Massachusetts News 
By Michael Chapman 

May 5--Even though an internal memo at the Boston Globe said that the majority of reporters for the Metro section lack talent and can’t even be edited, the Massachusetts media appear to have ignored the story. 

   The memo, written by Metro Editor Peter Canellos and intended for Globe senior management, reads: "The major obstacle, as with many priorities in Metro, is the lack of talent on the staff. Most of the Metro staff—perhaps three quarters—is not capable of writing a marquee Sunday piece. Most of the editors aren’t capable of editing them …." 

   There are more than 40 Metro reporters for the Globe. If Canellos is right, then about 30 of them can’t write the lead article for the Sunday Metro section. 

   Although the memo was posted briefly on a newsroom bulletin board at the Globe, the Boston Herald apparently was the only paper to report it—on April 9. (The Herald mentioned that Canellos believes someone stole the memo from his desk.) 

   The Herald gave the story several paragraphs. A search of the Nexis computer database of news stories shows that no other state or national paper, except the Washington Post, picked up on the report. And there the story appeared in the  “Media Notes” section, deep inside the Post. Canellos declined to speak with Massachusetts News. 

Reporters Skim Issues 

   “It doesn’t surprise me that some large percentage of reporters aren’t qualified,” veteran journalist M. Stanton Evans told Massachusetts News. “Most reporters don’t have substantive training on the issues. It’s self- evident. If you’ve got people whose only education is in the techniques of journalism,” as taught at most journalism colleges, “they’re not going to understand markets or issues like health care or even local issues such as school spending, bond issues or a city budget.” 

   Most reporters don’t go beyond the surface of issues, said Evans, director of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C., an internship program for aspiring journalists. 

   Tim Graham, director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center in Alexandria, Va., told Massachusetts News that he’s not surprised about the Globe memo and the fact that most media are ignoring it. “The media don’t like to air their dirty laundry or that of their colleagues,” said Graham. 

Globe Memo Kills Credibility 

   “It’s self-defense,” Graham said. “The media see common enemies. If you seriously challenge their credibility, you can ruin their business.” 

   Graham added that similar incidents occur in the national press. The media often have to be pushed into reporting on their own problems. “It takes a major outside player, such as GM suing NBC or Food Lion suing” over slanted news stories or veterans pressuring CNN over its inaccurate “Tailwind” story, said Graham. (In the latter case, CNN untruthfully  reported that the U.S. military used nerve gas on its own troops in Vietnam.) 

   Bill Ketter, chairman of the Journalism Department at Boston University, declined to comment on the story. Ketter briefly worked as the Globe’s op-ed editor last year, according to the paper’s public relations office. 

   “They aren’t anxious to advertise this,” said Evans. “Generally, the media aren’t interested in bringing some of these weaknesses to the public’s attention.” 

   Graham said it’s ironic that Globe managers are complaining about the quality of their reporters. When the Media Research Center interviewed a Globe executive, John Powers, in the early 1990s, the Center asked why the Globe didn’t hire conservatives. According to Graham, Powers’ answer was that the Globe needed people who could put a sentence together.