Why I Gave Up On Deborah Howell

Back when I was writing her regularly, Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell always responded to my inquiries and criticism in a professional and cordial way. Considering the quantity and hostility of the emails and phone calls and blogging that she puts up with, I always appreciated that and still do.

But her column today comparing coverage on the pro-life and antiwar protests, Dissatisfaction on the Marches, illustrates why I eventually decided it wasn't worth the candle:

Several readers complained that the story on the Jan. 22 antiabortion march was underplayed and that the Jan. 27 antiwar march was overplayed. John Billing of Ocean Pines, Md., was succinct: "Last week, The Post covered the pro-life march in Washington on Page A10. Today, the Post covered the antiwar march in Washington in the middle of Page 1, above the fold. No bias? B.S."..

As for display in The Post, the antiabortion march is always on Jan. 22, the date of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that led to legal abortion. This is the 34th anniversary of that decision and not a reason to put the event on Page 1 in my book.

The controversy surrounding the Iraq war, the turnover in Congress and President Bush sending more troops to Iraq made the antiwar march worth Page 1. The Post has been criticized in the past for underplaying antiwar marches.

And we've had how many antiwar marches?

But the problem--the typical problem--wasn't just placing a single pro-life story on A10 and a single antiwar march on A1. Even if the first is about 750 words long, the second, 1,400.

As I said at the time,  the antiwar march coverage consisted of:

• Thousands Protest Bush Policy on top of A1 with banner photo
• Student Protestors, Fighting Image of Apathy, Call for a Cohesive Movement on A8, the rest of the page filled with a Views of the March photo diary, and
• Fonda Reprises A Famous Role on D1.

And while Howell, I believe, has reduced her coverage of washingtonpost.com, the imbalance continued there: There's video from both. But the antiwar-march photo gallery has 15 shots, all of them antiwar. The photo gallery for the anti-abortion march: 8 photos, consisting of 5 highlighting the pro-life marchers and 3 showing counter-protesters. And The Voices From The Protest feature for the antiwar march can't be compared to its pro-life equivalent because there isn't one.

So, no point in writing her. I can get the same kind of analysis without lifting a finger. Every day, thanks to home delivery.