Respect your elders, says Mutter

Alan D. Mutter, media and technology consultant and blogger behind Reflections of a Newsosaur, reminds editors at newspapers to be mindful not only when referring to individuals of different races, religions, genders, sexual orientation, physical capabilities or mental capacities, but of those aged 55 and over in his latest post.

Mutter provides some examples of ‘Chronological Incorrectness’ he found in the New York Times in which reporters described members of an older generation as “lucid” or “spry” perhaps implying that the elderly are more likely to be doddering feeble folk rather than mentally and physically capable contributors to society.

He also refers to some surveys conducted by Greg Harmon of Belden Interactive (an online research and consulting firm) which found that two-thirds of the visitors to newspaper sites said they visited the site because they were readers of the print newspaper.

As many newspapers turn to the Internet to diversify their audience and gain new readership, it would be wise to remember that the majority of their readers online are the very same readers of their print editions.

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/08/note-to-editors-respect-your-elders.html