EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK:

Something all readers should know is that no paper is perfect. And no newspaper staff thinks it is perfect, either.

Trust us. Staffers have daily occurrences that remind them the paper is not faultless. These come in the form of reader complaints, having a competing paper beat us on a story, having our own staff point out our fumbles, or that “Oh....no....� feeling that starts in your gut when you discover an error yourself.

But, the thing about newspaper staffs is that they always strive to do better. We try to be watchdogs for the community, and we, in turn, are appreciative when the community tells us what they think. When both sides are watching each other, the community wins. This was why the Independent held a “Chat with the Editors� meeting Aug. 14 at Mario’s in Huntington Beach.

The editors heard praise, complaints, comments and more from about a dozen members of the community.

First, the good. The readers at the meeting said they liked our political coverage and hoped to see more of it. Our political cartoonist received praise, as did our calendar section and editorials.

There were also several good ideas: recruiting opinion columnists (any volunteers?), putting an index on the front page, featuring voting record boxes on City Council stories and constructing a reader survey.

On to the critiques.

One reader didn’t like the fact that we print anonymous web comments on our front page. We agree that if someone writes us a letter to the editor, they should stand by their comments. This is why we still require identification for our Forum section.

The web, however, is different. As Managing Editor Brady Rhoades says, “The Internet is like the Wild West.�

Web comments help begin an informal discussion. The comments serve a purpose in that they start a debate that may not have happened had readers been required to identify themselves.

While we don’t ask for full names, the comments are monitored and we do require civility.

When it comes to increasing certain types of coverage, readers fell on both sides of the spectrum. Some wanted to see more coverage of positive events, while others wanted to see more coverage of negative events.

One reader asked if we had ever been asked to not report on an issue, suggesting that some city officials wanted to keep tourist dollars high and may have tried to cover up crime. We are not aware of any instances where this has happened.

But, I want to ensure readers we would not refrain from reporting crime simply because a city official was afraid of the implications.

As reporter Michael Alexander said, hearing “you can’t report this� usually has the opposite effect intended and makes journalists dig deeper.

We are in the business of shedding light on issues. And if there is an issue you feel we need to report on more, please let us know.

If you missed out on this chat, don’t worry. The Independent will be planning more of these meetings in the future, and we hope more readers will join us. And as always, if you have any questions or comments, send them my way.

JENNIFER FREHN is the Independent’s city editor. She may be reached at (714) 966-4629 or at [email protected].