News-Record.com

"When the paper's overhaul is complete, it may be a model for the sort of 21st century paper that many journalism big thinkers have been talking about, chewing over, and confabbing on for the last few years. Greensboro will be the first place where this conceptually newfangled newspaper actually exists."

Now that's scary. Talk about high ambitions. How about High Anxiety?

Actually, the article in Editor & Publisher is nice. (But it's behind the newspaper trade journal's subscription wall right now.) Aside from a few minor factual errors -- Greensboro has six colleges not three and Doug Clark is an editorial writer not a conservative Op-Ed columnist -- it seems on the money. At least, the reporter got my quotes correct. Don't know about Roch's or Ed's. We haven't revamped our Web site yet -- the article says February, which was correct at the time I was interviewed. Now we're looking to launch this month. (Hands clasped together in a prayer appeal.)

The article doesn't break new ground; the crux of what we're doing and what E&P writes about has been covered here or at The Lex Files over the past few months. But it's always helpful to have an independent reporter do a take.

The largest omission in the story is contextual and it's my fault. Our Town Square initiative has a lot of cooks, including major roles by Managing Editor Ann Morris, Greensboro City Editor Mark Sutter and online editor Michael Fuchs. In effect, the staff started this wave of innovation, and I'm rolling with it. Blogs are being created because staff members want to talk with and connect with readers in new ways. Same with Podcasts. Other things are in the works. Ann and I are primarily trying to enable it.

I hope the E&P writer is correct. That will mean we have served our readers and citizens and journalism well.