McClatchy's Howard Weaver: Aim High on Ethics

By: Jake Whitney As vice president/news for McClatchy Co., Howard Weaver is one of the highest-ranking officers of the newspaper chain ? and he sees a lively and lucrative future for blogs, as well as a few red flags.

Weaver, who previously was editorial page editor of The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, served for 12 years as editor of the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, and was assistant to the president of New Media Strategies for McClatchy, talks with E&P about the future of blogging.

E&P: What do you see as the most potentially effective and rewarding forms of newspaper blogging activity?

Weaver: We understand that news companies have a new relationship with audiences these days that involves learning how to change what was once a lecture into a conversation. While people still appreciate the authoritative voice and accountability an established organization represents, they also want transparency and a chance to have their own voices and opinions heard. Blogs offer us many different ways to accommodate that in many different forums ? everything from music criticism to editors explaining how and why the paper operates as it does.

Some of the blogs we operate are one-way commentary, but the most effective use of the technique, I believe, is for those areas most suited to conversations that engage readers along with staffers. We're still in the learning stages in this new form, but it has already proved both popular and rewarding.

E&P: What ethical protections has McClatchy put in place?

Weaver: We rely on the same ethical underpinnings that sustain all our activities. We understand that blogs may well demonstrate more attitude or different sensibilities than traditional newspaper journalism, but that doesn't mean they can have lower ethical standards. We want everything we do to be unimpeachable; you may well argue with our conclusions, but we want you to be able to rely on our standards.

E&P: What editing protections has McClatchy put in place?

Weaver: There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Different blogs raise different challenges. An editor's blog written by an experienced journalist discussing the newspaper's operations needs a different level of attention than one where a commentator with less experience is making judgments about popular entertainers, for example, or where an opinion journalist is commenting on politics.

E&P: What legal protections has McClatchy put in place, or may be planning to put in place, where blogs are concerned?

Weaver: Whether in print or in a blog, our best protection is to make sure our work meets our own standards for fairness, accuracy, and transparency. If we take care of that, legal problems are unlikely to be a concern.