After viewing a local news source, the print and online version of the Courier-Journal, it was concluded that the Courier-Journal's "Human Interest" and "Business and Economy" stories way outnumbered the others in the print version, causing an unbalance of topics in its sections. Statistics, after the month of October (ending on the thirtieth), showed that the Courier-Journal had 67 stories that pertained to business an economy overall, while the "Human Interest" showed a whopping 60 stories to be found in one given month. Although these topics are considered more "core" than others, as said by gradethenews.org (seven yardsticks of journalism), this unbalancing number can be harmful to a paper's image, especially when it outnumbers it in such a large way. According to statistics taken, the Courier-Journal only had 21 stories pertaining to "Health, Consumer, and Environment," 8 for "War and Diplomacy," 31 for "Crime," 34 for "Politics and Government," and 5 for "Accidents and Disasters." As compared to other reviewed stations, too much ink was wasted printing on the above mentioned, over-viewed topics.
All other televised news stations except for WDRB have a significantly higher amount of accidents than the C-J, statistics show. Yet, even with this being so, the numbers are still not overly excessive and "tiring" for an entire month, with the highest being 16 (WLKY) and the lowest being 6 (WHAS). Another example of their folly is seen through the statistics of the other organizations watched. All had a significantly lower amount of "Human Interest" stories to show, with the highest being 27 in one month (WAVE) and the lowest being 11 (WHAS).
However, these statistics do not mean that the C-J is entirely at fault for only these underreported stories. They are also at fault for over reporting others, as well. This can be seen in the category of "Politics and Government." As shown above, the C-J had a large amount for one month (do keep in mind that this was the month before the senate elections, so it would have been overflowing with debates and campaigns). All other news stations kept their stories a little more balanced with the highest among being 20 (WLKY) and the lowest, 5 (WHAS). The C-J's 34 left it with a little more than it could handle. Some stories were just recaps of previous events, and did not satisfy in the context of "newsworthy." An example of this is seen through its headline story on the eighth of October, "Economy Top Issue for Voters," when other stations were reporting on more relevant topics like "Former Coach on Trial for Sexual Assault (WHAS)."
Overall, the Courier-Journal, through its misbalance of news stories, violated the principle of journalism, "Inclusive," as the business and consumer topics reported mainly favored those of Downtown Louisville. "Enterprise" has been violated, as well. To right this wrong, the C-J should consider spreading to a wider range of topics, rather than just reporting on topics, although core, in an overly excessive amount to obtain rom for other core topics like "Crime and Justice," "Major Accidents," and other core topics.
Check out the C-J story (digitized) mentioned here: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/07/bluegrass-poll-look-issues-facing-us/16849901/
Check out the full online website here: http://www.courier-journal.com
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