He examines and responds to comments and complaints about the Globe's news and editorial content, and keeps the Globe staff aware of feedback.

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Does a criminal deserve so much publicity?

The last thing Kevin Weeks needs from the Globe's ombudsman is more publicity for his just-released book, but the angry reaction from some readers over the amount of ink and airtime he got from the newspaper and its website deserves attention.

Weeks, a former lieutenant to South Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, is out of prison and out peddling a book about his life and times as a mobster doing the dirty work for Boston's most notorious and mysterious gangster.
But some readers wondered whether a convicted murderer deserved to be treated as a cause celebre by the Globe. In addition to the book review and lengthy news story written by veteran crime reporter Shelley Murphy, who arranged an interview with Weeks, there were items in the Globe's gossip columns (about his book signings) and mentions in columns by Brian McGrory and Alex Beam.
Weeks was also invited to participate in an online chat on boston.com.
Too much PR for a thug?

I'm certain that some consideration was given to the propriety of running a story on Kevin Weeks in the Globe, as part of what is apparently a publicity campaign for his new book.
I urge you to think again, giving more time to reflect upon the families of his victims, including those who were intimidated into giving up businesses, houses, money ... etc. Shame on you all. It is disheartening that the Globe would stoop to this for what must be a very small amount of click-through revenue with Amazon. Story here
Kevin Weeks is famous because he inflicted substantial damage on society, given that he is but one person. THAT is the story -- not the graphic detail of some lurid tell-all.
It is embarrassing, and sad that this is what it's come to: stories pitched by book publicists, instead of thought up by editors. Since that seems to be lacking, here's my idea for a follow-up story:
* A report on how newspapers shape public perceptions of criminal behavior by focusing on the spectacle of the crimes, instead of the impact; (your ongoing series on Boston's skyrocketing homicide rate is far better journalism);
* Some detail on the amount of Mr. Weeks' book advance;
* the discrepancy between Mr. Weeks' current financial situation and that of a random selection of 10 of his victims
I'm not going to hold my breath on such a public mea culpa; but I do hope it deprives you of a little sleep, and creates unease for your conscience.
No more puff pieces on violent criminals raking it in through book contracts, please.
Dan Sutton
Massachusetts

Weeks's story is compelling enough to write about but the amount of space he got last week from the Globe and Boston.com seemed excessive. But it should be noted that this wasn't some coordinated campaign by the newspaper. Columnists like McGrory and Beam often decide for themselves what to write about and they often address news-related events and people.

What I found most troubling about the Weeks story was that the online version provided a live link by clicking on the book's name in the story to Amazon.com, where readers could then purchase the book. The story did disclose to the reader that Boston.com received a small percentage of each sale made through the link.

I've asked directors at Boston.com to more fully explain this affiliation and the decision to put the link in the text of a story (which would never appear in the newspaper). I haven't been able to get anyone here to comment publicly, but the general message has been that the link is a way to make it easier for readers to buy the book if they want.

While I understand that much of the internet's appeal is convenience, I think the idea of providing a link in the text of a news story is not a good journalistic practice. It can easily leave readers wondering whether the reporter (or the Globe) is trying to promote sales of the book (or whatever else is being offered for sale).
There are other ways of offering readers convenience - all of them should be separate from the text of a news story to prevent any chance for confusion or misinterpretation by the reader.