http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/ A conversation about the newspaper, online and journalism in general. en-us 2009-05-28T09:45:29-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/talking_about_e.shtml As of 9:45 a.m., the story about Northern High School basketball players celebrating their season, despite being stripped of their championship has 23 comments, many of them expressing outrage and wondering what is being taught at the school. The story... Promos john robinson 2009-05-28T09:45:29-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/unlike_the_othe.shtml Unlike the other large newspapers in North Carolina, we did not publish the story of Judge Sotomayor on the front page this morning. The story wasn't local -- we couldn't find evidence that she had ever been in Greensboro, although... Digital ideas john robinson 2009-05-27T13:37:45-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/we_are_one_of_f.shtml We are one of five finalists for the best features section of a newspaper our size in the country. Both Charlotte and Raleigh are also finalists in the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors contest, but they are in... Awards john robinson 2009-05-26T11:15:18-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/help_make_your.shtml My newspaper column: We like it when you refer to the News & Record as "our newspaper." We want the paper to represent you and reflect your values. One way we can do that is to publish your stories and... Columns john robinson 2009-05-26T08:32:44-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/buy_this_paper.shtml Would you buy today's paper on the off chance that there is enough value in the $2,199 in coupons inside to recoup the buck-fifty cost of the paper? That's right. $2,199. I had to double-check that one myself. Normally, the... Promos john robinson 2009-05-24T08:03:47-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/i_wish_i_didnt.shtml From today's front pages of North Carolina newspapers: The Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina's jobless rate may have been unchanged in April, but economists cautioned yesterday that the rate staying at 10.8 percent is more a reflection of the state's economy... News judgment john robinson 2009-05-23T08:57:06-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/you_know_im_not.shtml You know I'm not going to miss an opportunity to leap onto this bandwagon. How could the council in good conscience turn away from the opportunity of a public testing of candidates for the city manager's position? If you consider... Open govt john robinson 2009-05-22T16:46:39-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/following_the_a.shtml Following the awards she and her co-workers at The Charlotte Observer won for its poultry industry investigation, Kerry Hall is taking on the business column there upon the retirement of Doug Smith. Well deserved. Congratulations to her. (Thanks to JR... Alumni john robinson 2009-05-22T05:09:29-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/_does_that_pane.shtml Does that panel from the May 19 edition of Judge Parker offend you? It did one reader who wrote to me, calling it "the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in your family newspaper, let alone in the... Comics john robinson 2009-05-21T14:35:23-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/using_anonymous.shtml We published two stories on the front page today that broke big news. One is about the man expected to be appointed the next chancellor at A&T, and the other is a significant expansion of the investigation into Guilford County... Ethics john robinson 2009-05-21T12:43:50-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/change_is_alway.shtml Change is always a tough thing for most newspaper readers to handle. Even if you think you're making an improvement, many people disapprove just because it is different. So, I wasn't expecting too many "attaboys" when we asked our readers'... Readers john robinson 2009-05-20T10:30:37-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/dioni_wise_join.shtml We've hired Dioni Wise as a reporter. Dioni may be familiar to you as she has interned with us for the past two summers. She's just graduated from Chapel Hill. Sportswriting is her first love, but we're going to let... Staff john robinson 2009-05-19T12:26:13-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/while_we_like_p.shtml We like people to like us. It makes sense, given that we're also asking people to pay for us. It's one thing to be distributed free; it's another to charge. Yet we often publish stories that drive people batty: recruiting... News judgment john robinson 2009-05-18T21:30:42-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/is_it_news_when.shtml Is it news when a local television station doesn't renew the contract of one of its two primetime anchors? It is to me. Many of the visitors to our site agree, and it is drawing for more traffic than the... News judgment john robinson 2009-05-14T13:56:22-05:00 http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2009/05/if_the_newspape.shtml Idle thoughts on a busy news day. If the newspaper is gone, does this story get reported? I don't mean the actual news conference, but the run up that lays out piece by piece what is taking place behind the... Newspaper sales john robinson 2009-05-14T10:18:34-05:00