AnnArbor.com - editorial board's massive, epic fail

I could use an online fleece. It's cold in here.

 

I disagree completely with an editorial board that invites members of the community, who all will have their own agenda. I think the paper's editorial policy should be a consistent voice.

Now, if you want to invite folks to write guest columns or notes or what have you under their own names, fine.

But if the UM guy is on the annarbor.com editorial board, and the paper has an editorial about UM, you have a conflict. If it's positive, people will think the UM guy is spinning.

If it's negative, the UM guy is going to look bad. Why invite someone to be on your board and then make him look bad? So the perception there is going to be you are either getting revenge on him or that you held your punches and didn't write it the way you really saw it because he's bending someone's ear.

You really can't win with this one.

 

I agree the paper should have a consistent voice, but I don't think the members of the board need to. First, it's rare to find (intelligent and reasonable) people that agree on every single issue. Second, even if you could find a group of people like that, why would you want to? If I was running a liberal editorial board, I'd love to have a few conservatives on it. They will provide the counter-arguments we can rebut to make our argument stronger.

Your second argument that this might create a bad perception* has some merit, but it still doesn't answer the question of why people find this so ethically/journalistically offensive. One might argue this is actually being more honest with readers, because you're actually being transparent about who you are talking to. In the absence of having him on the board, he will still likely be consulted (bending someone's ear, as you put it), your readers just won't know about it unless he gets quoted.

* And as someone pointed out, editorial boards already create a bad perception, because readers don't necessarily realize they're separate from the newsroom. I don't know that this really makes it worse. People are going to complain about what they don't agree with and cheer on what they do.

 

So what is the advantage to having this particular person on the editorial board?

 

I've never met or talked to Mr. Lampe or Mr. Dearing, so I can't really speak to this. Presumably Dearing (or whoever made this decision) values Lampe's viewpoint, analytical skills, etc. And, as I mentioned in a broader context, to the extent the paper wants to criticize the University, having access to him will allow them to better understand the University's position and rebut it.

 

So they wouldn't have access to the spokesman for the biggest employer/business in town without having him on the editorial board?

 

As I pointed out in my initial post, they obviously would-which is why I find it odd people consider it so much more offensive to have him on the editorial board if he's not voting on U-M-related issues (or other issues that might impact the U-M). Perhaps they feel this will give them a chance to get his viewpoint on more issues than they normally would, though. Like I said, I don't have any insight into this particular decision.

 

Here's an interesting twist to this tale: U-M demoted Lampe. David Jesse, who recently left AnnArbor.com to join the Detroit Free Press, posted a tweet:
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U-M V.P. for Communications David Lampe becoming executive director of research communications in the office of vice president for research
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Wonder if it's related. Then again, U-M wouldn't admit if it was.

 

This looks, at its core, like Tony Dearing wants better football tickets.

 

Ah. I didn't think of that angle. In that case, it's all good.

 

It's a similar situation to the Ann Arbor City Council.

There are three council members who work for the University. The city has allowed them to vote on UM matters, regardless of any possible conflict of interest.

 

They came out with a "progress report" today, expressing regret for not addressing the layoffs earlier, among other things.

http://www.annarbor.com/about/annarborcom-offers-progress-report-to-the-community/