The Michael Gorman of The Washington Post
I don’t mean to pick just on librarians. Maybe the Washington Post should gently ask Michael Getler, its ombudsman-PR guy, if he wants to retire ahead of time.
An ombudsman is supposed to be independent, but apparently this man is taking a few too many naps on the job. He still hasn’t responded to my accuracy-related complaint of a month ago–following the Post’s embarrassing misuse of the term “public domain.”
The Old Fart Department
In the Old Fart Department, Gorman, er, Getler, shines. Headlined The Essential Newspaper, his latest column acknowledges that many people are rejecting the Post as too bulky to read within their schedules. So is he paying attention to suggestions that the paper go on a diet and use the Net to provide detailed coverage? Or place more emphasis on databases with targeted advertising–for readers seeking information on such-and-such a topic? Nope. Well within his Old Fart Mode, Getler writes:
My guess is that the circulation decline will level off at what will amount to The Post’s truly hard-core readership plus some newcomers. These are my kind of people. I’m one who has always been grateful to newspapers. I think they give people an edge, an advantage, no matter what it is people do. To me, the printed paper remains more naturally compatible with our history and habits, with reading and discussion, and with a sense of community and of discovery that often comes just by turning the page.
Gorman Land! Is Getler his twin–separated at birth? Is it really so barbaric to click on a hyperlink rather than turning a page?
Keep in mind, Mr. Ombudsman-PRman, that we’re not talking Post-hating here. Before canceling my weekday subscription to the Post becuase I tired of dealing with all the gratuituous solid waste, I subscribed to it for decades. Yes, the Post can be vexing at times. But generally I agree with it politically and, in fact, am more liberal. No right-wing conspiracies. I’d like the Post to survive–all the better to keep watch on Rove & friends.
The good news is that just like the library profession, the newspaper one has at least some innovators. Gorman would do well to check out Greensboro. No perfection there. But in use of the Net, the Greensboro News & Record is miles–no, galaxies–ahead of the Post. It’s to the point where Greensboro’s editors actually understand the Net better than their critics do. They fully grasp the synergies between blogs and newspapers. Some years ago the Post imported a book critic from Greensboro; perhaps L Street should have hired a Net-hip ombudsman from there as well. What’s more, as backwards as the press can be in general, I don’t think it’s as much a Luddite stronghold as the senior reaches of librarydom are. Getler, while putting down bloggers to build up the press, is less obnoxious than Gorman. Maybe there’s hope even if the two men are in the same general class.
Still-better news, here in the D.C. area, is that Getler will leave as the Post’s ombudsman later this year. His successor, Deborah Howell, 64, describes herself as “feisty.” We’ll see. Getler has done some thoughtful critiques of the Post’s reporting, but as “The Essential Newspaper” shows, he can do the PR drill as well–in defending the status quo rather than paying heed to the Greensboros.
What Michael Getler really might want to consider: Getler should be writing a history of the International Herald Tribune, which he once edited I think he’d be good at it, and as an old fogy from the print era, I myself would happily read his book.
But for Getler to be an ombudsman with so little empathy with modern readers? That is another question. My own theory is that he might actually feel bored, overwhelmed or both in his present job. Why has he ignored an email and a phone call about the Post’s mistake, and why hasn’t there been a correction?
Who might augment Gorman’s work if he won’t step down: Given the terms of Getler’s contract, perhpas the Post could keep him if need be–but augument his columns with sagacity from someone with a more modern outlook on newspapers in the Internet era. I nominate either someone from Greensboro paper or else Steve Outing or Vin Cosbie, both well respected within the trade. Or if the right person be be found within the present staff, then fine.
The Post Web site from a community-journalism perspective: I won’t buy the argument that the Post runs a popular Web site and therefore knows the Net and is serving readers well. Many if not most are from out of town and useless to local advertisers. From an old-fashioned local news perspective, the Post’s Net operation is a disaster. When I use MyWashingtonPost.com, I can’t even sign up for e-newsletter focused on my Virginia suburb. Mr. Getler, don’t you get it? The online Post cares not a whit about my community, and civic life here will suffer as a result of it.
////////
Latest on The Gored Man: Blake has a Gorman “roundup, roundup” at LISNews.
Leave a Reply