AnnArbor.com's blogging leader's insights shared

Ben LaMothe finally posts his Q&A with Ed Vielmetti, AnnArbor.com's blogging leader. The interview includes answers about about Ed's role, how local businesses are affected by the closing of the Ann Abor News and how Ed's background in economics, not journalism, helps him approach AnnArbor.com (Ben, a native Michigander who graduated from Central Michigan University in May 2008, wrote this for Econsultancy, which has its headquarters in London.

(While I'm chatting about Ann Arbor, Joe Grimm interviews Mary Morgan about her online ventures since leaving the Ann Arbor News in his ongoing series of what journalists do after newspapers.)

Advance choose Microsoft over Yahoo

Advance Internet, which includes the Advance Publication newspapers, made its press release on "expanding local advertising offerings with Microsoft Media Network" public.

As Ken Doctor reported, the agreement means Advance Internet

• Can offer its local advertisers access to Microsoft's advertising network, Microsoft Media Network;
• Will switch to Microsoft content and search ads within articles.
• Can sell Microsoft's search products.

Paid Content reported that includes ads on the Bing search pages.

Kevin Anderson, who worked for mlive.com in 1997-98, focused on Doctor's conclusion that newspapers are losing the local online advertising market in his post for The Digital Content blog.

Greg Sterling focused on how the choice is a rejection of Yahoo in a post on Screenwerk.

Back to school for the newspaper sales consultants.

Microsoft takes major steps into news business; Advance Publications team to offer local businesses more options

Big news day on news for Microsoft - a new agreement with Advance Internet's network of local sites and indirectly through msnbc.com, which announced its acquisition of EveryBlock, the block-level aggregation of news application.

Ken Doctor wrote about the Advance Internet partnership on Seeking Alpha:, which he says covers all of the private company's newspapers. It means Advance Internet and the newspapers' sales folks will sell into Microsoft Media Network, (Doctor recommends this explanation; here's a link to the Microsoft pubCenter.)

The move expands the growing emphasis that the newspaper sales force can help local firms grow their businesses on the best medium, offering marketing solutions beyond print. It is one more tool for the newspaper sales representatives who became sales consultants - at least in title - at least five years ago.

Doctor - the first to report the agreement - also says the partnership gives Advance access to Microsoft ad technologies such as behavioral targeting and the ability to follow customers as they move about on the web.

He also says the deal means that Advance will replace its Google ads with Microsoft text ads through its paid search and contextual-reading ad products. Doctor also talks about Advance Internet's effort in search engine marketing and what this all means in his post.

msnbc.com, which is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, says EveryBlock, which now offers information in 15 cities, will continue as an independent brand. The web-based application lets anyone type in an address, neighborhood or ZIP code to access to public records, news articles and web content.

Knight Foundation funded EveryBlock's first two years , but the Knight News Challenge grant ended in June.

Founder Adrian Holovaty shares his excitement and observation in a blog post. that assures much will stay the same in the microlocal effort. That includes Holovay and the team's five staff members staying in Chicago.

The team began working in July 2007, launched Chicago, New York and San Francisco in January 2008; added Charlotte and Philadelphia six months later; brought up Boston, Seattle, Washington, DC and Los Angeles in August 2008; and Miami-Dade and San Jose in
October 2008. Beta sites for Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit and Houston. were launched in June 2009.

All good news for Microsoft and I think good news for Advance Internet newspaper sites. Here's hoping it becomes easier for local businesses people reading their local news sites to contact local sales consultants. ( See Advertising wraps Oregonian front page for more on that rant.) Do you think the partnership increases the chances of the *.live.com sites getting the EveryBlock application into its sites?)

Blogger: Advertising wraps The Oregonian's front page

(Copy of newspaper courtesy of the Oregon Catalyst)

You cannot miss this: Advertising wraps The Oregonian's front page

The groundbreaking ad placement in the Sunday newspaper even merited an editor's column, complete with a mandatory mention of hard times.

Oregon Media Central sends us to The Oregonian's executive editor Peter Bhatia Editors' Blog for an explanation about the Advance Publication's first front-page spadea ad, which is an ad that folds around the spine of a newspaper.

Bhatia says such ads "will become more regular" on the front page, after having long been featured on comics pages. .

Oregon Media Central pulled the graphic here as a sample illustration from the Advertiser Resources section of The Oregonian's website, which describes the ads as "printed on both sides, covering half of a section's front page and all of the back," combining "impossible-to-miss, front-page positioning with full-page merchandising."


In his column, Bhatia says this type of ad is "becoming more common in newspapers," and that "ads like these pay for the news staff." he is careful to explain that such ads don't take away from the newshole.

I first wrote "Coming to a newspaper near you, I am sure." But then I thought I'd spotcheck some other Newhouse newspaper sites to see if that advertising product was available. The June 2009 Flint Journal ratebook lists rates only for a comic spadea. The Jackson Citizen Patriot's online ratecard does not list any spadeas. I couldn't get the Grand Rapids Press advertising products page to open. I. couldn't find advertising rates for the Muskegon Chronicle. Over on the east code, I don't think The Syracuse Post Standard or Star-Ledger offer spadeas. I can say without a doubt that the average small business owner wanting to place an ad in a print newspaper via an Advance Publications web page would need a lot of determination and time to figure out how to do it. That's a shame.

Looking online uncovers basic differences, missing links and opportunities

Going online to learn more about the former Newhouse News Service reporter who just died in Afghanistan uncovered a few things I hate.

It was interesting to see how many sources differed on what I would consider basics - the name of Bill Cahir's wife, when he became a Marine, when he was overseas and his employers.

It's a shame that Cahir's family will miss many of the wonderful messages left online. I know of tools to aggregate what I've said across the Internet or find comments with a key phrase. I've yet to discover the tool that pulls together all comments from all that's been written about Bill since he was killed this week.

I don't understand why online operations replace accurate content with newer content in the same space? One Pennsylvania news site, for instance. changed its story at the same web address at least four times. There was one quote that was only in the first and fourth versions. I'd prefer separate stories with links back to the older stories or at least a note saying updated.

At least those sites were updated. I was surprised to learn that some newspapers in the Advance Publications system still wait until the print edition hits the streets. That meant some of the best stories about Bill Cahir lost potential links from other sites.

I'm shocked at how many sites didn't include links to the best coverage on the web, much less links back to their previous stories about Bill.

Since Bill worked for Newhouse, why wouldn't the Newhouse sites have links to a joint photo gallery, Bill's first person account of boot camp, columns from those who worked with him, a July 14 Associated Press that included quotes from Cahir, and a basic bio or timeline. There even was the opportunity to link to some of Cahir's work, some of it now in the paid archives.

But then, who pays for linkers, right?

Jim Six, whom I accidentally met through Facebook, is angry about bigger things and writes about it in "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."

It's a line from Bill Cahir, and the column is about Six' anger about Cahir's death and the war in Afghanistan. Jim and Bill worked together for about 10 years through Gloucester County Times, part of the Advance Publications network, publishing on nj.com

In his latest column, Six asks "Why are the Afghanis not more involved in fighting for their right to vote, or to rid themselves of the totalitarian Taliban? You have to ask after awhile, why are U.S. and NATO commanders tying the hands of their warriors and painting bull's eyes on their camo uniforms? "

But do not peg Six as antimilitary. He had just written about an upcoming picnic for veterans in Recognizing another hero.

By the way, NBCWashington is reporting that a memorial has been set up by the Burke and Herbert Bank for Bill's wife and twins-to-be, due in December.

Leighvalleylive.com has more photos and links John Barna of the Gloucester County Times finished up his article on Cahir.

The NBCWashington interview that includes a reporter speaking with Bill's father and Deborah Howell, one of Bill's bosses at the Newhouse News Service bureau in Washington D.C.

Passion drove former Newhouse reporter killed in Afghanistan

Bill Cahir did not slide through life. The Marine sergeant who worked for the Newhouse Washington D.C. bureau, let passion drive him into politics, into journalism, into the military, into politics and to a company whre he hoped to make change happen. He didn't always win, but he kept doing what he thought was right.

Cahir of the 4th Civil Affairs Group, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Washington D.C. "was killed in Afghanistan's Helmand Province Thursday by a single gunshot while conducting combat operations on a dismounted patrol. "

Co-workers shared memories online in news stories, blog posts and on Facebook, recalling the 40-year-old's high journalism standards, his passion for politics and his personal mission to do what is right. It was hard to stop following the links, to stop reading, to stop smiling even while knowing his family and friends are grieving.

Bill almost enlisted three times before finally joining the Marine Reserves at age 34 in Oct. 2003 He served two tours in Iraq. He didn't have to be in Afghanistan. But he was.

No decision made easily

The Pennsylvania native talked to a lot people before he left politics in 1995 for journalism, before he joined the Marines in October 2003, before he left journalism in January 2008 for an unsuccessful run for Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.

I suspect there was a lot talking before he and Rene E. Browne, a business litigation lawyer in Washington D.C., married three years ago, and again when they learned they were expecting twin girls.

He talked, he listened and then he made up his own mind.

David Wood, who started working with Bill in 1999 in Washington D.C., posted this:

"Bill Cahir struggled so openly with the conflicting responsibilities of home and family, and service to his country. With painful honesty, he went hard at the difficult issues that many of us choose to ignore."

Jim Barnett, who started working with him in 2000, wrote this in a post that talked mostly about the goodness of a traditional journalist who worked for many bosses and asked the right questions:

"When we last talked at length, shortly before his announcement to run for Congress, I was surprised, but also not. He was unhappy with the conduct of the war, and he wanted to do something about it. This was Bill's new mission, and he was doing it his way - at the front line, working passionately and methodically."

Back to politics

The Harrisburg Patriot-News profiled Cahir when he resigned to run for the Congressional seat in 2008. Brett Lieberman, who had worked in the same office with Bill for eight years, explained that running meant a move from northern Virginia back to his birthplace Bellefonte.

"I think as an Iraq veteran, I offer a unique perspective. As a journalist, I've covered federal education, transportation and health care issues in detail, and I'm opposed to the tolling of I-80. I want to stop the tolling of interstates in Pennsylvania and across the country.... I am personally energized."

Loss leads to consulting

LeHigh Valley Live caught up with him after he lost in the three-way primary race to find out what was next. His answer:

"My journalism career is over. I'll talk to the Marine Corps and see what they want me to do and talk to my wife and see what she wants me to do."

David Woods wrote:

"He didn't win, but he didn't sulk, and after it was over he landed a job as a consultant in the private sector (Booz Allen Hamilton) while remaining in the Marine Corps reserves. Bill Cahir found nobility in military service and exulted in it."

Fought to be a Marine

Getting into the military, when you are old, overweight and facing other obstacles isn't easy.

"...other recruits would taunt him at boot camp for being a decade older than them. ... drill instructors would give him a hard time for being a college graduate and ... newspaper reporter... "

Politico and the Washington Post interviewed Deborah Howell, Cahir’s bureau chief at Newhouse before she left for the Post. She recalled how the Sept. 11 attacks inspired Cahir to enlist in the Marine Reserves at age 34.

Politico wrote it this way:

"Howell called Cahir's determination to enter the Marine Corps a late calling in his life. Despite her attempts to talk him out of it, she said Cahir was steadfast in his decision to enlist.

"He just had to do it. And finally, you know, you just have to say I understand you have to do this," Howell said. "He regretted nothing."

Howell told the Post about attending Bill's wedding several years ago, remembering how touched he was by the gift his fellow soldiers gave him, a sword to wear with his dress uniform.

Running for answers

David Wood recalled Bill's dilemma, discussed during lunchtime runs:

"Clearly, the excitement, adventure and camaraderie he imagined of military service attracted him. He felt deeply that he owed something to his country. He wanted to be part of a measured American response to Islamist extremism, and he could think of no way he could better contribute than joining the military."

Yet Bill knew, as he shared in a first person account of boot camp published in his former newspaper on July 4, 2004, that he'd be a private first class facing a pay cut, taking orders from younger men and almost certainly heading to the Middle East.
Cahir almost joined the military after college, after working a few years and after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

"In October 2003, the recruiter asked the decisive question: In the future, would I look back and regret my inaction if I didn't enlist?"

Former Marine knew Bill's challenges

Paul McHale, who Bill had covered when he was a congressman and then former assistant secretary of defense, recalled Cahir discussing the idea with him and how they grew to become friends. McHale, clearly shook by the news, knew that Bill "was in a particularly tough area in a particularly tough region." Bill's job as a civil affairs officer also was challenging. McHale told the Express Times:

"He was a community organizer while carrying a pack and a rifle.

The Express Times's interview with McHale helps me understand more what Bill faced on his latest tour. It's also an illustration of the rich relationships that can develop as a result of a reporting relationship.

When you read all the comments left on blog postings and articles, you learn that Bill did what had to be done, changing direction when necessary.

The Pennsylvania native, who once was a newspaper carrier, left the Capitol to start his journalism career. After graduating from Penn State in 1990, Cahir worked for Sen. Robert Kennedy and the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, helping on the Family and Medical Leave Act. In 1993, Cahir joined Senator Harris Wofford's staff, where he worked on health care reform legislation until the Wofford's retirement in 1995.

Moving into journalism

He worked for the The Southampton Press for a year before moving to the Education Daily before moving to the Newhouses' Advance Publications newspapers and news services in 1999.

The Washington Bureau once had 24 employees, including 11 reporters like Bill who wrote for specific newspapers. Bill wrote the Capital Cahir blog and worked for these Advance Publications: The Express-Times, Gloucester County Times, The News of Cumberland County and Today's Sunbeam, all New Jersey-based newspapers owned by Advance Publications, according to a post on NJ.com.

Bill left the Newhouse Washington D.C. Bureau in January 2008 to run for Congress; long before the bureau's closing was announced in July, before the actual closing on Nov. 7, 2008.
His current civilian job was senior consultant for organization and strategy at Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and technology consulting firm based in McLean,

The Washington Post also wrote about Andy Rosenberg, who met Bill working on Kennedy’s Senate labor committee (Bill was one of Andy's groomsman) now the spokesman for Bill's wife, his parents Mary Anne and John Cahir, two sisters and a brother.

"Bill was an extraordinary person in every respect and truly exemplified the very best of our country. Every part of his life was devoted to helping others, and he ultimately gave his life in this pursuit. Bill will be missed terribly by his loving wife, his wonderful family and his many, many friends."

He'll be missed by many. Reading about Bill and his decision making helped me understand a bit more about my brother who is a Marine and a nephew now in the Air Force. The beauty of the Internet.

Will you say sorry if I learn how to say I am unemployed?

The most unusual letter - a rejection letter - came to this household.

Unfortunately, it is the letter and not the rejection that is unusual in a household where three people have sought jobs in the last eight months Why is that? Why is it that potential employers can't, don't or won't take the time to even say "Thank you for applying. We have filled the job."

If I have applied online, how difficult is it to send me an email? If you had me come in, I'd be happy to get a postcard. You can even slip it in with your paper application, I'll address it and you can check the appropriate line:

___ We filled the position with someone else
___ We decided we can't afford to fill the position

The silence is especially perplexing to me if we have had a past relationship. I don't expect that just because we have worked together before means I will get the job. A simple "we found someone" would be so polite when we've worked together, served on committees, shared projects and pasts.

Instead, I learn of rejection via LinkedIn, Twitter, press releases and news stories. At least I know to stop waiting in hope of a positive response.

This post from JibberJobber Learn How To Say You Are Unemployed talks about a friend who is in a job search. The friend is mad, hurt, wounded, depressed, sad, and feels incompetent.

But really, he's MAD - mad at the people responsible for his need to seek a job. That could make his search difficult, dimming his chance for success, the writer says

JibberJobber explains how to talk about being unemployed, the last job and why you were let go:

• Be concise.
• Be positive as you tell "your side" of the story and talk about your former boss..
• Make an impression about YOU.

That's my summary of the JibberJobber post in a blog I have found helpful in this change of life.

Fortunately, I am surrounded with family and friends. A lively discussion on the radio recently started when a woman revealed a first date went flat when she learned the engineer was laid off.

She was careful to say he was upbeat, good looking, and more. But unemployment wiped out all of the pluses despite the fact that this. couple lived in Michigan, unemployment capitol of the nation. She had no interest in sticking around to see if he found a new job, got called back or could live on his assets without a job.

I wondered if he should have waited to say he was laid off - I have watched the sparkle leave a person's eyes when they learn you are not collecting a regular paycheck. But I admire his honesty. I am what I am what I am.

Still, after reading "how to say I am unemployed" I wondered if he had been "concise, positive, and focused" on who he is besides unemployed. Oh well, at least he did not read of his rejection online. I hope he didn't have the radio on.

Assistant photo director from Ann Arbor sad

Erin O'Neill, who grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, aka A town without a newspaper, looks at the city's newspaper's death and the birth of AnnArbor.com

She is the assistant director of photography for the Missourian and a graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism so you can understand her disappointment that only two of the staff members are listed as photo journalists. (Read more about why the two were hired.)

Hint: She's written about photos before, as in "Show me the photos" and "the problem with Facebook photos." The long-time photographer puts her photos in another blog, preferring to hone selection skills over boring someone with too many photos from the same event

Community keeps its newspaper going

LedeObserver follows up on a community's reaction to the attempted closing of the Birmingham Eccentric in Michigan.

I'd written of the early struggle in Citizens won't let newspaper stop printing and 5 Bs still hoping so I enjoyed hearing more about the effort's success and the possibility of some of the newspaper's online content pushed behind a you-must-pay wall.

New family softly launches Portfolio

The American Business Journals quietly kicked up its work on the now-online-only Portfolio, a business magazine that until this spring was part of the Conde Nast organization.

J. Jennings Moss, the former deputy editor and new editor, announced the start, though some postings had continued even after one part of the Advance Publications family had pulled the plug. (Portfolio had posts about the death of the chairman of the business journals and his son stepping into the top role.)

We're promised that the new Portfolio will "dig deeper into selected industries—health care, technology, banking and finance, advertising and marketing, media, aviation, and more—and will present a wider range of stories from across the nation."

The looks at media include the new Pressed blog by Matt Haber (see the latest posts on Michael Jackson's conservative benefactor and Hip-Hop is not Dead-- he actually first posted July 31) and Numberology, "a fun interactive look at a number in the news.

Heavy Doses by Brett Chase tackles the business of health care in posts such as "Insurers pass the buck."

Advance opinions: Open eyes, dignified hats, virtual running

Grand Rapids Press editor Paul Keep tells how a mother listening to her son ensures the news organization was on top of a story in a column about "Keeping our eyes and ears open for a good story."

David Mayo is back writing, the latest on Curtis Granderson joining the 30-30 club.

Speaking of coming is a guy who once worked for The Flint Journal but moved on to the Star-Ledger in New Jersey. Barry Carter is calling for the "return of the fashionable, dignified hat." Tuesday's column goes further south - a plea for teens to pull up those sagging pants.
(Remember when that was a Flint concern and Flint Journal blogger Andrew Heller came up with a solution.)

While I'm over at NJ.com, I remembered I never shared that columnist Kathleen O'Brien is off on a leave. However, she's also blogging as energy permits in "We'll know more on Monday." It's a phrase familiar to those waiting diagnoses. In this case, O'Brien has cancer and you'll want to start with "my blog, my breast, my rules."

Cancer gets a mention by the Jersey Guy because a friend of his has the little c. The next day he zeros in on tragic news in his back yard, able to find a positive, a lesson that might make lake living safer. Timely post on water safety tips from a lifesaving professional on Omamas, a blog of "journalist moms working for you" in Oregon.

In New Orleans, Twitter has seduced another journalist.

In Oregon, it's End of life care: A new way to die rich. Or go give Jack Ohman a caption for his latest cartoon. You can even watch a video on how he draws while you are there. (He's the guy who won the RFK Award for editorial cartoons in June.)

Did you know that in states like Tennessee and Alabama, kids are already back in school. Press-Register columnist Frances Coleman says that starting school this early should be a crime.

I thought I'd found the perfect way to run - a virtual race - until I learned you still do the running.

Blogger advises news staff to "Blog it or report it"

Gordon Young, a freelance journalist who blogs as The Flint Expatriates, gives four hints to help The Flint Journal help its readers know the difference between a blog post and an article that happens to be online.

Perhaps his distance will encourage staff to think about shaping the blogs into blogs.

Young suggests:

• Hire a blogger or two to comment and aggregate on what the reporters are doing. I'd amend it to to aggregate what the community is saying, too. I prefer drinking filtered water, not fresh from the river at times, and had high hopes that Blogging and Talking would continue.
  
• Make the blogs look different from the rest of the online site. In other words, let the personality shine through.
• Stop running hard news in blogs. In some cases, I think a blog can break hard news if the blogger has developed the story. At The Flint Journal, there's a better way to present news. I think that even the name of some of the blogs indicates the lack of a clear vision for what to expect.
  
• Let bloggers use news from all sources. Actually, from what I can tell the bloggers are using all sources. I'm just not sure they know how to mine the Internet efficiently. There's even less time available to learn what others are doing, or to pick up skills like linking and condensing what others say.
  

The ideas of the altering the site's looks are out of the hands of even the upper management. Young, of course, is not the first to criticize the site for its navigation problems and looks. At least four Advance Publications were heavily criticized in June in "Rating the Top 25 Newspaper Websites" for their template-driven problems.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, for instance, was given a D+. That grade was partly because "The editors seem to be throwing darts to decide what content takes priority."

I'll even take some of the blame for the news organization's site since I pushed using the blogging software to get all of the content online instead of sticking with the previous shovelware methods.

Don't expect changes soon. There's a software upgrade in the works, judging by the items I'm stumbling into because of my past work with the news organization.

By the way, it's also good that Gordon didn't see a recent print editon that had a blog post right in the middle of a newprint page. Doubletake time when an unbylined article started out like this:
"We'll have to wait to find out more about Joe Serra's potential involvement in the new Saturn. "Online, it was posted in a blog.

Head to the Young's post as I merely summed up his points.

Is Google newspaper cartoon correct?

So is Google helping to preserve newspapers or not?

I remember Google's effort to keep adding archived newspapers to its online resources slipped into my blog reader not long ago.

I remember John Temple coming up with his own suggestions of what Google should do to help save local reporting.

There are lots of folks talking about the effect of content behind paid walls affecting the quality of Google's content.

That's why this cartoon stopped me when I started meandering while checking some blog stats - Cartoonist blogged up energy to save print had a lot folks looking at it recently. That led me to a cartoonist site where I found this Google search cartoon, illustrating a post on the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists site.

Bonus: It's Jack Ohman of The Oregonian who got the RFK Journalism Award for cartooning.

Check out some more recent work from the former Detroit Free Press cartoonist.

Wrong photo brings grief to Kalamazoo newsroom

Joyce Pines of the Kalamazoo Gazette explains an uncomfortable newsroom moment in a column on Correction mixup is reminder we should all be treated with dignity.

"It began Tuesday morning with an angry mother claiming we ran a photo of her deceased daughter in Monday's newspaper."

Yet Pines, the news organization's public editor, could find no photo caption with that name. She learned the photo, provided by the police department, was in a column that is about individuals are being sought for probation violations or failure to appear at court hearings. Pines learned that the photo accompanying the item about Kawanna Earlean-Denise Nabors was her sister Terecita Smith.

Unfortunately, the correction repeated the mistake. You can learn more about how that happened and what the newsroom learned in its investigation.

At least in Flint, the recent photo mixup was buildings, not people. The story was about the US Army Reserve armory that a local college bought for $1. The photo was of the Michigan National Guard armory. This is an old postcard of an armory.

And this column: West Michigan rosary effort adds to the armor of God overseas is over on mlive.com

Over and out.

Rookie professor: Jumping from newsroom to classroom

A laid-off editor teaching students to edit seems ironic. But Christofer Machniak, who worked at The Flint Journal for 11 years before accepting a buyout, has turned the experience into three articles up on Nieman Reports.

I remember stumbling across the class blog, JRN 375. where I learned that students got extra credit for finding mistakes. More on that later.

Chris expected to keep working for the newspaper. He had just become the interim opinion editor, he had been blogging, he was picking up new skills. But two days before Christmas, he learned those skills, those attributes were not enough.

"I was valued, but there wasn’t going to be a chair for me when the music stopped. If I didn’t leave voluntarily, my boss advised, I’d come to regret it."

That notice came just weeks before he was to become an adjunct journalism lecturer. You can read about his experience, including the struggle of managing two jobs for awhile.

• From Newsroom To Classroom: Rookie Mistakes, Learning Opportunities
• Teaching Assistance: Using The Web
• Attempting An Ambitious Blog Venture: The Results Were Mixed

The Michigan State University graduate is working toward a master’s degree in English at the University of Michigan-Flint and will return to the classroom. He will even teach the News Editing class again, the one that included this blog.

The blog was part of Chris' expectation that he had to do something different:

"I knew I couldn’t teach them a curriculum based solely on Associated Press Style, editing a newspaper story and crafting a snappy, yet accurate headline."

Yet, he found teaching was harder then expected:

"Looking back, given my lack of teaching experience and the long hours I was still putting in at work, my ambition exceeded my grasp. Teaching turns out to be way more work than one imagines in preparing for it, and it demands more time (not to mention energy and persistence) than one budgets in the beginning."

I admire the work and the thought that Chris put into the class. The articles explain some of the process and I encourage those thinking of teaching read them.

I stumbled across the editing blog in March, uncomfortable that the editing students were getting extra credit for finding typos and other mistakes on the websites of local media.

After reading Nancy Nall who was in the midst of a website design and shared a milestone in journalism to explain her frustrations I understood better my reaction to the class assignment.

Nancy remembers how a breaking news story showed her something important had shifted:

"In olden times, the top edi­tors would come out to the city desk and stand behind the edi­tor as the story was writ­ten and pol­ished, read­ing and mak­ing sug­ges­tions. Then one day I looked up and they were all stand­ing behind the design edi­tor, watch­ing the page being laid out. Their main inter­est in the story was how long it would be, if we could break out the back­ground grafs into a side­bar and whether we had a loca­tor map."

Nancy wrote in that post:

"Design is a pack­age. The pack­age must be attrac­tive or no one will pick it up and unwrap it. But equal atten­tion must be paid to the con­tents of the pack­age, and that got pushed aside dur­ing this era."

The newsrooms reflect society where looks becomes more important then what's inside.

It is fairly easy to find the surface errors, the wrong word, bad grammar, etc. But a computer program can find typos and even grammar mistakes.

I want editors who know when a story leaves unanswered questions, too little explanation or heaven forbid too little background.

(Updated 8/30/09 - I was wrong to use this example: ... For instance, in my back yard a restaurant, Blackstone's, opened in what once was a clothing store. In between, the building housed the Greater Flint Arts Council.

A trip to downtown Flint, Michigan, showed me the error:Blackstone's is at 531 S. Saginaw and clearly not the building at 420 S. Saginaw that held the Greater Flint Arts Council after Roberts David Allan closed and never a Blackstone's even. Both carried men's clothing.

No substitute example coming.)

I want editors who can coach writers and reporters, who can add links to archived coverage on and off the home site, who recognize a trend while wading through a variety of sources.

I want editors, not computers. Instead of searching for typos, let them look for the holes, suggest ways to appeal to multiple audiences or reflect on the timing of a story (Was this story published at the right time? Why was this story published now?)

Easier said then done.

Sometimes, the only way to react is to write even when it is not the right way to react. Or is it?

Nancy Rommelmann shares the puzzling mindset that paralyzes - what to do when something bad happens to those we once knew in the Monstrousness of Empathy.

"I decided I could not send the coffee, because every time her father drank the coffee, he might think, I am drinking this only because my child has been murdered. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t impose myself. "

Yet, she wrote. She wrote a powerful piece. She shared a powerful line about what happened to a daughter who was murdered, that many mothers can relate to:

“makes me want to put my own daughters back inside my body.”

And she thinks about of punishment, of grief, of intrusion in an excellent arrangement of words you should read. Really.

Can you claw through clutter to hear the message?

There's so much chatter going on around us that sometimes it is hard for us to listen to what's being said in a meaningful way. The conversations erupt around us as white noise. We nod knowingly as we catch drifting words that seem to merit a response.

I'm in the midst of catchup, a lull in my daily routines allowing me to sort through overflowing inboxes for email, blog posts and that stuff delivered by the postmaster.

What I've discovered is the clutter created by volume and change means I've missed some messages I normally would have heard. The bigger problem is how can I create systems so that I don't miss messages I need to hear.

Beth Kanter just presented a workshop on listening at a conference with a theme of "Making Media Connections." She suggested in a post titled Are You a Listening Organization? that there are three models for organizations.

• Centralized listener
• Listening Team
• The Listening Organization

See Kanter's post for her explanations.

Not all organizations are formal, of course.

Former Flint Journal reporter Matt Bach has taken on the role of centralized listener for Flint, looking online for all mentions of the area on blogs, news sites and other web pages. He shares his finds via email with a group of people who are interested in the community's image.

Another centralized listener that I know of is Carol Lee Spages, who runs an email list called Green Blood News that frequently features articles about Girl Scouts.

Email and mailing lists are tools I know. I've been challenging myself to learn more about Publish2, a tool designed for collaborative linking. I've been playing with it, trying to find ways to expand the team listening for news about Michigan news or Advance Publications. As I've watched the media-watching blogs collapse,I 've been thinking of what can be used to help watch the watchdogs.

Beth Kantor, of course, goes beyond that simplicity of three models. She shares 58 slides that are a step-by-step to Listening Literacy. The presentation walks you through key skills, essential tools, the art of responding, and "listening in a blizzard." It's a lot for one workshop, but her slides will help guide anyone hoping to listen.

Listening Bootcamp: Chicago Workshop

View more Microsoft Word documents from kanter.

Happy listening.

A job for you, a job for me: Suggestions flying in

Somehow, I started out reading Time's "Killing the News to Save It" - a piece about AnnArbor.com - when I was distracted by its Top 10 lists and other links scattered throughout the article. There were 10 ways your job will change and 10 perfect jobs for in a recession plus Top 10 Newspaper Movies if the search gets you down.

Then, I'm sent a link to Over on Time Out: New York,where Matt Schneiderman offers new career ideas for those (once) in media, with a paragraph on why and how to get each job.

• Publicist
• Editorial strategist
• Grant writer
• Project manager
• Private investigator

Read through the comments and you'll get two more ideas: social media marketer and ghostwriting. They are probably more doable for me then the recession-proof ideas:

1. Accountant
2. Entrepreneur
3. Police Officer
4. Network and Computer Systems
5. Nurse
6. Nutritionist
7. Physical Therapist
8. Teacher
9. Mathematician
10. Government Manager

The Time article didn't have much new to say if you've been following the story. There's the couple who miss the Ann Arbor News and would've paid more if only they knew; there's a rundown on who is gathering the news - Michigan Daily, Ann Arbor Observer, Ann Arbor Journal, Ann Arbor Chronicle; and there are the mandatory quotes from a University of Michigan professor and a resident who doesn't like the killing of the old for a bright shiny new thing.

Publisher Matt Kraner gives us the three reasons why this place, why now:

1. Ann Arbor is an extremely Web-savvy market, probably the most Web-savvy Newhouse has.
2. The market, with its high-tech industries, is very open to new ideas and new concepts.
3. The market has passion for its community.

There's even mention of how community decides which ad/deal gets top billing on the Sunday front page of the print edition.

That all helps lead to the ending:
"Whatever the ultimate outcome of the Ann Arbor community-content experiment, it's already proved one thing: the content part is easy; the community part is not."

More fun to read is the Muffin blog post from a journalist whose husband helped launch the Business Reviews in Michigan's Oakland and Washtenaw counties. Christine Kilpatrick says it's all about managing expectations with the proper explanations.

“I’ve got a homemade muffin for you. It’s just a practice muffin before I make the good ones for Benny’s preschool. It’s a pumpkin-and-chocolate-chip muffin, but there aren’t many chocolate chips because I ate half the bag while mixing the other ingredients. My oven doesn’t heat evenly, so the muffin’s kind of lopsided as if it was trying to escape its pan. Oh, and I burned it a little too.

Now, just imagine what happens when you bite into a muffin like that and it tastes pretty good. Not great, but OK. Plus, the cook already has shown she knows what she has to work on so we'll just wait for the next batch.

Still, every time I picture that post I think about the Seinfeld show on muffin tops. A former boss takes Elaine's idea of a business selling the muffin tops and dumping the muffin stumps and Kramer starts the Peterman Reality Bus Tour. It's also the one where George says:

"You know, if you take everything I've done in my entire life and condense it down into one day, it looks decent."

I'm still optimistic enough to believe that at least one of these Michigan experiments in news - Detroit, Great Lakes Bay Region formerly known as Flint-Saginaw-Bay City or Ann Arbor -will turn into something satisfying given enough time.

I'm glad Free From Editors led us to this gem written by a woman who was delighted to return to Michigan and equally happy to leave despite a rough start in California.

Another peek over there found a Booth Newspapers version of Camelot that includes these lines:

"Back then we never worked too late on Friday
At 37-and-a-half we stopped
The benefits and pay were sweet in my day
In Camelot.

All layoffs were forbidden till forever
They never had to fear a union shop
Our health-care would be paid for, ending never,
In Camelot"

OK, I'm supposed to be working on two projects that never end. How busy am I? I didn't even know Twitter was gone or Facebook was slow until it wasn't.

Talking about Advance from Oregon to New Jersey; There's pain, envy, honors

Some daily newspaper publishers in Advance Publications went beyond ending a job pledge in staff announcements Wednesday.

Many at Newhouse-owned daily newspapers heard that starting Feb. 5 the company no longer will guarantee jobs even if the economy stinks or technology could allow staff reductions.

Steve Newhouse, who heads up Advance.net, tells Richard Perez-Pena:

“I think the policy was meant for a time when the newspaper business had ups and downs, but was relatively stable. It was not meant for a time when our newspapers, like others, are struggling to survive.”

Newhouse told Editor & Publisher no layoffs are planned, saying the notification is "an alert that we need the flexibility to take the steps to address our newspapers' revenue decline."

"As all of us are working to keep our daily newspapers going, the pledge in many respects became a deterrent to actions that could actually save the daily newspapers and jobs for the majority of employees"

The Oregonian staff will take six more days off without pay in the first six months of 2010 and start paying for part of its health care benefit, according to Williamette Week. That news was in addition to notice of the ending of the Advance Publications job pledge. The Portland Business Journal told us to expect details on Thursday, but the announcement came out early.

Publisher Fred Stickel said that all Oregonian employees would be required to pay a portion of the premium for their health care, depending on income level, starting Jan 1. Employees hired before 2005 had not been required to contribute to the cost of coverage for themselves or their family.

In March, The Oregonian staff had pensions frozen, pay cuts of 5 to 10 percent and were required to take four unpaid furlough days. That same month, many Advance daily newspaper staffs learned of frozen pensions, pay cuts and 10 days off without pay.

In Alabama, Media of Birminham is reporting (as part of its post on the no-layoffs out announcement) that staffers with at least 5 years at the Birmingham News were offered buyouts, two weeks salary for every year (six month maximum).

The day caused anxiety for some. There was this Tweet:

Boss has called an all-hands meeting ... feeling anxious, as in anxiety - not eager

followed shortly by:

Well, the news wasn't that bad. We just don't have a guaranteed job pledge as of February

Notice is "old Newhouse"

The fact that the Newhouse organization gave its daily newspapers' employees six months warning that the pledge of no layoffs will end Feb. 5 was called "an element of the chain’s old paternalism" by Perez-Pena, who blogs in Media Coder for the New York Times.

Blogof NewOrleans.com called it a bad day at 3800 Howard, while noting:

"The pledge was a lovely thing in theory, but it was hardly legally binding; the life of a newspaper employee isn’t a civil-service sinecure, with all its perqs and guarantees. The days of big-city dailies as fat-and-lazy “velvet coffins” where people remain for decades are gone forever. It’s possible to foresee a day when big-city dailies are gone forever, too."

Perez-Pena also said that Advance would not say whether its newspapers remain profitable. (Advance newspapers include The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey; the Staten Island Advance and Post-Standard in New York; The Times-Picayune of New Orleans; the Grand Rapids Press; the Muskegon Chronicle; the Kalamazoo Gazette; the Jackson Citizen Patriot; Cleveland Plain Dealer; The Patriot News in Pennsylvania and the Huntsville Times in Alabama).

Don't wait, get resume ready

Reaction to an article on the announcement in Pennsylvania by Express-Times, publisher Martin K. Till includes this advice:

"Riiiight. If I worked at any of Advance's newspapers, I wouldn't be sitting around, twiddling my thumbs and waiting for Feb. 6 to roll around, after hearing this announcement. "No specific plans" to lay anyone off doesn't mean they won't lay people off the first chance they get."

In a letter Wednesday to employees, Till said the change is needed to allow the company more flexibility in managing the economic downturn.

"While we are reluctant to make this decision, it is necessary for the long-term survival of our newspaper, and the long-term survival of most jobs."

The newspaper employs about 270 and reported a 1.3 increase in daily circulation and Sunday circulation holding steady through March. Changes this year included 20 employees accepting voluntary buyouts, all employees taking 10 days off without pay, salaries frozen, retirement plans switched, and employees paying an increased share of health benefits.

The newpaper also began joint distribution with The Morning Call of Allentown and opened depots at central locations instead of delivering bundles to most carriers homes.

The publisher, like others, wants to steady the course:

"Our goal is to remain a daily newspaper, printed and distributed seven days a week. We have been serving readers and advertisers in our community in this fashion for 150 years."

Honors for consultant

University of Missouri just announced that Advance consultant Deborah Howell will get one of 7 2009 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism.

Deborah Howell, who led the Newhouse Washington Bureau for 15 years, returned to Advance after spending about three years as ombudsman at the Washington Post.

It's not funny to some

Is there anything more serious then the funny pages? Editor & Publisher reported that a week after cutting six comic strips and moving a half-page of the daily funnies to another location -- which drew some 1,200 complaints -- The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. has returned Pickles and Frazz to print. The original move was to save the company $300,000.

Not quite so funny, but usually entertaining is the Jersey Guy. He used to do Jersey People, but now focues more attention on what's up with the nj.com site where he oversees content.

By the way, Michigan folks missing their daily dose of comics could visit NJ.com to sneak a peek. Or look at AnnArbor.com daily offerings.

Some earlier links

By the way, I updated some links in an earlier post on the job pledge, including:
Publisher's letter emphasizes job pledge for daily newspapers and the post that led me to the letter.

Two newsroom employees sent to mailroom. (Actually, it's a link to a post about the job change for two Star-Ledger employees who didn't take a buyout as the Editor & Publisher article is unreachable. I like Paper Tiger No More's version of the events, too. I spent too much time trying to learn if reporter Jason Jett and Assistant Deputy Photo Editor Mitchell Seidel are in the newsroom still.)

Some other links

Free From Editors and the Daily Derelict heard from some Michigan newspaper folks that they also heard about the rescinding of the job pledge in staff meetings or letters on Wednesday.

Receptionists may be going the way of newspaper subscriptions at Conde Nast, the magazine branch of the Advance.net family. We've got the New York Magazine and Gawker reporting that the secretaries finish up work Friday. The New York Observer calls it D.Y.I. Reception for Vogue and other magazines

Did you check out McKinsey's second trip to Conde Nast or Si Newhouse's Dream Factory or Did Conde Nast call in its sweetheart loan to Annie Leibovitz? (That last one is Gawker's chance to talk again about how the family sometimes is in the mortgage business.)

The magazines are such a different world from the Advance newspapers. Here, a quote from a New York Times article on Vogue, a magazine about "wish fulfillment and escapism":

"It’s not uncommon at a top American magazine, editors say, to spend $5,000 a day just on food at a shoot. In this regard, European glossies are practically tightwads."

Really, who needs a water cooler or has to stand in line for groceries when the Internet is so willing to serve.

Oh no! Vehicle, not guns, killed swans

I was checking a link on AnnArbor.com when I learned no gun was involved in the death of the swans in the Ann Arbor region. In fact, "the agency originally suspected gunshot wounds based on the conservation officer's visual inspection of the carcasses at the site Saturday morning."

All the Tweets for nothing. Especially the tweet that called the story "breaking." Really. Three dead swans qualified as breaking news to someone staffing the Twitter annarbor.com account.

There were six stories/postings about the swans on AnnArbor.com, a tease (see photo) on page one on the print edition delivered on Sunday. There was a slideshow and a $5,000 reward even.

Fortunately, the site usually does better.

Advance Publications ending job pledge

Sometimes, I hate being right, Last night and early this morning, I noticed the searches for Advance Publications and jobs pledge were way up plus, the traffic from cities where Newhouse newspapers originate was up ... way up. So this Editor & Publisher article on Advance ending job pledge not surprising.

I think Advance signaled its intentions long ago when higher ups clarified the pledge was for full-time staff only. When The Flint Journal bought a bunch of weekly newspapers, employees learned the pledge was for those working for the daily only. Of course, that daily only guarantee was one of the drawbacks of the three Michigan newspapers - Flint Journal, Bay City Times and Saginaw News - publishing three times a week starting June 1.

The pledge never guaranteed you kept your job. I'm looking for the link* to an article about newsroom employees in New Jersey booted to the mailroom. I remember hearing the Flint publisher telling some employees we could be pushing brooms, not punching keyboards, if enough employees did not accept company buyouts. I remember the new post carved out for me.

But, then I stopped believing in the corporate gods when I met the man who learned he was replaced when he walked into his empty office at a major car company - 1978. That belief was reinforced when I saw the in writing, "guaranteed lifetime medical benefits" no matter what erased for my stepdad with a company ownership change in name only. The bosses, paychecks, rules and more stayed the same for employees as the expensive incentives for early retirees were wiped out. That was 1987. Too many tales like that, aren't there.

The real job pledge is the one you make to yourself - keep learning, keep growing and keep saving.

(*It's a link to a blog post, the original story seems to have "left" the Internet.)

New jobs: Building on skills, interests leads to non-media jobs

A newspaper designer who started her own firm and a former business editor who became a financial planner are two of the latest career changers featured in Joe Grimm's ongoing Monday series.

When Tiffany Hurt's post as a designer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was eliminated she became creative director at a her own graphic design business, Immanuel Designs, LLC. Learn how networking helped her make the transition and benefit from some of her hints.

David McPherson started planning his new business before leaving the Providence Journal. McPherson shares what he wishes he had done differently and why he left.

Joe Grimm, who left the Detroit Free Press a year ago, talked about his experiences post buyout in an online chat with Poynter last week. You can still read what was said online. (He ended his career at the press with an ice cream party. The last year has included teaching at Michigan State University, spending five weeks with high school students, delivering speeches - including one to copy editors, hosting many chats and Twittering and Twittering and blogging and blogging and answering questions as a recruiter.

Want to keep reading about people who moved out of media jobs into new ones? I looked at the growng number of people looking at the growing number leaving, or read Beyond the Buyout, Beyond the Byline or pick up a few ideas on surviving in Buyout journalists, remember this or Journalists not the first to start over or Talent will outlast jobs or careers.

Solveris: Was Condé Nast's Decision To Stop Paying For Newspapers Smart?

Solveris: Was Condé Nast's Decision To Stop Paying For Newspapers Smart?

News choice: Some like it hot, some like it cold, I want it all

So many choices for news these days.

This comic was shared with me awhile back and I tried to read the artist's name to track the original. No luck.

It's the same frustration I face when I read an Associated Press story and try to determine where the story originated. If possible, I'd like to link to the original source.

I try to remember to leave comments, including "likes" on the original source of blog posts but that gets harder and harder as I expand my river of influencers. There are my friends who publish notes and posts on Facebook. Others share via Google Reader or FriendFeed.

My latest frustrations are with two Michgian online news sources. One offers only partial posts in its feed, a move I'm sure it hopes drives me to its site to view ads Unfortunately, what I get rarely is attractive enough to entice. To its credit, though, the short post in its feed includes an author. The other news source leaves off the author. Plus, I can't figure out the reasoning behind why some posts are the whole thing and some are not. Perhaps it is time to stop the feeds.

Journalists band together to offer services

If imitation is flattering, then the California photojournalists behind the ProPhotography Network are flying high with with the launch of The Journalism Shop.

The former Los Angeles Times employees, including former Detroit News reporter Scott Martelle (September 1986 – July 1995,) will match your needs with their skills:

• If you're looking for someone to report and write a traditional piece of journalism, check out the "Reporting" page.
• Veteran writers interested in tackling non-journalism projects, including public relations, ghost-writing and corporate (for-profit and nonprofit) reports, can be found on the "PR/Marketing" page.
• Experienced page designers, copy editors and line editors are on the "Design/Editing" page.
• Skilled project managers can be found on the "Projects" page.
• Experienced librarians and researchers can be found at the "Research" page.

And, of course, if what you want isn't listed just send an email and someone will match you up.

Martelle, who took a lead role in developing the web site with Brett Levy, blogs about it in "A new web venture for a bunch of us laid-off journos."

It's an idea others - including alumni of the Hartford Courant - have considered.

(By the way, Levy writes DadTalk when he's not doing a "new web venture" or keeping WriteThru together. WriteThu is Levy's attempt to help launch the new renaissance of journalism. The first mission is "offer affordable, if not free, educational webinars on how to use all these new-fangled publishing tools." He even defines success:

"... those who go out there and create a weblog or create a hyper local news site. After all, any journalist can launch a blog or website in just an hour at no or little cost with ZERO technical abilities."

Son follows father into top role at Advance's business journals

Whitney Shaw has been named president and chief executive of American City Business Journals, according to S. I. Newhouse Jr., chairman of ACBJ parent company Advance Publications

Shaw, son of late CEO Ray Shaw, has been tapped to lead the 40-newspaper chain. Formerly the company’s senior vice president and president of its sports publishing division, Shaw moves into the job two weeks after his father died at age 75 from complications following a wasp sting.

Shaw's brother added executive vice president to his title, while remaining the chief financial officer.

Additionally, American City’s sports publications include Sporting News, NASCAR Scene, Sports Business Journal and Inside Lacrosse. It also publishes Hemmings Motor News.

The full press release is on portfolio.com, which the American Business Journals took over this spring.

Blogging nightmares come from missing dreams, words

The responsibilities of blogging overwhelm me at times. So does this ongoing struggle of how to define yourself to others.

Honestly, I thought I had found - and republished - all the missing posts dropped in an early-morning mishap. Honestly, I thought my husband was teasing when he said the blog was all messed up today.

And health wise, I was sure I was up to a session of batch-cooking until the stove heat delivered an ultimatum of "rest NOW." That rest order let me catch up on some reading, including G.D. Gearino's post on interviewing the interviewer. This paragraph stops me:

"When Donald asked what, exactly, my title was, I declared that “blogger” didn’t have have sufficient dignity and that instead I preferred “creator of online literature.” "

Even though he explains the answer was a wiseguy's reply, I think it reveals an uncomfortableness some struggle to shake when they move away from a media-company paycheck.

Dream Bigger blog blinder

Gearino, who I first met when he was just Dan Gearino, not G.D., and came to report for my former employer, is paying the bills with a Stephenville Dreams blog, also called Dream Bigger Blog. As I wrote in In search of dreams: Company paying for blogging, I struggled with who signed Gearino's new paycheck. But this question:

"Is the artist's integrity compromised by accepting that commission?"

helped me realize it was my traditional journalism background that led to my uneasiness. Still, when I read where he's living - right there in the 111-year-old home that is serving as its headquarters for the "Sleep Better, Dream Bigger" initiative, surrounded by the "innovative sleep products" - the uneasiness comes back. What erases the feeling is reading Gearino's blogging.

Today's rest-reading time also alerted me to Jim Romensko's noting a Fast Company post: Ex-N&O columnist's blog walks the line between journalism and marketing.

Chuck Salter writes about Gearino's latest venture in From a Texas Small Town and a Bedding Company, the Future of Journalism, Marketing, or Both.

Salter notes that the rapid layoffs of journalists is leading to new models and writes:

"Maybe there's a role for corporate-sponsored journalism and a way to do it without turning writers into NASCAR drivers or shills -- starting with the corporate sponsor keeping a safe distance from the journalism. Of course, if it doesn't help sell more bedding, dream on."

In the Fast Company post, Salters says that the project reminds Gearino of " the Federal Writer Project, when the government paid thousands of writers, including the likes of John Cheever, Saul Bellow and Studs Terkel to capture everyday life during the Depression."

Is Dream blog an answer?

This excerpt of a comment, by Mouli Cohen, reminds us that:

"Many of the stories from Stephenville Dreams are the same kinds of long form reporting that everyone fears will be lost with the demise of traditional media.I suppose one's feelings on this are a matter of whether you want to save traditional media outlets or traditional journalists. Keep the storytellers."

Cohen expands on his comments in Reporting plus marketing equals one future of journalism, asking

"Needless to say, it will be interesting to see if this project is merely a flash in the pan or something that will inspire an industry wide trend in the way our stories are reported."

Gearino is indeed a storyteller and, as he reminded me, storytellers still get bills.

More about Gearino's dream job

Gearino's new blog also is examined in a Future of Journalism post, "Journalist in bed with corporate sponsor." Its ending is worth your visit. So is Gearino's "regular blog" once he returns to writing that.

Gary Scott brings on lots of questions on Gearino's job in "Strange bedfellows"

An official press release - Texas Town Overcome by Sleep - is out Aug. 3. Or read about the venture through Furniture Today or even
Sweet dreams and high hopes, which was published July 31 in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune

Oh, by the way San Antonio may try to recruit Gearino next-- or at least the bigger dreams campaign.

Here, then gone, back again

This whirl of references to Gearino's blog today helped me discover some lost postings including my original take on Gearino's new job. I believe I've restored the lost posts with the original publication dates, but if I'm wrong let me know.