News Watch Interviews Nancy Maynard

Nancy Hicks Maynard, the current chair of The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University, has been in the news business for over 30 years. She has served as publisher of the Oakland Tribune and as a reporter for the New York Times and the New York Post. She founded and serves as chair of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and is president of Maynard Partners Inc., a consulting company. Her first book is Mega Media: How Market Forces are Transforming News. What do you think is the biggest problem in news coverage today?
The depth of undercoverage, the level of critical thinking and the uncritical questions are the biggest problems in the news today. A good example is the coverage of the 2000 presidential election. You hear the interviewers addressing the major players with questions, but never have a follow-up. In terms of trends, I have never seen "hit-and-run" coverage like this. Anti-spin is taking over information. The news media needs to organize information in terms of background knowledge. Journalists today are not insistent on the need to follow up with all of the spin. What are your ideas on how to diversify news coverage and/or newsrooms?
I have been in the news business more than 25 years. The issue is a power relationship with journalism groups having their say about what story is important in America. Who gets to tell "America's story"? To diversify news coverage, there should be training of those of color to do various jobs in the newsroom. There should be more work in the news institutions to create an environment where people of color are not only welcomed, but are also valued. In your opinion, which news story was overplayed in the past year?
None. I have no worries about news saturation. There is more of a depth problem than overplay. In regards to coverage intensity, no one knows when to stop going over the line. In your opinion, which news story was underreported in the past year?
This question reverts to depth. The [presidential] election was portrayed as choices that were "stick-figures." The New York Times were defining candidates with different people and at different angles. They used polling generally to allow the electorate to play the agenda. There is a question of objectivity here. The news media need to have all the space to give spin is great. However, they lost the ability to set an agenda of what public sees. Would you encourage your child to become a journalist?
My daughter, Dori, is in communications. She works at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and developed an analytical framework called "Faultline." What is your favorite source of news and why?
I do not have a favorite source of news. I have a multiplicity of sources in which I obtain news. I read two daily newspapers, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. I also check certain Web sites for information. You have spent more than three decades in the news business. Describe some of the high and low points during your career.
My career has more high points than low. I've had so much fun in this business. It is sad so many young persons are not interested in this field. Some of the stories I've covered included Robert F. Kennedy's funeral, campus takeovers at Columbia and Cornell, the Apollo missions, Watergate jury duty and the hearing and passing of Title IX. I am proud to be a part of the Oakland Tribune's legacy; the paper won 150 various prizes, including a Pulitzer Prize. The lone low point of my career was when I worked at the New York Post. In 1968, the Post would not allow me to cover a labor strike among garbage workers in Memphis. Martin Luther King was there to speak at a rally for the garbage workers; he was assassinated that evening. In "Mega Media", you stated that digital information technology will affect the news similar to refrigeration changing food production. Please elaborate on that concept.
It is a very direct concept. Think back to the two periods 1800-1900 and 1900-2000. In 1800-1900, there were no refrigerators to keep food cold, only ice. Freshness was a fleeting issue, similar to how news purveyors perceive a regular diet of news. From 1900-2000, if you look at information, the same principles apply. The Internet's popularity grew in the 1990s; now news can be archived in the Internet and retrieved whenever the consumer desires. A "push technology" is occurring where you can databank all information and retrieve it. The advantage is that you don't have to pay attention until you have to. You also wrote in "Mega Media" that generational clash is a major issue in the newsroom. What will it take to change the attitudes of "baby boomer" newsroom leaders towards young journalists' techniques and contributions?
It is the same as the diversity issues in the newsrooms. There is disdain [for] youth, a lack of respect [for] the different styles. "Old" people, if you will, are linear. The youth at all are not linear learners. It doesn't mean that it doesn't produce learning. First, we need to change the attitude about young people and remove assumptions. Second, there is a need to increase opportunities for young people. It is part of a survival issue. The industry survives to infuse abilities of young people. Given the slow pace of diversity in the print newsroom, what kind of picture will we see regarding diversity in the digital newsroom?
We need to get in front of diversity. At MIJE, we have a pilot cross-training program in which we take people from Web site experience along with TV, broadcast and print. This gives the student experience in all areas. At the end of the session, the student will know how to do a five-minute broadcast, layout a front page and design a Web site.