News
Most Recently Answered Questions
Questions 11 - 20 of 435 (Page 2 of 44)Submitted by Bobbi Campbell from Cornelius, NC
Q:I appreciate that you are trying the "chapter" approach to the Hugo story. Instead of daily chapters, though, you have daily abstracts that provide almost no information. If you are going to do a daily chapter, then update each of the threads as to what they were doing on that day- not just that "teaser" that does not have enough narrative to be worth reading.
A: Bobbi, you've put your finger on the challenge of this concept. The point is to be compelling, but also relatively brief. If we had updated each character daily, the story would have grown very long in a hurry. However, I realize that some readers would have preferred that length over the 40 lines of type that we restricted the story to on most days.
Submitted by Nancy Smith from c
Q:On the comment from Nancy Rotan about "Mother:Please Fly Home Now". I agree with her. I want the whole story and not just a tease. Suppose someone is out of town and misses the "rest of the story". Your "serial narrative" is like the TV evening news "stay tuned at 11 for the rest of the story". No one likes that.
A: Thanks Nancy. For the record, I don't like those TV evening news teases, either. But I do think this series is less like that and more like a series of chapters in a book. That said, I've heard from others who share your sentiment. They want to read this "book" all at once. We understand that. Those readers, we believe, will ultimately be satisfied with a longer, more detailed story that provides the conclusion of the series. It will appear this Sunday (Sept. 20). And it won't be necessary for a person to have read the whole series in order to follow the Sunday story. As for these daily installments, we don't mean to frustrate or "tease" our readers with them. Rather, we are trying to write each installment so it provides a chronologically arranged slice of the story that is worth knowing even if you don't read the other 10 parts of the series. But if the approach does frustrate, know that the end is near! On Sept. 20, the outcome for all the characters who have unresolved issues will be known.
Submitted by Nancy Rotan from Morganton NC
Q:Where is the rest of the story "Mother:Please Fly Home Now" that begins on 1A of today's paper?
A: Nancy, the rest of this mother's story, which is about Hurricane Hugo, will appear in days to come. You are reading what we call a "serial narrative." You may notice the note at the top of the story that says "fourth of 11 parts." It's a bit like a continuing series on television. Each day, a reader can follow the development of the "plot." Only, this "plot" is a real-life drama. This drama, which we are calling "Hugo's Wrath," concludes on Sunday, Sept. 20. Why not just bring you the whole story at once? We chose this method for at least a couple of reasons. For one, we wanted to give readers an opportunity to experience the suspense and surprise of Hugo as others originally experienced it. The storm evolved as a news story over many days. Second, we wanted to present readers an account of Hugo that was both fresh and easy to follow in its approach. The serial can offer slices of the big story that are both quick and interesting reading. My hunch is that many people will like this approach. But I'm sure that others would prefer one rather long story. Let us know which you prefer.
Submitted by Brenda from Charlotte NC
Q:You've got to be kidding me that all Jeff Elder writes about is social networking??? Your paper can barely make a profit, has laid off dozens in the newsroom, and you have a reporter focused on social networking? Bring back Dr Traffic - that's news I truly can't get anywhere else. I can get the info Jeff Elder writes about for free on dozens of other sites (though he's about 6 months behind). I can't get good local news anywhere, including apparently the Observer these days! Maybe you'd have more readers if you gave us information we can't get anywhere else. Thanks.
A: On this point, you and I agree. The Observer’s strength is in providing readers information that they can’t get anywhere else. We’re not perfect on that attribute, but we do have more readers now than we’ve ever had in the Observer’s history – more than 1 million a week in print and online. How do we do that? By bringing readers unique information, yes. But also by meeting readers where they choose to be. Some keep track of the world through a printed newspaper. Others prefer a Web site. Still others use social networking. An estimated 450,000 residents in the Charlotte region are now on Facebook, alone. That statistic should explain why we asked Jeff to cover this rapidly expanding frontier. If we’re not there with them, we miss this facet of Charlotte. Jeff helps us be there. And he’s hardly “behind” on this trend. To the contrary, Jeff is a respected source on the use of social media, both locally and nationally. He also helps other readers who, unlike you, are new to this activity. As you say, social networking isn’t a uniquely Charlotte phenomenon. But Charlotteans are doing things through it that are unique to this area. Many readers want to know about them. I’m pleased to hear of your support for Dr. Traffic. We temporarily parked this feature over the summer when its current author, Steve Harrison, moved to a new beat (covering the city government of Charlotte). We hope to restore it this fall.
Submitted by earl bowles from hwy 105,banner elk,nc
Q:Why would your editor john bordsen run a photo of a 15 year old girl jumping off Elk River Falls, where several people have been killed or paralized from hitting rocks, tangle in fishing line or hitting a junk car at the bottom of falls? Sort of recommends to other teen agers to jump. Your Sunday Edition Travel Section July 19,2009. Photo by chuck liddy of the news observer.Look forward to your reply
A: The photo you ask about was part of a package about waterfalls produced by our sister paper, the News & Observer of Raleigh. I spoke to Chuck Liddy, who took the photo of the young woman jumping from a rock near the base of the falls. This is obviously a favorite pasttime for many. Chuck says there were well over 50 people swimming there that day, a weekday. He says he also saw no sign posted that discouraged people from swimming at the base of the falls, where he took the photo. So, he had no reason to think that this swimming hole was any more hazardous than dozens of others that one can find in the N.C. mountains. I then decided to follow up on your email for more information about this particular spot. The Avery County Sheriff's Office did not return a call. But Shelly Smith of the Avery Journal told my assistant that people do swim at the falls at their own risk. Smith recalled one drowning there about two years ago in which the victim became tangled in fishing line. You may know of others. Smith said there was debris in the water but she knew nothing about junked cars. If you feel strongly that the falls are too hazardous for swimming, you could contact authorities in the area and suggest that signs be posted.
Submitted by Carl from Concord,NC
Q:I am curious as to why the paper decided to crop the photograph of Marcus Fluker. It appears the Observer was trying . . . to put Marcus Fluker in a less unflattering light. I assume the Observer would not tolerate a staff photographer editing a picture to provide a more dramatic image, or to influence opinion - so why would the Observer do it in this case.
A: For those who don't know, Marcus Antonio Steven Fluker is the 15-year-old suspect who was shot and killed by an elderly man who had earlier been tied up in his home and robbed at gunpoint. The photograph of Fluker's face that appeared in the newspaper was not cropped by the Observer. It was provided in that form by Fluker's family. As such, it simply provided readers a likeness of Fluker, which was why it was included with the story.
Submitted by Mark from Concord, NC
Q:Hello Rick, I got a few items to question ( aimed at journalism and politics ). 1. It drives me nuts watching our state politicians push through the tax increases (the income tax "surcharge" and sales tax increase). I am well aware that there is a budget to balance, however their choices are unfair to those that would be responsible for creating decent jobs (and those people are not big corporate america), and I fear a HUGE surplus will occurr next year with the economy recovering... What will they do with that surplus? Find new ways to spend it or give it back to those they took it from? Or find a way to give it to those that do not try or work as hard to earn a living! 2) My personal opinion on why we also may be delayed in recovering from the recession, and also why it got so deep, is the journalist/media desire to immediately report and introspect on every report, layoff, study and what-if scenario... People watch and read these things... if they get nervous, they stop spending... if they stop spending, retail and restaurant sales plummet, then comes more layoffs which will affect the set of people available for purchasing goods... so it seems to be a downward spiral that though I would never request censorship outright.... it would be nice to see all of these outlets have more restraint and reflect on the ramifications of what they report (and HOW MUCH it can affect public opinion)!
A: 1. Let’s start with the tax increase. There was no way the Legislature could build a budget this year that everyone would agree was “responsible.” It surprised many that legislators were willing to raise taxes in the midst of a deep recession. But they chose that over deeper cuts in state services. That said, this newspaper and the News & Observer in Raleigh reported repeatedly on ways the state could have further reduced spending wisely – and didn’t. I’ll mention just one. Out-of-state athletes in the UNC system continue to receive a tuition subsidy funded by taxpayers at a cost of $10 million. Looking ahead, all 170 seats in the House and Senate will be up for re-election next year. The Democrats who approved this budget will be asked to defend their choices. Voters will hear more about that tuition subsidy. They’ll also hear how this budget helped preserve teachers, including some in Mecklenburg. Ultimately, voters will decide who acted most responsibly. As for the surplus that you anticipate with the return of the economy, it must overcome the eventual loss of $1.4 billion in one-time federal stimulus money that the state used to complete this budget. 2. Now, let me address your concerns about the media’s influence on the state of the economy. Many people have similarly asked about this. After all, our economy is largely driven by consumer spending. And the perceptions that consumers gain through news reports will influence their confidence. Assuming that those reports generally reflect reality, however, there is nothing wrong with that! People need facts to help them make intelligent decisions about their finances. Early in this recession, I had many readers suggest that conditions would improve if the Observer would only stop publishing news about foreclosures, layoffs and declines in retail sales. As the recession grew worse, those voices faded. As everyone now knows, this was no media-induced downturn, and ignoring warning signs would have been misleading. At this point, many economists believe the recession is coming to an end. We are now reporting those hopeful signs, which happen to be based on some of the same economic indicators that drew criticism before (only now, they are going in the opposite direction). People will read these stories and again make their own judgments. But they won’t do that based solely on what they read. They will also consider what is happening in their own workplaces and those of their neighbors. They will assess the status of their personal finances and savings for retirement, plus many other factors. We’ll work hard to keep providing helpful, reliable information. But if the Observer or other media fail to accurately reflect the state of the economy at some point, I am convinced that these consumers will know enough from their own experiences and other sources to see through that. It’s a great question. Thanks for asking it.
Submitted by Dean Yemm from Lexington, NC
Q:Rick, I am a former Charlottean who moved to Lexington in 2006 after retiring. I still keep in touch with friends and read your paper on line most days. My question is why cant I research previous days stories, ie. Aug 6 or 7 or 8 etc. I can do this with the Winston-Salem Journal and my local Dispatch
A: Dean, you should be able to locate specific stories from previous days by using the "search" field on the home page. But, no, we do not presently archive an entire day's worth of print stories on the basis of the date they appeared. If you are in need of electronic versions of previous editions, you might try our e-edition. You can find details about that(there is a charge)by going to the top of our home page and pulling down the tab "home delivery."
Submitted by mike from hickory, nc
Q:i know there have been numerous stories shown on the charlotte stations each year talking about hugo. i've actually not watched them after the first year, due to the fact that the stories are all charlotte-centric. it was just as much a traumatizing nightmare and life-changing event here in hickory as it was in many other places. unless it affects charlotte and it's surrounding areas, the rest of the world does not exist.
A: Mike, I see you are in the Hickory area. You are so right. The hurricane devastated cities and towns across both Carolinas. It was a huge storm. The Observer covered the aftermath from the coast to the mountains. We'll want to reflect that again with the anniversary. We'll also invite readers to join in. Tell us what you saw and remember, wherever you experienced the storm.
Submitted by Alyssa from Bridgewater, NJ
Q:I am a native Charlottean and remember Hugo with vivid and horrifying memories. My mom and I rode out the storm in our basement and I can remember feeling the foundation of our house shaking and walking upstairs during the eye of the storm to find a tree right down the middle of her car the next morning. I was only 10 when it happened, but that's one event I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I think it would be fantastic if someone would do a retrospective from the viewpoint of those that lived through the storm. We had no warning and officials didn't know what to do after the storm. We were without power for 3 weeks and scared of what was going to happen. I think it's important to tell the stories of those that lived through the event.
A: Thanks Alyssa. We plan to do exactly what you describe. We will talk to many people who rode out the storm. We'll also invite them to tell their own stories. It sounds like you have one to contribute to the coverage.
