Old News

Here's how to make your job a lot easier if you're in the newspaper business: run old news.

This morning's ADN has an extensive article on the recent ruling by a FERC judge that the tariffs on oil flowing through the pipeline should be reduced. This a ruling that could have a tremendous impact on the state's bottom line. The ADN didn't write this particular article but we'll give 'em credit for giving the issue coverage.

One problem: the ruling is two weeks old! The plucky little Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had some nice coverage of this issue two weeks ago when the ruling was, you know, made public.

If you look at the ADN story again, you'll see there's no reference to time. It fails to answer the important "W" question reporters ask of "when." Clearly, someone in the money pages at the ADN was a bit short of content and stuck this in to fill the pages.

The ADN clearly subscribes to the theory that news is like wine: the older it is, the better it gets.