Media Participation Project

Frederick News Post

Life has a funny way of providing us with affirmation as we strive to understand the complicated world around us. Originally I planned to visit the Frederick News Post facility on Tuesday, November 19. When it became clear that I would have to wait until Thursday to meet with Chief Editor, Terry Headlee, I brushed off the delay as just another routine event that “happens” in life. Call it fate, destiny, or just dumb luck, but going to the Frederick News Post on Thursday turned out more important than foreseen.

I arrived at 351 Ballenger Center Drive, Frederick MD (Frederick News Post headquarters) at 9:15 a.m.. I was fifteen minutes late because I locked my keys in the house, but fortunately Mr. Headlee was completely understanding and quite friendly about the matter.  Upon arrival I was whisked into the newsroom and then Mr. Headlee’s office where he proceeded to explain the general layout of a Newspaper, but something was different about Thursday’s morning paper. The night prior, Wednesday November 20, a murder-suicide occurred in Lake Linganore, Frederick, leaving three victims dead and a five-year-old survivor.  The story forced a last minute meeting with the editor, publishers, and reporters, so that the front page of the newspaper could be redesigned to fit the new headline.

The buzz around the major headline continued as I reached the newsroom. I talked with Pete McCarthy; a reporter turned Digital/Community Engagement Editor, at 9:30. In the digital area of the newsroom, Mr. McCarthy explained the layout of the website, the importance of accuracy in the age of speedy social media, and the necessity of digital links for modern newspapers. On a large screen in the newsroom was a web page that displayed the exact number of people viewing the Frederick News Post website at every second and what they were viewing. The number reached a high of 1,000 views (three times the average number for 9:45 a.m.) due to the breaking murder-suicide headline.  

At 10:15 a.m. Mr. Headlee took me on a tour around the newspaper complex. After viewing a historical press exhibit, Mr. Headlee and I visited the printing machine room. The Frederick News Post owns a two-story printing machine that prints twelve different mid-Atlantic papers. Mr. Headlee explained that at 2 a.m. the Frederick News Post loading docks become a crazy assembly process. Trucks deliver the Washington Post, New York Times, and other papers to the building while the workers at the Frederick News Post deliver local and mid-Atlantic papers to thousands of subscribers all before breakfast.

After the tour, I returned to the newsroom where I meet with the City Editor Comfort Dorn, Reporter Courtney Mabeus, and Reporter Daniel Gross. While talking to Daniel Gross, who had just returned from the scene of the suicide-murder, I questioned Mr. Gross about how he contacts sources and follows leads. The most exciting part of the day came while I was talking with Mr. Gross. In the middle of our conversation, Mr. Gross received a tip from a fellow reporter and a call from the county’s Chief of Police. Getting to witness a story in action was thrilling.

The day concluded in the Features and Editorial departments. In Features, Karen Garnder explained the designing aspects of the human-interest pieces that are among the pages of the Frederick News Post. Following the Features section, I meet with Editorial Page Editor Cliff Cumber who had a lot of great information about taking reporting skills to the next level in the editorial section of the newspaper. Mr. Cumber explained, in his posh British accent (accentuated by the framed picture of Queen Elizabeth on his desk), that the editorial page has two jobs; one is to create a forum for debate and the other is to reflect the public opinions of the designated area. Cumber continued saying, “The job of the newspaper, and even the media, is to hold up a mirror and reflect the public.”

I had a wonderful experience at the Frederick News Post. Not only did I feel completely welcome, I felt a strong urge to sit down a begin writing for the Frederick News Post. My positive experience was heightened by the murder-suicide headline, but remained due to the overwhelming passion I felt from the employees of the Frederick News Post. My Media Participation Project was great affirmation that I am headed down the right career path.