News-Record.com

Last year on New Year's Day, I outlined how we planned to make the newspaper more vital to you in 2005.

In that column, I wrote that our goal was to become an intensely local, community-oriented newspaper. I quoted our city editor, Mark Sutter, who described the newspaper and our Web sites as a virtual town square:

"We are the place where our neighbors come to hear the latest local news and share their own news -- big and small. It is where they come to shop and to play; to learn and to laugh. It is where they find out what is happening in the community; and how they can go or get involved."

I repeat that here because it remains our key goal in 2006. Here is what it means more specifically:

Two days ago I was going to post that the studies be damned, there is a definite correlation between the holidays and when people die. Since the day after Christmas, we had been swamped with obituaries. We normally set aside two pages for obituaries. Four straight days the obits overflowed onto a third or fourth page. These are our readers I'm talking about!

But I got busy and didn't get to it, and that's a good thing. Saturday and today the number of obits fell back to normal, running short of two pages. (Special sympathies to anyone who has a family member die during the holidays. My mother-in-law died over Thanksgiving a couple years ago and that holiday has lost its luster in our house.)

Stories about the first baby born in the New Year are among the hoariest of journalism cliches. We try to avoid them, but sometimes we just can't; the complete lack of any other news on Jan. 1 forces our hand. Besides, they are a bit of "good news" in a world often lacking in it.

Or maybe not.

Yesterday, Eric Collins wrote about Guilford County's first baby of the year, Saniya Janae Jones-Pritchett. The calls and e-mails started. Out of several received, none offered congratulations. One asked why we didn't use a white couple's baby. (You might be surprised at the number of people who complain when we have photographs of African Americans in the paper.) Another suggested that we should not have featured the baby of a couple the caller presumed to be unmarried.

Another reader e-mailed her thoughts: After looking at the picture of the smiling parents of Saniya, I must ask some questions, since the story said very little about the father. Does he have a job, who will support this baby, if he does not -- will the taxpayers be asked to foot the bill for the smiling parents?

Perhaps a follow-up story about jobless, unwed teens who become parents is in order. What about a follow-up to this story? Giving the other side of the story concerning the realities and responsibilities of bringing another human being into the world might be in order.

Yes, that's me up there. Upon suggestion of one of my loyal commenters, I've shaved my mustache. Well, not really. It was getting too gray, belying my youth. Be kind.

Robin Lindner, a reporter with WXII interviewed me about the story on our front page today headlined "12 miners alive after 41 hours." Like many papers east of the Rockies, the story on the front page was tragically, tragically wrong. We regret that.

It's an awful thing when we report news that changes on us between the time we go to press and the time you get the paper. When that story truly involves life and death, the effect is multipled.

Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher wrote: In one of the most disturbing and disgraceful media performances of this type in recent years, television and newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later they had to reverse course, often blaming the mix-up on "miscommunication."

Our final edition story, by a Knight Ridder reporter, starts this way: Jubilant relatives of 12 trapped men in a West Virginia coal mine said late Tuesday that they had been found alive, a miraculous turn of events more than 41 hours after a blast had killed one miner and left the others' fates unknown.

Lex has posted a status report on our online efforts one year in. Lex is the guy who produced an extraordinary report that we've tried to use as a road map into the future, and as usual, he's on the mark.

A couple comments on his post, which I didn't read before he posted:

* We intend to be much more aggressive about soliciting more user-generated content. The Hometown Hubs are a great start, but there are many people outside our Hubs who have things to say and they should be heard. We're currently building a structure to seek out those folks (and anyone else we can find.) Same with user-generated photography.

We're also in initial talks with some folks about hosting their blogs on our site. Right now, they are civic "leaders" -- Terry Grier actually is considering the idea -- but we aren't going to stop there.

Greensboro City Council member Sandy Carmany wonders why we spent so much time last night contacting council members about the status of Police Chief David Wray. She explains why she wouldn't comment on his status. I'll explain why we pursued it.

She says that council members are barred from involvement on personnel issues, a stance that their fellow elected officials, the county commissioners, don't follow. But the fact is that some council members do occasionally comment on issues that others may advise them not to. They're motivated by a variety of things, including frustration with the process, a belief that truth must out, and politics. So we doggedly ask their opinions.

We also ask because, while the investigation into the police chief may be an internal city matter, council members are ultimately responsible. Citizens expect the council to run a tight ship and when things appear off-kilter, it's the council that citizens look to. Even though the city manager has sole authority to hire and fire a police chief, the electorate holds the council responsible for the actions and operation of city government. With that in mind, it's natural to check in with council members for their opinions on how things are going. We think citizens are interested.

In this case, we also sought council insight because the announcement by the city manager was mystifying in many ways. The police chief is still on duty, but he's locked out of his own office? This after he was stripped of his ability to hire, fire, promote or transfer officers in the department without permission? It seems fair for citizens -- and the media -- to wonder about the leadership of the police department when the chief isn't trusted with access to his own office. We always hope to find someone else who can shine a little more light.

So, that's why we ask. It's not to hector you, I promise. Unfortunately, we don't know if it is a waste of time until we spend the time asking.

Thieves stole the car of one of our photographers this week. Several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment was in the trunk. When she called police, she was told that an officer would get back with her. After awhile, an officer returned her call and took the report over the phone. That's it. Both auto and cameras remain at large.

I know that the investigation by phone is common practice -- same thing happened to me a few years ago when I was robbed -- but that doesn't make it any less disconcerting.

Last Tuesday night, when the paper was being "put to bed" the breaking news on all of our wire services was that the buried West Virginia miners had been found alive. Three hours later -– after the newspaper had been printed -- that story took a tragic reversal when it was announced that they were dead.

The newspaper delivered to readers contained an article on the front page that not only was out of date but was wrong on a truly life-and-death issue. Many papers east of the Rockies had the same problem. Many explained, as we did, what happened in Thursday's paper.

No one takes mistakes in the newspaper more seriously than newspaper editors.

That assertion may surprise those who think we publish too many grammatical and spelling errors, but it is true. It doesn't matter whether the mistake was one of little consequence -- using a semi-colon instead of a comma -- or a major factual error.

Update at the end.

Religion writer Nancy McLaughlin posts about a nasty e-mail she got in reaction to her column Saturday about Ariel Sharon. In the comment section, Sue refers to Godwin's Law.
Newspaper people know that there's nothing like a provocative story about politics or religion to get the debate going. (Sometimes the story doesn't even have to be provocative.)

I weigh in here because the over-the-top e-mail Nancy cites isn't the only one we got, and because Nancy doesn't explain why her column was crafted the way it was.

First, a couple of the other responses to that column. Both of these were submitted as letters to the editor.

We've hired Andrea Martin as a page designer on our copy desk. Andrea is currently with the Durham Herald-Sun, where's she's been designing front pages and features sections since 2003. She's also worked at the Danville Register & Bee.

Sandy Carmany, a blogger and city council member for whom I have great respect, writes with sympathy and compassion about the resignation of Police Chief Wray. In the comments section she says this:

I have noted in this blog and several others that Mitch Johnson DID NOT CHOSE to release the information about the locked office -- someone unknown leaked that information and Mitch had to deal with the firestorm of inaccurate information that began with that unauthorized release of information....

Unfortunately the leak and ensuing media frenzy led to the publicly humiliating scenario that played out over the last couple of days -- you can thank that "leak" and the media for that unfortunate spectacle. Had that not occurred, this whole action most certainly would have been conducted in the controlled, professional manner we all expect.

I hope Sandy will give Mitch some advice as he learns his new job: As a public official, you should act as if everything you do will be on the front page of the paper because it may well be. If you assume that your actions are going to be leaked, then you won't have to deal with "publicly humiliating scenarios"....or at least you'll be prepared for them.

I'm not sure what Sandy is referring to as "the firestorm of inaccurate information," but we'll correct any mistake we made. Naturally, we aren't the ones who ordered the lock changed on the chief's door, but it certainly was news that it was.

As part of our continuing coverage/investigation of the Wray case, we've made an official request that the city of Greensboro provide us a copy of the report produced by Risk Management Associates and the city's legal office. The city hired the consulting firm last year -- at a cost of $140 an hour -- to help investigate the police department's Special Intelligence Section.

With City Council's permission last night, City Manager Mitch Johnson disclosed a bit of what the investigation uncovered. But the details, the investigatory evidence and who knows what else is still locked away from public scrutiny.

Employee personnel records are generally confidential under state law. But, in this case, the council authorized Johnson to release some information to help restore public confidence in the police department. Last night's news conference helped, but many questions remain. The public deserves to know how deep and widespread the problems reach.

Update: Our coverage is collected here.

Update 2: Linda Miles, the city's attorney, declined to give us a copy of the report, saying "the report is not a public record as it contains much personnel information about many employees."

"You know what you need to do?" my wife asked this morning. Of course, I know what I need to do but I haven't figured out how to finance it yet. She was sitting at the breakfast table reading about former police chief Wray, the third consecutive day that story has dominated our front page. The Today Show was playing in the background, reporting on the possibility that James Frey "embellished" parts of his best-selling non-fiction memoir "A Million Little Pieces."

"You know what you need to do? You need to create a standing column on public lies. You could fill it every day. His non-fiction was partly fiction. Jessica and Nick say they're happily married. Angelina says she's not dating Brad. WMDs. 'I did not have sex with that woman.'

"You say you want readers to connect emotionally with the paper, to feel smarter after reading it, to be inspired and entertained. I guarantee this would be the most entertaining thing in the paper. You could call it 'The check's in the mail.'"

This suggestion isn't surprising as she's a fan of "House," whose main character's guiding philosophy is "everyone lies." I was reminded of Bob Dylan's statement in "Chronicles: "The press? I figured you lie to it."

Has potential. And in honor of the concept, the truth is, my wife and I didn't have the conversation precisely like that, but "the emotional truth is there."

Ben Nagy, who has worked as a page designer and part-time wire editor for three years, is leaving us to move closer to his family in Ohio. He's going to be the managing editor for some trade magazines there. Said news editor Teresa Prout: "Ben is a serious journalist who doesn't take himself too seriously -- a blessing. He works hard and fast, and is a strong designer and editor. He's also an awful lot of fun. Ben loves movies and comic books, and seems to be at his best when the two are combined. He's written several Go Triad columns and collaborated on a Life front on such combinations. He also rides a bicycle to work -- weather permitting or not."

Good luck, Ben.

Funny the kind of national recognition Greensboro is getting.

Last Sunday, my Life section was delivered with the bottom half crunched up like an accordion. I smoothed it out, read it and passed it to my wife, who immediately pointed to the crumples and said, "What's up with this?"

In honor of that question, I'm going to write this week about the actual, physical paper. Sometimes it has pleats where it's supposed to be smooth. It curls when it's supposed to be flat. It's blank where there are supposed to be stories.

And the oldie but goodie: it's on the grass when it's supposed to be on the driveway.

I was filling my coffee with cream and sugar at Chick-Fil-A downtown one day last week when I noticed a man hovering behind me. I moved to the side and apologized for blocking his way. He said, "Take your time. The way you're dressed, it's clear you're a working man. I'm retired. I have all the time in the world."

He asked where I worked. I told him.

"That's such a terrible paper," he said. I've long gotten used to the freedom some people feel when talking about the newspaper. I chalk it up to what Ed describes so articulately in his column this morning: people just don't know how to act in public any more. (In a perverse way, I appreciate those sorts of comments because they suggest a passionate response to the paper, even if it's a negative one.) I asked him what he didn't like.

"There's nothing local in it anymore," he said. "It is filled with wire stories from someplace else."

We recently published a clip-and-send survey asking readers what we could do to improve the paper. I'm still processing the results and will write a column about it later. However, there are a few suggestions that I can say right now that we're not going to do:

* Reduce the ads. Advertising pays the bulk of our operation. Plus, many people buy the paper for the ads. Doing away with them wouldn't help us serve you, unless you want to see exorbitant subscription increases.

* Add Li'l Abner and Moon Mullins to the comics page. Neither has been produced for years. We did get a few requests to return Mark Trail and Snuffy Smith to the pages. Those will go into the hopper for consideration.

* Enlarge the type on the stock pages. Because of the amount of newsprint required, this request, while understandable, has a high cost. Couple that with the diminishing number of readers who use the listings and we can't justify it.

* Stop writing about N.C. A&T State University. No one ever asks us to write less about any other school, but we got several comments to write less about A&T. Do we write more about A&T than the others? Certainly on the sports pages, but not on the news pages. Is it racial? Could be, but the respondents don't elaborate on why they want us to stop. A&T is one of the major institutions in Greensboro, and it makes news.

* Fire John Robinson. That would be a serious bummer, for me, at least. Actually, Ed Hardin and I are running neck-and-neck in the most expendable category. Sports columnists aren't supposed to make everyone happy, and Ed does a darned good job at that. As for me, well, I can only say that the survey is not scientific. Only coincidentally, this is my 666 post on this blog.

I know it's only television, but is it significant that of the three programs in which the President of the United States is a key character -- NBC's West Wing, ABC's Commander in Chief and Fox's 24 -- only on Fox is the president portrayed disrespectfully?

Had a conversation with Guilford schools Superintendent Terry Grier today about becoming a blogger. He's unsure about the time commitment to post -- who isn't -- and his ability to interact with commenters in a timely way. Can't blame him. We offered to host it for him, too.

Our conversation showed that he'd be a good one: he's articulate, knowledgeable and passionate. I suggested the Sandy Carmany model of blogging as public service. I am encouraged with the seriousness of thought he's putting into it.

We've just now posted audio of former Chief Wray's news conference and the text of his statement. Story to come. (News conference may be a stretch as he didn't actually take questions.)

Meanwhile, Eric Swensen conducted an interview with City Manager Mitch Johnson earlier today. Much of the Q.& A. was about the police investigation. The story will be in the paper tomorrow. The audio of the interview is up here.

We published this story today:

The News & Record announced Thursday that it has offered 24 employees voluntary early retirement packages in an effort to reduce costs.

Today's paper was a bit heavy, wasn't it? A packed house at a school redistricting hearing; more resignations tied to the ABC board investigation; drug treatment center report; more reaction to the police investigation; Konica job losses; the Rockingham County man's execution. We haven't even gotten to the new bin Laden tape, Mr. Mustang Sally's death or the story about college students and their inability to understand the typical newspaper editorial (insert your own joke here).

I know that people don't want fluff featured on the front page, but there are some days that a good Panthers story and photo of Susan Sarandon come in handy. We'll try to do better tomorrow.

Doug Cox, one of graphic artists, designed a feature that we published on Monday on the local front headlined "I Spy." But rather than the kids' game, the feature provided readers the Web addresses to access a variety of public information, including local property taxes, crime data, sex offender registries and reverse phone number sites.

Two days later he received this letter:

What a sleazy thing to do! I realize that all that information is a matter of public record but to actually facilitate spying on one's neighbor is downright tacky, at least in my opinion.

I have become increasingly disturbed by the erosion of people's privacy. This piece didn't reassure me a bit! You disappoint me.

She has a point, although we simply pointed to public records sites. In a related note, her letter was written before this story came out.

Jon Lowder points to an announcement that the Winston-Salem Journal's managing editor, Ken Otterbourg, will start blogging next week.

Welcome, Ken. Let me know if I can help.

Simpson requested a last meal of a McRib sandwich from McDonald's, a double cheeseburger from Wendy's, macaroni and cheese, cheesecake, and a Pepsi, officials said.

That's a sentence from the AP story on the execution Friday morning of Perrie Dyon Simpson. The macabre discussion in our shop went something along the lines of "a McRib sandwich? Who has a last meal of a McRib sandwich?" What is it about state executions that one of the first questions we ask is, What was the last meal?

There are Web sites devoted to compiling last meal requests. Kenneth Lee Boyd, the previously last prisoner executed in North Carolina -- a few short weeks ago -- had a New York strip steak and a salad.

The News & Observer outlines what the state prison system will do in a fascinating story for the grim of mind: In North Carolina, death row inmates can order whatever they want within reason, said Keith Acree, a state prison system spokesman. Inmates have dined on takeout from McDonald's and Arby's. Pizza has been ordered more than steak. Although Pepsi was invented in New Bern, the inmates prefer Coke products. A beer or a shot of whiskey has never been an option; an after-dinner cigarette, if it ever was a possibility, is no longer since Central Prison became smoke-free Jan. 1.

Best anecdote: 'If you get a steak, you don't get a steak knife. It takes a little bit away from the dining experience.' I don't know how Boyd cut the New York strip.

We recently published a reader survey asking you what topics you think are important, what you think we should cover and how we could improve the paper.

We've received about 250 surveys so far. Because we're going to repeat the survey next month, we haven’t tabulated them yet. But I have read them and can give you some first impressions.

First, we thank all of you who took the time to respond. You wrote with the passion that we love in newspaper readers.

On first blush, the surveys indicate what we already know: You are a diverse group with a wide range of interests, political opinions and news ideas. And, for a newspaper editor and a resident of the Triad, that's a good thing.

Two days ago I boasted that we wouldn't have to follow The Washington Post in shutting down comments on a blog because our commenters were more civil than that. Wrong again. This morning I told Bruce Buchanan, co-host of The Chalkboard, to shut down comments on a post where some commenters had gotten particularly nasty and personally vicious.

We believe in the importance of participative discussion about the issues of the day. We also want to hear what you have to say about us. Listening is important, and we have thick skins. But there's no community purpose served in insulting and belittling other participants. When it's done by those who post anonymously.... Well, the advised behavior for others is to ignore the trolls, as difficult as that may be.

We've run into some contractual issues with our plans for a registration system. When those are worked out, we hope the level of discourse will be raised.

Update: Other newspaper sites take a more wide-open approach.

Ken Sands, the innovative online publisher of The Spokesman-Review, published a list of the "10 Things Editors Should Do in 2006." It's more of a learning guide, rather than a doing guide, which is fine. Because it's on a registration required site, I'll list them in short-hand:

1. Use RSS.
2. Subscribe to some media sources.
3. Attend a conference.
4. Experiment with alternative story forms.
5. Get involved with citizen media.
6. Think about blogging. (He mentions this site here for which I am appreciative.)
7. Exploit the power of database utility.
8. Discover social networking.
9. Keep an eye on the future.
10. Give readers what they want more often.

It's a good list with useful links throughout. I'd add two more pieces of advice:

11. Don't worry about feeling as if you're behind. You're not. Well, you may be now, but if you work through Ken's list, you'll be ahead of most of the newspapers around. Experiment to see what works in your shop. It's not hard to move ahead.
12. Be bold. Don't be intimidated or frightened by the rough-and-tumble online atmosphere encountered recently by The New York Times or The Washington Post. Most readers are civil and sophisticated and tolerant. They will support your efforts.

I don't explain all of our errors here, only notable ones. For many of our readers who got this edition of the paper, this is notable.

This morning's article about acting police Chief Tim Bellamy's review of the independent investigation reports broke late yestereday. Our two reporters finished it around midnight, and our editors pulled off the Los Angeles Times article about the Saddam Hussein trial to make room for the Bellamy story. Unfortunately, in the production process, the wrong plate was replaced on the press and, while the Bellamy story made the paper, his photograph didn't. Instead, the photo of the former judge of the Saddam trial remained. (Here is a pdf of the correct page.)

By the time we caught it, most of our Greensboro subscribers received a paper with the judge being identified as Chief Bellamy. Today, we talked with the acting chief, and he was a good sport about it. He even took the opportunity to tell us he wanted us to get an updated photo because he didn't like the one we've been using. Consider it done.

We apologize for the confusion. Personally, I'm just thankful for small blessings: it could have been a photo of Saddam.

Our e-mail server crashed this morning. I mean crashed. Since about 8 a.m. we've gotten nada. Zip. So, if you've e-mailed us something, we haven't been able to access it.

I assure you that you don't know how important e-mail is to your business until you don't have it. However, feel free to leave your messages to the newsroom here.

Mayor Keith Holliday is dealing with his own problems tonight. But as I'm watching American Idol in Greensboro on Fox8, I'm curious if Holiday would approve the program's "PGA".

Open public meetings and records are often seen as press issues rather than public issues. Government officials who don't want the public to see what they are doing try to spin the discussion that way. Melanie Sill, editor of the N&O, points out two such recent occasions: one involving Sen. Richard Burr and the other involving the state lottery.

It may be a stretch to link this with what's going on with the Greensboro Police Department. I don't have a sense that city officials are saying that the public would be disruptive to the process, as Sen. Burr said. And there seems to be distinct legal and investigative pressure on the City Council not to release many details of their investigative reports. (To her credit, council member Sandy Carmany is struggling with it all.) But at its core, the purpose of the open records laws is to ensure transparency of the people's business. There probably are myriad reasons not to release more information. But there's one 800-pound gorilla of a reason to do so: the integrity of the police department and, judging by letters to the editor, the credibility of city government itself are at stake.

Update: Or, what the hey, maybe not.

I don't write about our advertising policies or initiatives because I don't have anything to do with them. But classified ads drive readership, which does interest me. And with all the changes in the classified market, our advertising department has spent a lot of time improving our classified section in the paper and online. As a result, a new classified section will debut Feb. 1.

The big news? Free ads!

Here's the news release they sent to me:

We know that headlines are the second component of a page that readers see, behind photos. We also know that headlines are critical to drawing readers into a story. And we know that readers are quick to criticize when the headline is imprecise.

We spend a lot of time working to improve our headlines. Here's a note that Copy Desk Chief Jim Denery sent to his staff. The "she" her refers to is Anne Glover, who led a headline writing workshop here last year. I offer it up for two reasons: to show you what we're working on and to offer headline advice to budding citizen journalists.

Here it is:

The first story was about a fire that struck the Hoggatt House, the oldest house in High Point. The story came with two photos on the front: The bigger one showed almost one entire side of the house, along with a tree with markings that indicated a lightning strike. The second photo was apparently a spinning wheel from the house. An overline for the package said:

Lightning sparks fire at museum building

Glover remarked that the overline was "an okay label," but she suggested: Disaster strikes 250-year-old landmark

Beth asks a great question at Ed Cone's:...has the N&R ever thought of a N&R TV Channel? Kinda a tri-fold attempt at media. Using the same material on TV, Internet, & Print? Would certainly have some bragging rights for advertisers.

The answer is yes, we've thought about it at length over the years. We've had discussions with WXII and WFMY about partnerships, although not recently to my knowledge. I had some casual-over-lunch discussions a few years ago with the now-former news director at WFMY about creating a separate newscast on a cable channel. Some newspapers and television stations have a variety of partnerships, including our sister paper, The Virginian-Pilot, which has a television studio in its newsroom. The Tampa Tribune's operation is probably the most mature example of convergence.

We haven't pulled the trigger on any of the ideas because, while news is a core competency, video ain't. Had our crystal ball been clearer, we would have leapt in with both feet, learned video and branded our news voice on the small screen. (No, Neill McNeill has nothing to worry about from me.)

Now, of course, all bets are off. We are developing video for online. I doubt that we'll go into broadcast or cable, but I've learned over the last few years to never say never. We still don't know what video will look like -- I don't think it will be a newscast like Delaware's -- but who knows? As y'all know, we're learning as we go.

A few of you have suggested that we consider following the lead of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison and let readers use the Web site to vote for the story they'd most like to see on the front page.

From managing editor Tim Kelley's announcement early this week:

Under the "Reader's Choice" heading, we'll offer four or five story choices varying day to day from local to national, entertainment to sports. You'll be able to see immediately how your choice stacks up against others, and check back later for final results.

In the paper, we'll identify the day's top vote-getter with a "reader's choice" label. Unless later-breaking, major news displaces it, the reader's choice typically will appear on the front page.

An article about it is here.

The results so far have been what I'd call reasonable. From an NPR story: Editor Ellen Foley says she and her colleagues have been pleasantly surprised to see the results. Instead of lighter fare, for instance, readers chose the triumph of Hamas in Palestinian elections -- and what that will mean for Palestinian-Israeli relations -- as their top choice. Today, the Reader's Choice story is on affordable dental care and, with only two full paragraphs visible, barely squeaks onto the page.

It's a daring concept in passing control to the reader. I'm thinking through how it would work as we push more local and "unique" stories to the front. If an article has been on the Web site -- and, presumably on television -- most of the day, won't readers already know it? And if they already know it, are we delivering as much value by putting it on the front page?

UNCG served fried chicken and watermelon in its cafeteria on the Martin Luther King holiday, according to the Carolina Peacemaker. We didn't get the story, but the Peacemaker stripped it across the top of its front page (not posted). It didn't appear as if there was much, if any, unsolicited protest from the patrons, although the story is a bit unclear on this point. While I don't have the story in front of me now, I don't believe it said what else was served in the cafeteria that day, whether fried chicken was one among several main courses or watermelon was along side apples and oranges.

In any case, is it a legitimate news story? Is it a news story for them....but not for us? I think if we had it back on MLK Day, we'd have run with it. But based on how much we don't know about the story, I'm not sure that that would have been the right call. Given the reaction to this photo back in August, I figure you'll have thoughts.

Much has been made of the decline of newspaper classifieds. (Full disclosure: Just last week my wife bought a car through our classifieds at a pretty decent price so I'm a newly satisfied customer.)Interesting trends cited in this report last week by Borrell Associates. (Full disclosure II: Gordon Borrell used to work for our sister paper in Norfolk, Va.)

Craig has found Greensboro. So has Monster. Google is Froogle. Ebay is, well, Ebay.

We get it.

Tomorrow we are introducing a redesigned newspaper and online classified section called Triad Marketplace that has several new, and we hope, helpful features to make buying and selling simpler and easier. (Full disclosure III: I didn't have much to say about the new section or its features, but I like them.)

The headlines are these: