Some users assume journalists sensationalize news to make money. In this example, the accusation was direct: “Standard, has your marketing department worked out how many unique impressions and page views you get per dead kid?” The staff used the opportunity to explain the reasoning behind why they cover certain stories, what requirements a story needs to meet in order to be relevant, and how their advertising department is separate from their newsroom. The commenter wanted them to make promises they couldn’t make, but the news organization said it felt the back and forth with the commenter and the newsroom’s explanations helped others better understand their news priorities and how they make decisions.
