Man Bites Dog (II): Editor Knocks Focus Groups   

Rich Oppel has been a print guy his entire career. He spent 19 years with Knight-Ridder, with stints as editor of the Charlotte Observer and as Knight-Ridder Washington bureau chief. In July he took over as editor of Cox's Austin American-Statesman.

Now he's ventured into the world of the electronic media, filming eight 30-second and three 10-second television commercials in which he tells Austin residents about his approach to newspapering.

In one of the spots Oppel, 52, takes aim at a tool much cherished these days by top newspaper managers: the focus group. "I'm not big on editors who edit a newspaper according to focus groups," says Oppel, sitting behind his desk looking directly into the camera. "Or editors who try to guess what the readers want. If I go to see a brain surgeon, I'm not gonna be very impressed if he or she asks me how I want the surgery done."

In another, Oppel, whose on-air performance poses no threat to Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, tells viewers a newspaper has to be outrageous every once in a while. "If I'm doing my job right, I'll bring you out of your seat from time to time," says the editor, who stars solo in all eleven ads. "You'll be angry. You'll be upset. But a newspaper that tries to please everyone all the time and offend no one won't be a very interesting newspaper."

Oppel is also critical of newspapers that allow anything but straight news on their news pages. "I don't want to know the political or social beliefs of the reporter," he says in another commercial. "Opinion and commentary belong on the editorial pages. Not on the news pages. These are two different things. Count on me to keep them separate."

Some of Oppel's remarks sound like an attack on the public or civic journalism movement, an effort to "reconnect" news organizations to their communities and heighten the civic involvement of newspapers and broadcast outlets. Among other things, public journalism stresses focus groups and the need to help communities reach consensus. Critics say its determination to help localities solve their problems can blur the line between news and editorial pages. Knight-Ridder is closely identified with the movement and the Charlotte Observer, under Oppel's leadership, was a pioneer.

So are Oppel's ads a parting shot against his former employer?

"No," Oppel says. "Knight-Ridder was very good to me. I didn't leave with any bitterness to them. But I think there may be too much attention to coming up with a homogeneous view of the news based on research rather than editors making decisions for traditional values in journalism."

Oppel's foray into television advertising involved a crew of 14 setting up in his office for one long day in late August. It took 73 takes and a change of shirts before Austin's Lee Tilford Agency completed the spots.

Why the media blitz? "I did it because it gives some concrete voice and face to the change at the paper," Oppel says. "In hiring me, the publisher wanted a change in the paper. One way to convey it is for me to get on the air and talk about values and beliefs in journalism."

So was a good time had by all? "It was arduous," Oppel says of the filming, "but quite educational."