Yesterday Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli took questions from the newspaper’s readers in a live chat. The questions covered covered Mr. Brauchli’s editorial priorities and the Post‘s direction online, among other things. A few excerpts here.
On where Mr. Brauchli is putting his reporting “firepower”: “…distinctive journalism that matters most to our readers: coverage of politics and national issues that will have an impact on Washington.”
On covering polls: “Polls, like studies and surveys, indeed do drive a lot of journalism these days.”
In response to a reader who was concerned that his or her traffic patterns online would give Post editors the wrong idea about his or her favorite sections because he or she reads those in print: “You don’t need to worry.”
On sports coverage: “The columns and blogs we publish about the Redskins are among the most widely read on the site every day.”
In response to a question about why the Post has prioritized international coverage over domestic news: “I dispute the premise of your comment.”
On email and text news alerts: “If you want weather or traffic alerts, we can do that, too.”
On deleting offensive comments: “We’re slower at that than we should be.”
On competition over local news: “Other so-called micro-local sites have come into the Washington area…”
On an alternative business model to growing traffic and selling advertising: “We’d probably consider it.”
