>What Goes On The Front Page (Hartford Courant)
(Via Romenesko)
The Hartford Courant is putting more Connecticut news on its front page. This, apparently, is a topic worthy of a “reader representative” column:

Q: I agree with readers who tell me they expect The Courant to edit the world for them, to tell them on the front page what is important at home as well as abroad. Do you think it’s The Courant’s role to prioritize the news for readers?
A: It’s a lot easier for us to default to national and international news we get from the wires, or our sibling papers, than it is for us to create our own unique content. But the opportunity for us to advance a national or international story, especially one that’s breaking, is pretty limited. In general, we don’t have the sources or the expertise to add much to a story about North Korea or Iran. …

Nothing wrong with the answer. But what’s this flapdoodle about readers wanting the Courant to edit the world for them? (”Flapdoodle” being my favorite Michael Browning word.) Maybe the reader rep should start talking to people who aren’t reading the paper. Maybe start with the more than 7,000 daily subscribers the paper lost between the 2005 and 2006 April to September reporting periods.