Not Enough Gossip, or Republicans, in Boston,
Liberal Journalists Say
By Geraldine Hawkins
March 20, 2003

Boston may be the intellectual capitol of the United States, but unlike other cities, it's not the most fun place for reporters, because "it's a lousy gossip town," according to three prominent journalists who participated in a roundtable discussion focusing on "Sound Bites and Headlines: How the Mass Media Depicts Greater Boston and Why" at the John F. Kennedy School of Government on March 17.

"This is a lousy gossip town, and it's a lousy Republican town," said John Carroll, executive producer of the WGBH news show Greater Boston. "It's very hard to find the other side of any issue," because the town leans so far to the left, he said. "It's hard to get two sides."

Carroll said that in Boston, as in most cities, the loudest voices are the ones that are heard. "When you put yourself in a position where the media can't ignore you, they pay attention."

Boston Globe columnist Sam Allis said that colorful politicians were a reliable source of good copy, and that both reporters and the public thrived on incidents like the time Speaker of the House Tommy McGee and screamed an obscenity at the Chair. "That made reporting in this town fun," Allis said.

"Are there sophisticated, demanding constituencies out there? Of course," Allis said, but he repeated that it was more fun to write about "incidents and stories that most people understand."

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston director Charles Euchner, the moderator of the panel, asked the journalists if they had specific ways of dealing "with more complex, fragmented, kaleidoscopic issues."

John Carroll said that his show gives in-depth coverage because, "We don't have the resources to be superficial." He said that a typical Globe headline reads: "Governor Wants to [fill in the blank] Following Globe Spotlight Revelation."

Carroll said that his show targets a very specific and limited audience. "We don't go after the viewers who would rather be watching Jeopardy or Gunsmoke or Seinfeld re-runs. We try to serve the viewers we know we have. We don't have the resources to do the three-part series. We have a different way of putting a lasso around the news."

Allis said that he once interviewed historian David McCullough, who said, "I want to write a book that I'd want to read." Allis said that he follows the same rule. "I write about things that interest me until the Globe tells me to stop."

Boston Globe editorial page editor Renee Loth said that she was sure that newspapers would never be replaced by the internet, because of "the serendipity that comes with opening a daily newspaper and turning the pages. You never know what you are going to see.

"We are about many different audiences. We provide a general interest conversation for fifty cents!"

She said that people can go to the internet to find what they are looking for specifically, but that a daily newspaper offers something more than "The Daily Me."

Loth added that she considered Letters to the Editor "Vox Populi," but hoped it "was a step above talk radio."

Loth was asked what influences are shaping the Globe's editorial line on "anti-war protests and the pro-war lobby."

She answered that the primary influences are "the view of the publisher, the constituents who come to see us and the expertise of people in the [news] room," adding that this is one of the most difficult issues she has ever faced.

"We are not the War Resisters' Newsletter," she said. "Our position has been that disarming Saddam is an important thing - we should do it. It's good for the region, and especially good for the Iraqi people. But we should do it with a large international coalition, and that has collapsed now."