thing is Custo000mers.
How does something like that happen?

Each of you is in a learning environment. As such, I will defend your right to

make mistakes. However, you dont get a pass for making silly ones. This
qualifies as silly.
Second, this is another case of a story that equates to a free advertisement
for the business. At the very least, I hope we got a thank-you card.

Intern plans lawsuit against Hearst, Page 5, Tuesday

We do this regularly -- take a national story and localize it in an attempt to
interest readers. In this case, the national story was about a graduate
student from The Ohio State University who is seeking compensation from
the Hearst Corporation for work performed during an internship.
Now there is nothing wrong with localizing stories. Its common practice. But
I have seen two trends from our recent work: Were forgetting the local part.
Plus, were forgetting our audience. This is a good example.
In this case, the writer took the first 11 paragraphs to explain the national
story, used paragraph No. 12 as a transition, then delved into the local part.
We are expecting way too much from our audience if we expect them to
hang around that long.
Also, this is an article about student internships. Its a great topic. Its a hot
topic. Whos going to want to read about it? Students. What we dont have in
this story is a single student talking about his or hers internship experience.

Underwood to blow away BJC, Page 7, Tuesday

Underwood evolves from Idol newcomer to country
crooner, Page 12, ArtsinReview, Tuesday
To their credit, Kelly Godzik and Marissa Stern produced examples of strong
entertainment reporting. But did we need two stories previewing a concert?
Had we simply put the info box on Page 7 on Page 12 instead, we would have
met the needs of our readers.
That said, if were going to have similar stories about the same topic on
different pages, could we at least put something in the design that links
them together? It could have been as easy as a line on Page 7 that read,
Read more about Underwood, Page 12.

A vision made real: Hershey unveils newest building,

Page 1, Wednesday
Page 1, above the fold space dedicated to a single story? A big picture? A big
headline?
Ill take that every time.

Rental ordinances changing, Page 1, Wednesday

A couple of quick thoughts on this front page story from Jamie Lee Miros
* This story started with Student housing rentals may see some changes
Im sure that got the attention of our readers. That said, theres a lot of
jargon in the story but no real explanation of how, if at all, these ordinances
will impact students.
* The story makes reference to a 14-page report available in full online. Was
there any thought given to providing a QR code to this report? At the least,
students could seek out answers to any questions.

Skys the limit, Page 12, Wednesday

On our website, we had great overhead pictures of Beaver Stadium and other
shots from State College.
In the paper, we had four shots of the balloon.
Why?

Bars to stay open on State Pattys, Page 3, Thursday

No call made for bars, Page 1, Friday
A quick question: Why was only one of these stories considered front page
news?

Sports, Pages 8-9, Thursday

Sports has been a consistently strong section throughout this semester, and
these two pages are a nice example why.

What we had was this

*
*
*
*

A nice balance of stories (six different sports were covered)

A good variety of stories (game recaps, game previews, and features)
Strong reporting
Strong use of action photos

Overall, great work.

Appeal, potential retrial loom, Page 1, Friday

Solid reporting from Brittany Horn on Page 1.
A sharp illustration from Jesse Reis on Page 1.
Anybody know what happened to the jump?

Website traffic
Measured by total number of visitors
Fri. 11/9: 19,585, Sat. 11/10: 15,250, Sun. 11/11: 14,742, Mon. 11/12:
19,947, Tue. 11/13: 19,672, Wed. 11/14: 20,390, Thurs. 11/15: 20,814
Total: 130,400 (18,629 per day average)
Previous seven days: 143,812 (20,545 average)

Whats being read?

Here are the top five most-read staff stories on the website between Fri. 11/9
and Thurs. 11/15, based on total number of visitors
1,358 -- Penn State application numbers down, Jennifer Lewis/Mindy
Szkaradnik, Thurs. 11/15
1,158 -- We cannot rush the healing process, Alice Pope (guest column),
Fri. 11/9
1,134 -- Controversial call dooms Penn State in loss to Nebraska, Stephen
Pianovich, Mon. 11/12
1,068 -- Mini-documentary released about PSUs last year, Cassie Hart, Fri.
11/9
926 -- McGregor looks back on PSU career, John Stuetz, Wed. 11/14

Print circulation
Fri. 11/9: 9,927, Mon. 11/12: 8,299, Tues. 11/13: 8,451, Wed. 11/14:
8,823, Thurs. 11/15: 7,986
Total: 43,486 (8,697 average)
Previous five days: 47,897 (9,579 average)

Headlines
If not already mentioned above, here are some of the strong
writing/reporting and interesting story topics that stood out from this past
week:
Will to survive: Student recovers from propeller accident, Page 7, Monday
Professor writes book on PSUs reputation, Page 4, Tuesday
A vision made real: Hershey unveils newest building, Page 1, Wednesday
Child raises money for disease research, Page 1, Wednesday
NFL not on OBriens radar, Page 8, Wednesday
McGregor reflects on football career, Page 9, Wednesday
Every flight is unique for balloon pilot Kevin Witt, Page 12, Wednesday
Ride opens dialogue on rape, Page 1, Thursday
Zamboni driver earns respect for his abilities, Page 12, Thursday
Lions hope for good turnout, Page 8, Sports
Run-ons set to take on larger role in program, Page 5 (Stadium
Magazine), Friday
Kudos to this group for their efforts: Erika Spicer, Mitchell Culler, Kelly
Gibson, Kaitlyn Zurcher, Dan Norton, John Stuetz, Shannon Snell, Lucie
Couillard, Kayla Montoro and Stephen Pianovich.