FARTHING: Engaging open lines of contact

By Gina Farthing

Published: October 4, 2008

It seems almost everyone has a forum in which to share opinions these days. I, too, am getting my chance.
But rather than spew out what I think on subjects of interest to me, I’ve decided to use the time to help you, the community, get heard.
I receive requests, almost daily, from community members on how to have their information included. Therefore, Getting Heard will mainly be written from the features department bird’s-eye view.
Individuals who might require additional coaching, can send their questions to me. I’ll respond via this column so that all might have the opportunity to collect the information for future reference.
So, let’s begin.
I’ll start briefly with a departmental who’s who in the newsroom at The News Virginian. Readers can find our hierarchy with contact information on page A2 daily.
At the top is our General Manager and Editor Lee Wolverton.
He’s the main man, head honcho and chief bottle washer.
Lee is in charge of overseeing everything that goes on here at The News Virginian. He’s the go-to guy for the good, the bad and the ugly.
He’s the man who receives letters to the editor, hot news tips, complaints and compliments.
Working directly under Lee are three reporters: Bob Stuart, who writes about politics and education; Jimmy LaRoue, handling city governments and outdoor topics; and our newest cops and courts reporter, Tony Gonzales.
Jim Sacco is our lone convergence coordinator. That’s a fancy name for our online guy. He handles getting our Web presence into shape. He’s the point man when surfers of our site have questions or issues related to NewsVirginian.com.
The lifestyles department includes community submissions about education, living, entertainment, religion, civic news and calendar announcements. Lifestyles are handled by myself.
Sports is handled by Rob Sisk, our sports editor. He’s the one who receives local sports scores and along with Corine Gatti, his sports reporter, covers events such as football, basketball, volleyball and hunting.
Putting all our pages together nightly are our news editor, Ryan Falls, and copy editors Amy Poszywak and Alicia Rimel, who also assists in entering community submissions and writing human-interest stories.
Our photographer is Rosanne Weber, who shoots images for our top local stories and sports.
While all of us can receive any kind of news item at any time, it helps to consider the amount of submission ideas we receive daily. Therefore, it is optimal to the community to contacct the appropriate person.
News Virginian Features Editor Gina Farthing can be contacted at .