Since you asked - January 15, 2004

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2004-09-23

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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, September 22, 2004   Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery   SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries   Life   Opinion - Politics   Tempo   AP News   Weather   Classified   Archives   Site Map   SPECIAL SECTIONS   Since We Asked   Outdoor Journal   How To Guide   Wellness Connection   Readers' Choice   Real Estate Showcase   Joy Magazine   Homelife Magazine   Wedding Guide   Rogue Valley's Finest   EXTRA   Newspaper in Education   Personals   Movie Times   TV Times   E The People   MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad  eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities   Entertainment   Publications   Recreation   Calendar   CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit   Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 15, 2004 Since you asked Why stories ‘jump’ What I’d like to know is why can’t newspapers print an entire story either on one page or on two consecutive pages. It seems like you get a paragraph or two on the page then always have to go searching for the rest of the story somewhere in the back of the paper. — Larry G., Medford Larry, we’re sorry. What you’re complaining about is what we call "jumping" a story, or in some newsrooms "driving the readers crazy." And we know it can be aggravating. But, there’s really no other option, unless you want really short stories. But then we figure the folks who want that would just watch TV news. For purposes of variety and interest, we try to feature from three to five stories on page one of each section. That way, we can display more news out front and appeal to a broader range of readers. We don’t always succeed in making our quota, but we try. Advertisement On the other hand, we rarely jump stories that are not on the front page of a section (sometimes we have to lop them off at the bottom —what we call in the business "judicious editing"). If our available space was consistent each day, we could consistently jump to the same place. But, each day is different because the news space is determined by the numbers and sizes of ads. So, while we like to make the paper as convenient as possible for our readers, we do need to jump those front section stories to make room for all the news. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News  | Sports  | Business  | Obituaries  | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives  |  Site Map   E Southern Oregon  | Classified   Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback   ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities