Romenesko

Raleigh News & Observer
The News & Observer last week described a rape suspect as "being in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-1 and wearing a black do-rag, a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans." Were people supposed to be looking for a white man? Black? Latino? Asian? The paper didn't say. "I don't think in this community the description of someone as black or white is as meaningful as it once was," says N&O managing editor John Drescher. Poynter's Keith Woods adds: "All Irish-Americans don't look alike. Why then, accept a description that says a suspect was African-American?"More editor/ombud columns:
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> Times-Union accepts full-page ad that some say smells of a scam (T-U)
> Dixie Chicks' awards don't make first edition, bias charges lodged (PD)
> Global warming story doesn't quote a skeptic, nobody complains (U-T)
> How an embarrassing Page One mistake was made in a WP story (WP)
> NYTer: Big Media aren't dumb and blind; they're catching on (AA-S)
> Fancher invites Seattle Times readers to discuss Newspaper Next (ST)