News-Record.com

This is very sad news indeed. I can't think of many topics that are more important to each and every one of us than health care. You've done a great job on reporting here and in the paper, and I wish you had had the leeway to do more of it. Instead, you got the axe... er, buyout.

I wish you well, Lex, and hope to find your byline again soon.

Liz Wheaton

I saw this yesterday and was going to just shrug it off.

What is sadder, Elizabeth, is that Lex got bought out before telling the local healthcare story that's been sitting under his nose for four years. During his tenure, a lot of so-called local journalists "wished me well" - but did absolutely nothing to help me expose a corrupt medico-legal system . . . a system that, in my case, would have had me let a newborn baby die at Randolph Hospital.

It wasn't important. It wasn't relevant.

So much for citizen journalism.

Wishing doesn't make anything so.

Lex, I wish you well with whatever your next endeavor turns out to be.

Best of luck, Lex. I enjoyed being banned from commenting on your blog more than any other blog.

Lex,
Lynne and I wish you much success. We really enjoyed working with you over the past few years. Thank you for all you did to assist us. We appreciate it!

(This is a cross post from JR's blog)

Good luck to Lex, who did help usher in some new initiatives to the website and the newspaper during the last four years.

I think several blogs and a more open atmosphere are just the tip of what he has helped bring in to the place.

About 4 years ago, Lex was charged with helping the site more of an online town square or public square. I think he has achieved this.

Here is the effort laid out in a memo from Lex: http://blog.news-record.com/staff/lexblog/archives/2005/01/newsrecordcom_a_1.shtml

Not to take anything away from that, but I am not sure that goal was what will ultimately help save the organization.

The initiative that JR and others thrust upon Lex (or Lex talked them into him starting) was apparently mainly limited to user interaction.

While good, this did not address the more pressing matters of the organization. Perhaps JR and the other higher-ups did have a plan for this and it was addressed -- by others.

But, I can't see where it was implemented or even attempted to be carried out.

There have been a couple of redesigns since then, but one was quite awful (scrolling within scrolling and tons of tabs). The "entertainment" section and calendar were re-launched, but make no sense and finding events is extremely difficult and take one off to another site.

In all, despite the blogs and "open sourced journalism" I can't see that anything else has changed.

Am I missing something?

Again, good luck Lex and I think you did a fine job with the limited area in which you were tasked.

It's unfortunate that other areas were not as examined and expanded upon as the "town square" idea.

Perhaps it might be time to think about more than just that aspect....

I think focusing so much on "open sourced" journalism (I am still not sure what that means) has left the News & Record with some gaping holes in the rest of its web strategy.

Lex,

Best wishes in the future, whatever may come your way.

It's been a pleasure,
Elizabeth

Wish you well.
Mary Johnson, I have read many of your post. I have no idea weather you are right are wrong.
I can tell you this, if you are right forget it!. When I moved to NC, in 1964, the first thing I heard was, this a good ole boy state. Years later, its still a good ole boy state.