tuesday, september 7, 2010
ONLINE Who made the list? The Kennedy Center unveils its 2010 Honors recipients Tuesday. Go to
washingtonpost.com at 11 a.m. for interviews with each luminary.
? “ MOVIES
‘American’ the beautiful George Clooney’s spy thriller takes the top spot at the box office. C5
determine the future of serious journalism. The box is supposed to contain words and phrases that will help me reel you in. Search has become a journalistic obsession on the Web, and with good reason. Most people don’t read publications online, patiently turning from national news to Metro to Style to the sports section. They hunt for subjects, and people, in which they’re interested.
I
can no longer file a story in our computer system without filling out a box, a small gray square that may well
Style ABCDE C S
For these women, it’s no longer about the perfect job or the perfect man.
KIDSPOST
Let’s hear it for the readers More than 600 kids joined the Summer Book Club. Here they are. C10
Modern journalism’s Googlian algorithm isn’t as simple as Gaga + Palin x Tiger = Page views
HOWARD KURTZ Media Notes
Our mission — and we have no choice but to accept it — is to grab some of that traffic that could otherwise end up at hundreds of other places, even blogs
riffing off the reporting that your own publication has done. If you appease the Google gods with the right keywords, you are blessed with more readers. So carried to a hypothetical extreme, an ideal headline would be, “Sarah Palin rips non-Muslim Obama over mosque while Lady Gaga remains silent.” Every newsroom in the country
grapples with these questions, and The Washington Post is no exception. “There’s news we know people should read — because it’s important and originates with our reporting — and that’s our primary function,” says
ABC News chief David Westin will leave network. C8
Katharine Zaleski, The Post’s executive producer and head of digital news products. “But we also have to be very aware of what people are searching for out there and want more information on. . . . If we’re not doing that, we’re not doing our jobs.” In a recent interview, Politico Editor-in-Chief John Harris said he tries to serve the site’s “core audience” rather than “chasing a huge number. . . . I’m not
expecting a reporter who covers an essential policy subject or covers lobbying in Washington to be among our huge traffic drivers.” David Carr observed in his New York Times column that headlines, once clever or catchy, are now, in online form, “just there to get the search engines to notice. . . . The need to attract attention from computer-generated algorithms sometimes makes the headlines seem like a machine thought them up.” But the dilemma goes well beyond
media notes continued on C2 — Lisa Page on Terry McMillan’s new novel, “Getting to Happy.” C5 TV PREVIEW: THE NEW SEASON
IT’S ALL GOOD, GUYS: From left, Michael Raymond-James and Donal Logue in “Terriers”; Ron Perlman and Ryan Hurst in “Sons of Anarchy.”
W by Paul Farhi To boost its coverage of Congress, pub-
lic radio station WAMU (88.5 FM) airs regular reports from Capitol News Con- nection, a Washington-based service whose programs air on many public sta- tions across the country. WAMU’s connection to Capitol News
Connection is closer than might be ap- parent, however. As it happens, the founder and chief executive of CNC’s par- ent company is also the wife of the WA-
hat I dread most this season is that feeling of borfusion: Boredom + confusion = just sitting there, tired and puzzled, half-watching a pilot episode while Googling names to recall what the actors have done before. But here, on the cusp of fall, I bring glad tid-
ings! At long last, I have a favorite crime show, sort of: “Terri- ers,” a funny and gripping new dramedy debuting Wednesday night on FX, is a procedural for those of us who think “Law & Order” feels like jury duty. It even stars people who look like some of us, as opposed to people who look like fashion models. Effortlessly smart, easy to like and exciting to follow, “Terri-
FX PHOTOS; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SUSANA SANCHEZ-YOUNG/THE WASHINGTON POST
WAMU sends mixed signals about executive’s connections
News-service ties and consulting work aren’t widely broadcast
MU executive charged with determining which programs the station airs. WAMU officials say they see no prob- lem with the admittedly unusual ar- rangement, which isn’t mentioned in any of WAMU’s public filings or press materi- al about the program. The station exec- utive, Mark McDonald, has recused him- self from any dealings about Capitol News Connection, according to WAMU. But the ties between the station and CNC suggest at least the appearance of a conflict. WAMU, after all, buys such CNC programs as the congressional news show “Power Breakfast” and “This Week in Congress” with funds raised through listener donations and other contribu- tions. In this case, the station is purchas-
wamu continued on C8
At ease: The Walkmen find their comfort level on ‘Lisbon.’ Page C3 By David
Malitz
In the dustiest of California landscapes,
‘Terriers’ and ‘Anarchy’ are rooted in fertile dramatic territory
by Hank Stuever
ers” is about an ex-cop named Hank Dolworth (Donal Logue) and a former thief named Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond- James), who work as private investigators in a gritty beach sub- urb of San Diego. They are scruffy, always broke, and conduct their failing business out of a beat-up blue pickup labeled “Go- mez Bros. Pool Service.” Hank is a recovering alcoholic still in love with his ex-wife; on stakeouts, he likes to look through Pot- tery Barn catalogues and expound on the meaning of life, or lack thereof; Britt is trying to reward his veterinarian girl- friend’s tolerance by earning an honest living.
tv preview continued on C9
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