Real Name: Chris Cobler Address: 311 E. Constitution St. Victoria, TX 77901 Gender: male Member Since: September 16, 2007 Last Signed In: October 11, 2008 Profile Views: 2299 Blog Views: 14336 Who's Got Spirit? We hope our readers are the ultimate winners Can you tell the election is only a month away? Where do you turn for listings about businesses? Crikey, why did we write about alligator hunting? Aggies, butterflies, Pandora radio, and keeping Victoria beautiful What turns regular people into monsters? What is it about stories involving dogs? What new technology will change the world? Be true to your school September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 
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Some viewers criticized our video interview of Michael Ratcliff's father on the day his son was being indicted. Unfortunately, I think they were right. As print journalists, we're new to the video world, and we made a misstep here. Our reporter and photographer went to the house looking for Michael Ratcliff, not his father. We wanted to confirm he had been fired and was about to be arrested. When Ratcliff's father opened the door, our reporter asked for his son. We didn't want to be the one to break the news about his son's arrest to him and regret doing so. We went ahead and talked with the father because that's what print journalists are trained to do -- gather the facts. We thought the father's comments would add provide viewers a human side to a man being accused of one of the most unspeakable crimes in our society. We reconsidered as we saw how powerfully the video affected people. We have pulled the video from our Web site. Clearly, we have new ethical issues to consider as we continue into the world of video. What viewers didn't see on the video is the compassion our reporter and photographer showed to the father at the end of the conversation. Our reporter asked whether he could do anything for him and whether he had someone nearby for support. Our photographer said he was praying for him. We try to minimize the harm caused by our reporting. We can never eliminate harm because news stories often are about misfortune of some sort. Ratcliff's father would have learned the sad news from somewhere. We're sorry it was from us. I don't have the words to capture the spirit of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Diversity Leadership Institute. Instead, I'll turn to a past speech by editor Gregory Favre. I was honored to attend the fifth session this week at the Washington Post in Washington, D.C. My challenge is to take what I've learned and share the experience with the Advocate staff. What I know I won't do is tell them we need diversity for diversity's sake. Rather, we need to keep focusing on the journalism. Good journalism is about covering the entire community, about giving voice to the voiceless, about the eternal search for truth. We don't do any of this if we reflect only the lives and views of the majority. This quest also is a business imperative. As our community grows and diversifies, we can either change with it or we can die. One of many story ideas the conference generated for me is to look at when Victoria becomes a majority-minority community. How does crossing this threshhold change the economic and social fabric of the community? Trainers Tom Kochman and Jean Mavrelis guided us through a basic understanding of multicultural sensitivities. For example, they explained that Latinos have a more traditional cultural style, meaning it is more hierarchical, collectivistic and interpersonal. Meanwhile, the U.S. mainstream culture is egalitarian, individualistic and institutional. In a collectivistic view, the group comes first. Most Latinos (and many Anglos) are Catholic, which promotes a world view of accepting the way things are. The mainstream U.S. culture, though, is to change the way things are. One way is not right or wrong. You just need to understand and adjust for the differences. One size doesn't fit all. We all wear blinders. I know my circle of friends, my neighborhood, my family. If the Advocate reflects only my interests, it may be of some interest to other Anglos like me. But why should I expect it will be of interest to blacks, Latinos and others whose experiences are entirely different? Newspapers have long reflected the interests of the Rotary Club and Country Club set. There's nothing sinister in that. The publishers and editors have been comfortable with this crowd. But comfort in this context can be dangerous. A newspaper is a public trust. It shouldn't be just a mouthpiece for the elite. It should promote a community conversation. If you see your friends, your family, your interests reflected in the Advocate, then it will remain essential to your life. I don't consider this a radical PC concept. It's just good journalism. I flew out of Victoria Regional Airport to reach a conference I'm attending in Washington, D.C. Despite an acquaintance's words of caution about flights being canceled in Victoria, the first leg of the round-trip flight went off like clockwork. A 6:20 a.m. flight is a bit early for me, but I didn't want to drive to Houston either. Free airport parking in Victoria is a nice perk, too. I parked maybe 100 feet from the terminal door. On the long flight from Houston, I started Richard Russo's "Bridge of Sighs" and arrived early enough in the afternoon to walk several hours along the Washington Mall before the American Society of Newspaper Editors' opening dinner for the Diversity Leadership Institute. The acquaintance I mentioned told me about a flight years ago being canceled in Victoria and how he and his buddies raced to Houston to make their connection. Victoria's airport manager tells me this almost never happens. What's been your experience with the airport? We received an e-mail Friday that brightened my day: "I just wanted to thank you for your "Reader Submitted Articles" Section. I was able to post the information about my book, and have been able to reach some people that I would not have been able to otherwise reach. I wrote my book to help others, and you have given me a chance to do that with this section. Thank you so very much. God Bless."
The writer was referring to this post. We hope this feature catches on with others. We will use the best submissions as leads for our print edition.
We're a bit overwhelmed by how much traffic our new site is generating. We're on a pace to far surpass the biggest month in online Advocate history. There's always a downside to success, of course. Some of our longtime users became used to navigating our old site and find all of the extra traffic distracting. Dan Easton, our vice president of interactivity, answers a variety of questions from longtime users on this discussion thread. As far as I can tell, the two main remaining questions are 1) users would like the most recent comment to appear at the top of the thread, and 2) people miss the old comments criticizing the Victoria school district. In terms of the first question, we've fixed this. Regarding the second, we don't have an easy way to migrate old comments to the new site. We encourage people to post fresh comments, supporting or criticizing the school district. I'm pleased to see this happening with Friday's story about the high school design. (If you haven't seen today's front-page graphic on the schools, I encourage you to get a copy of the print edition. We're still working on a good process for creating readable online versions of our graphics.) If you have other questions or suggestions, let us know. You never stop improving a Web site (or the print version of a newspaper, for that matter). Google has come up with a smart way to describe this: The company describes most of its new features as being in beta.
Location:
135 Progress Drive,
Victoria, TX 77904
My 10-year-old son, Paul, and I attended an open house today for the Dorothy H. O'Connor Pet Adoption Center. I like to get out of the office whenever I can to see what we're covering in the newspaper. As an editor, you can get buried quickly by office work and not get out enough in the community. On Sundays, I tend to prefer watching football in my living room, so it's good to get me off the couch. Check out Monday's feature on the center by Rebecca Holm and our multimedia tour. Pet lovers also should visit Rebecca's blog. I was impressed by the center's luxurious accommodations. If you're a dog or a cat without a home, this $1.7 million center is the next best thing. I've seen a lot of stray animals around the area, so clearly Dorothy O'Connor's legacy is needed. Our dog Scoop and cat Pica thank her on behalf of their furry friends.
At last week's ethics board meeting, we revisted our policy on the use of anonymous sources in local copy. We started by reviewing the policies of other newspapers, as summarized by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. We adopted the policy expressed by the San Jose Mercury News:
"The Advocate should strive to avoid the use of unidentified sources. Reporters shall make every effort to get sources to speak on the record. When that is impossible, reporters shall make every effort to get the information elsewhere.
"We will attribute information to anonymous sources only when news value warrants and it cannot be obtained for attribution. "If an unidentified source must be used, the reason shall be given in the story. The story shall also make a strong effort to indicate the source's credibility by describing the source as fully as possible without identifying him or her. "A supervising editor must be told the identity of unidentified sources before any story based on those sources will be published. The same editor, of course, has the obligation to protect the confidentiality of the sources. " However, we won't go as far as we have in the past of banning the use of anonymous sources in wire stories. We rely on other editors, primarily at the Associated Press, to apply the same high journalistic standards before allowing the use of anonymous sources. Whether we like it or not, many stories from Washington, D.C., often come from anonymous sources. For example, the AP's first story about the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was based on an anonymous source. We also discussed creating a written ethics manual. Our policies on moderating our online forums and using anonymous sources will be the first entries in this manual. In the spirit of transparency with our readers, I also will be blogging about these ethical issues. At next month's meeting, we'll discuss a gifts policy for the newsroom; review our policy on naming people arrested; and examine the community involvement of our owners and newsroom. Please let me know what you think. Thanks again, Toni Anne, for your insight into how we moderate this online forum.
After our ethics board meeting Tuesday, I shared the comments of blogger Toni Anne. Several board members agreed she expressed well the spirit of our new site. We don't want to create strict rules. We salute readers like Toni Anne who have something to say and want an outlet for expressing themselves. We're not trying to squelch her concerns about local businesses' customer service.
Toni Anne's comments serve as a fairly good guide for how to proceed with online moderation. To elaborate, here is a summary of Tuesday's board discussion:
We agreed with the philosophy of taking a light approach to moderating VictoriaAdvocate.com. Most online readers recognize that people posting on our site are responsible for their own comments. We'll delete comments or photos only if they clearly cross the line.
We went through the list of reasons why we might delete comments flagged by readers: pornography; objectionable language; unfair attacks on a business or individual; spam; copyright infringement; racism. We discussed expanding racism to hate speech in general, but several board members pointed out that this can be difficult to define, but, as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's said about pornography, we'll know it when we see it.
Almost on cue, an online reader later Tuesday flagged a comment as racist. In an e-mail exchange among board members, we agreed the debate about illegal immigration can easily tilt toward racism, but we didn't see the need to delete this particular comment. Some of us might strongly disagree with the comment and consider it racist, but in the online world we have to give up some of our traditional role of gatekeeper, just as we can't control what people say over the back fence to their neighbors.
So far, we've been pleased by how responsible our readers have been. We expect that will continue. In my experience, at least 95 percent of people want a constructive conversation. What we're watching out for is that small minority who try to ruin the experience for everyone. We'll rely on the online community to police itself.
I'll post next about another topic we discussed at our meeting: the use of anonymous sources. We want to be as transparent as possible with all of these decisions. Let us know what you think.
We're thrilled by how you've responded to the changes on our Web site. Our primary goal was to make it easier to engage you in the site. Thank you for how you've responded.
As we launch on this exciting experiment, we're turning to our recently formed in-house ethics board for guidance. (My Aug. 12 column on the ethics board is at the end of the post to avoid linking to our paid archives.)
At Tuesday's monthly meeting, we'll be discussing some proposed guidelines for moderating your content. Please let me know what you think:
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PROPOSED GUIDELINES
We've taken the position that we want the online community to police itself. People using VictoriaAdvocate.com are the publishers of their own comments. As such, they're responsible legally and ethically for what they post.
We never edit comments. To do so would expose us to legal liability and require manpower beyond our resources. We step in only after our readers flag an objectionable post. These guidelines are designed to help us respond when readers flag a post.
By requiring registration and valid e-mail addresses, we think we'll filter out most of the bad actors on the site. Nonetheless, we know objectionable posts will appear occasionally. When that happens, we'll delete the comments as quickly as possible.
It's difficult to create a list of every possible objectionable comment. When in doubt, we'll delete the comment, but our aim is to encourage discussion, not censor it. We're still learning from the emerging medium and know any policies we create today may not fit tomorrow. We're proceeding in the spirit that we can learn from the people formerly known as the audience.
Some reasons why we might delete flagged comments:
-- Pornography.
-- Objectionable language (although we allow a little more leeway online where readers have a higher tolerance than in a family newspaper).
-- Unfair attacks on a business or individual. These can be tough judgment calls that may require some discussion by members of our ethics board.
-- Spam.
-- Racism.
-- Copyright infringement.
It's not a long list, but so far we haven't encountered any significant problems. Perhaps people in South Texas are more polite than in other parts of cyberspace.
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For more on the subject, this February 2006 article is in response to attacks that caused the Washington Post to temporarily shut down commenting on its site.
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My Aug. 12 column:
Every day, journalists make a variety of ethical decisions. Some involve big questions that prompt much discussion: Is this photograph too sensational for the front page? Should we grant anonymity to a source who offers important information? How should we report on a star athlete kicked off the high school team for underage drinking? We make many more decisions, though, almost routinely. Who should we call for a story? What stories deserve our attention? What part of the community should we be covering better? Daily deadlines force us to act quickly. When you start a new product from scratch every day, you don' t have the luxury of time. That's why we've formed a new in-house ethics review board. This new group met recently for the first time at the Advocate and outlined our mission. Our statement is simple on the surface, but much more complex when you stop and think about it: to provide guidance to the newspaper on the ethical decisions we face every day. Along with providing guidance internally, we want to be transparent with our readers about what we do and why. This philosophy of openness will build our credibility in an era when so many are turned off by the national media. We're proud to tell you the accountability and concern of your local newspaper is much greater than what you'll see on either Fox News or CNN. In establishing this new board, we agreed upon the principles of the Society of Professional Journalists as our foundation. You may read the full SPJ's ethics statement online. The preamble bears repeating in full: "Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice." Here are the four cornerstones of the code: Seek truth and report it. Minimize harm. Act independently. Be accountable. Our board, which will meet monthly, consists of various Advocate journalists, the newspaper's family ownership, and representatives of our other newspaper departments. Once we get more established, we may bring a couple of outside experts, such as a minister or priest, to offer a broader perspective. We agreed our topic for next month's meeting should be our Web site and how we handle the citizen journalism we plan to encourage further with the upcoming redesign of www.victoriaadvocate.com. The Web presents exciting new ways to engage readers in the news and our democracy. Within the cornerstone of seeking truth and reporting it, two sections of the SPJ code seem particularly pertinent to this discussion: "Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant." "Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid." On the other hand, the anonymous nature of the Internet collides headlong with another aspect of seeking truth and reporting it: "Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability." Newspapers are charting new territory in cyberspace. We'll find our way best by involving our readers in the discussion. We look forward to talking more. Chris Cobler is the editor of the Victoria Advocate. He may be reached at ccobler@vicad.com or at 361-574-1271. Here's an advance copy of my Sunday column for blog readers: ------------------------------------------------- -------- Calling all amateur photographers, you now have a place to display your best work.
On Page A2 daily and 24/7 at VictoriaAdvocate.com, we have created “Seen on the Scene” devoted to your images of life in the Crossroads region. We’re sure this new feature will prove to be immensely popular. Almost everyone, after all, loves pictures and wants to share them.
The best way to share your photos immediately is by uploading them directly to our Web site. For the technophobes out there, it’s a simpler process than you think. Data Desk editor Karla Woodward is happy to walk you through the process. Call her at 361-580-6303 with questions. We also will accept your photos by mail. Send them to Scene on the Seen, Victoria Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902.
In short order, we expect we’ll have a backlog of photos waiting to be published. We’ll print them in the order received so please keep watching daily for them to appear. Of course, you won’t have to wait online, where the images will appear as soon as you post them.
This is all part of the community conversation we’re continuing to promote in print and online. Our daily A3 community calendar is another piece of this. Again, you hold the power to make this calendar the most comprehensive listing of events in the Crossroads region. After registering online, you can enter your organization’s events directly into the calendar.
As with the photos, we also will publish the listings in the newspaper. The advantage to online is that the listings will go out as far as you want. Our printed calendar focuses on what’s happening today and this week, but our online calendar has no space limitations. Online you may post events that are one month, six months or a year or more away. We expect this feature will become useful to event organizers who want to avoid conflicts with other community happenings.
Again, call Karla if you need help walking through the online process.
A third way to join the community conversation is by writing a guest column on our Viewpoints page. We’re pleased to report an increase in the number of readers wanting to share their views. We want to make it easier than ever for you to do that, whether that’s by posting your article under the community section of our Web site, by e-mailing it to letters@vicad.com, by mailing it, or by dropping it off in person.
Yes, we still want to talk with our readers. The technological advancements are about enhancing, not limiting, our conversations with you. This has been an exciting week because of how many of you have responded to the changes on our Web site by posting blogs and commenting on articles.
Our goal is to keep developing new ways to engage you in the news and in your community. With your help, we know we will improve your Advocate. A reader yesterday asked about a story we published last month. I apologize for not immediately recognizing the story from the reader's description. I've pasted it below. (I would prefer to link to it, but I'll spare you the roadblock of our paid archives. Perhaps we'll change our approach to archives at some point.)
I asked Gabe today whether he received a letter from any juror after the trial. He said he had not but was interested in talking with any juror who had concerns about the case or the police department. I encourage any reader to contact Gabe, 361-580-6519 or me, 574-1271, or by e-mail.
We are always interested in fulfilling our watchdog role in the community.
This story appeared at the top of Page A5 on Aug. 18:
Robber sentenced to 70 years and $10,000 fine
By Gabe Semenza
Victoria Advocate
A jury found Victoria's Jacob Dwight Davis, 22, guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced him to 60 years in prison and to pay a $10,000 fine. A judge stacked another 10 years onto the man's sentence because Davis committed the crime while on probation for tampering with evidence and possessing a controlled substance. In March, Davis emptied a revolver outside a local grocery store. He then visited a friend with two juveniles and a female cousin. The group walked to Maximus, a local Ben Wilson Street strip club. Once there, "Davis harassed two women who worked there and tried to steal the doorman's tip jar," said Victoria County District Attorney Steve Tyler, who prosecuted Davis. Davis then pointed the gun to the doorman's face and pulled the trigger three times, Tyler said. But the gun was empty. Davis then entered the club and tried to empty the cash register. In doing so, he pointed the pistol at a woman and pulled the trigger. "The message here is that, regardless of your social station, employment or neighborhood, Victorians believe in equal protection under the law," Tyler said. "Violent crime will not be tolerated in Victoria County." Once strip club patrons and employees realized Davis' gun was empty they chased him to a nearby apartment complex where police later found him. Police found the gun the next day. "I think that this vindicates the rights of the victims," Tyler said. "I think that speaks loud and clear about their rights." Tyler said Davis had a violent juvenile record, which continued into adulthood. "He is beyond rehabilitation," Tyler said. It took the eight-woman, four-man jury 40 minutes to find Davis guilty, and a little more than two hours to sentence him. In addition, Davis will be placed on two-year probation following his sentence. Gabe Semenza is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6519 or gsemenza@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com. I hope to regularly share reader correspondence on this blog. If one reader raises a question, chances are good others feel the same way. Here's an e-mail we received Sunday about Saturday's coverage of Michael Maples' arrest. My response follows. ------------------- Comments -- I cringed when I saw the headlines and the pictures this ------------------------------------------ Thank you for writing. I'll share your concerns with other editors in the newsroom. Reader feedback helps us know what you want to see in your hometown newspaper. I also will post this questions and response to my new editor's blog at victoriaadvocate.com because I suspect others may be interested in the subject. I won't use your name in the online post unless you respond granting your permission to do so.
As you know, we've aggressively covered the Michael Maples case because it is of high interest and importance to the community. Our editorial Sunday on the importance of background checks is the latest example of this. Throughout the coverage thus far, Mr. Maples has been unavailable for comment. We received a tip that he would be turning himself in and posting bail Friday and took that opportunity to ask him for comment on the case.
I agree we probably could have done without the second mention in the story that Mr. Maples declined to comment. One response explained the former principal's position. The second reference may have appeared to be rubbing it in. Our hope, of course, was that he would talk in detail about the case and explain the situation to the public he was hired to serve.
Regarding the photograph, we always want to capture the images of the current news and avoid using old file pictures whenever possible. I grant you that no reasonable person would want to be photographed being arrested and posting bond, but we routinely look for such news images while covering the criminal justice system. Earlier in the week, we showed a suspect in the Saxet Lake homicide investigation.
I hope this helps you understand what we do and why. I share the sympathy you feel for a man who clearly has gone down a bad path in life. Please feel free to contact me again about any questions or suggestions you have. My new editor's blog is one more forum for having these important discussions.
Sincerely,
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Chris Cobler
Editor
Victoria Advocate
361-574-1271
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