< Previous page

CIAA supporters in the past have complained that The N&O overlooks their teams in its attention to the big-name schools. But Joe Sansom, a community leader who is never shy about expressing opinions, says, "let me just say without being specific that the coverage has improved since we first addressed this opportunity."

A long-standing reader suspicion is that The N&O's coverage is biased according to where individual reporters went to college. That's an understandable doubt, but Johnson insists it's not the case at The N&O. "We are journalists, and as journalists we're supposed to be objective in our coverage," she said. "If they are not objective, that situation is dealt with through conversation. After a story is written, it goes through several sets of eyes on our copy desk, and that's one of the things editors are looking for: 'Is this a fair representation of what happened?'"

Full disclosure here: Johnson is a Carolina grad, one of five on the sports staff. There are two State grads, and one each from Berkeley, Campbell, East Carolina, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Guilford, Howard, Miami, Michigan State, N.C. Central, Penn, Syracuse, Tennessee-Chattanooga, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. That includes not just reporters but editors, graphic designers and others on the sports staff.

Is there an imbalance of UNC grads? Yes, explainable largely because Carolina has a journalism school.

N.C. State fans may not believe it, but Johnson actually beefed up coverage of State after she became editor in 1999, cranking out special Wolfpack sections during the era of quarterback sensation Philip Rivers. She said State fans could justifiably complain, before then, that the hometown college hadn't received appropriate coverage. "They're just down the street," she said. "We really needed to take care of that."

There are other changes. Wake Forest this year no longer gets a full-time reporter -- Associated Press is used instead -- so that a second reporter could be assigned to the Carolina Hurricanes this season.

And instead of writing regular stories about Duke games, the paper this year is using an alternative story format, called "Going deep with Duke," that comprises pictures, quotes, game tidbits and reporter analysis. That package links to additional Duke coverage on the N&O's Web site, www.newsobserver.com.

Duke fans, facing a possible winless season, haven't complained about the change. For that matter, followers of the struggling Tar Heels and Wolfpack may prefer less coverage this year as well.

< Previous page

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.