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http://www.omniture.com --> Mail Tribune Blogs --> --> And we’re off … er, Play Ball! … er, Gentlemen, start your … » The first blog Posted by Bob Hunter I feel a bit like Gutenberg watching his first work roll off the press, although I suspect he may have been more comfortable in his abilities to print than I am in mine to blog. Nevertheless, off we go. I’ll start with a topic that’s taking up a lot of our time (and the time of newspaper editors everywhere) and that’s the explosion of technology that’s sweeping over the news business. We’ve had a couple of meetings just this week to discuss where we’re headed in this brave new 24-7 news world — and we still don’t know for sure. But things are changing rapidly: We ran video on our Web site Wednesday and today we’re unveiling our first blogs. OK, I know, I know, we’re tragically behind in the race through the blogosphere, but hey, now we’ve at least moved out of park and into first gear. I hope this blog will be a place where I can answer some questions about how we do things on the news side at the Mail Tribune, but when it comes to technology and what we ought to be doing online I may be asking more questions than giving answers. We think our online reporting can add new dimensions to how we cover stories, by bringing in other media forms (video, audio, etc) and by involving more people in the conversation. But there are no doubt ideas that haven’t even occurred to us. If you’ve got an idea, let me know — better yet, share it on this blog and help get the conversation started. All ideas gratefully accepted (OK, maybe not the one about my head ending up in a place where the sun don’t shine.) Let’s reword that to all CONSTRUCTIVE ideas gratefully accepted. Let me know what you think by adding a comment below or dropping me an e-mail at [email protected] . -30- (That’s a newspaper thing — some old ways die hard.) This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 5:31 pm and is filed under From the Editor . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site. 4 Responses to “The first blog” John Darling Says: February 2nd, 2007 at 9:09 am Nice blog, Bob. Welcome to the blogosphere. I must agree. I think we are looking at a paperless 24/7 news-sphere within the decade, something that shares a lot of qualities with a tv station and its live, constantly replenishing movies, but augmented by the same in-depth written treatment. And people will read it on their ipod, as well as laptop. Let us step off into this brave new world and hope it finds ways to pay for the immense value it provides. Steve McDaniel Says: February 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 am Way to go Bob! You may be the next internet Phenom. I have contacted Rosie O’Donnell to let her know that you are definitely someone she needs to be worried about. I hope she doesn’t think of you as the next Donald Trump. But if she does, you will be the king of Blogs James Armstrong Says: February 2nd, 2007 at 11:37 am Congratulations. The world has changed, and it’s nice to see its mirror, the media, change along with it. Journalism’s principles remain the same, in that the field is dedicated to sharing the truth with the people, but how that truth is disseminated begs for a radically different approach. While the older generation is accustomed to the old news format, the present (not future - it’s already here) demands a different type of storytelling. We don’t need the filter of the journalist at all times. We have the technology to capture news and stories from the source, and to tell those stories through video, photographs, audio slideshows, etc… The written word is no longer all there is, but is now just an equal part in a much grander scheme. We want to hear the stories straight out of the mouth’s of the people they happened to. We demand pictures at least, and tasteful video that has been edited down in most cases so that we don’t have to waste our time wondering why the “journalist” turned cameraperson has so much extraneous material. So, welcome, Mail Tribune. Thank you for joining the wave of the present. It is a tremendous responsibility, to be the light bearer in a world where to most the information is kept in the dark. Let’s remember that the stories we share become the focus of the masses. The power of the people determine our reality, and we bear an incredibly important burden as the lens that illuminates the potential paths that humans may take. When we focus on fear, terror, and violence, that is what comes to be expected, is accepted, and is chosen as our reality. If we shift our focus, and let it rest on the powerful and inspiring stories of the good in the community, we begin to see a change, toward the peace that we all desire, but have been taught to be too cynical to actually expect that it may materialize. To first gear. Now that we’re moving, let’s forget that we’ve been parked for far too long. Terry Branch Says: February 3rd, 2007 at 7:44 pm Would like to know why there isnt more in the papers about the LNG pipeline that they are trying to put across Oregon, and what reporter is covering it. Please let me know. Leave a Reply Mail Tribune Blogs is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS) .