Column: The difficulties of working with wire service copy

Readers' Corner

Ombudsman Dave Mazzarella answers reader questions about Stars and Stripes.

Column: The difficulties of working with wire service copy

Posted April 25th, 2007 by Dave Mazzarella

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Readers' Corner

Except for those with scores if not hundreds of reporters, newspapers are filled mostly with wire service and syndicated articles. That raises the question: Who is responsible for what appears in the newspaper?

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Thanks

On April 26th, 2007 Adrasteia says:

This is one of the best insights I've read about how difficult reporting events and passing along the reporting of events, can be. So many people think everything is black or white but it isn't. Sometimes you have to look beyond the headlines and sometimes, even though someone you trust tells you an article or picture is inaccurate, it may not be so simple.
I know many people accuse journalists of purposely distorting the truth. Perhaps some do and being cognizant is the first defense. But sometimes it's just really hard to determine what the truth is.

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Welcome

An ombudsman is a fancy name for a reader's representative at a newspaper. A big part of my job is to make sure your voice is heard -- whether it be raised to criticize, praise or just offer a suggestion to the editors of Stars and Stripes. And I aim to make sure your questions are answered. Check this space regularly for columns that have appeared in the paper and other musings of mine.

About the Author

Dave Mazzarella is in his second tour of duty as ombudsman for Stars and Stripes. Mr. Mazzarella served in this role from 2000 to 2001 before becoming the paper's editorial director. He returned to his ombudsman's chair after retiring in Feb. 2007. Readers are invited to contact him directly via e-mail.