News-Record.com

Online News Squared links to Tim Rickard's Brewster Rockit with a I-wish-I-had-thought-of-that-line line.

Tim also maintains The Joke's on You.

I voted early so this won't help me, but it may interest you. Here the video debate between mayoral candidates Yvonne Johnson and Milton Kern. (Sorry, Billy.) Moderators are Editorial Page Editor Allen Johnson and Government Editor Eddie Wooten.

Fair warning: It's 35 minutes long; they are politicians, after all.

Update: We've broken it down by question so it's more manageable.

We've added a new blog called Triad Diary. I meant to let it simmer awhile and build up some steam before writing about it here, but after a day it already has 10 posts so maybe it has simmered enough.

As stated in its intro: A community is defined as much by its small stories of life as its big news events. This is a place where we hope to tell some of them. Some will be anecdotes, others observations. Some will have insight, others no obvious point. Sort of like every day life.

One aim is to get people from outside of our staff to contribute. Well beyond our wildest dreams, it took less than two hours to get a reader-generated post.

Visit. You can listen to the Boss as you do.

While I fear it will get lost in the holiday rush away from the web, Decision 2008, our election blog hosted by the inexhaustable Mark Binker, is up and running.

It is a shame that today's paper isn't among the best read -- I can't imagine why -- because there's good stuff in it, including these two:

* This is our second year soliciting wrapping paper creations from readers. We got more than 100 entries -- you know, this isn't like shooting off an e-mail; this requires actual work. Additional entries here. As a special bonus, all of the submissions are on display through early January at the Greensboro Public Library's Central Branch.

* We publish our All-Area football, volleyball and boys soccer teams. This is a special issue for these athletes; more special for their parents.

Enjoy.

In the two months the Debatables blog has been up, no story has gotten more comments than the reassignment of A&T athletic director Dee Todd, which got 39. But last week's possible News & Record sale comes close, with 34.

Next comes a discussion about school fights; actually you could argue that this topic is the biggest one. We had two debates about it, one day apart. One got 33 comments; the other 7.

Tied for third with 33 comments was a story about Schools Superintendent Terry Grier in the running for a job in San Diego.

I guess you could say that A&T sports trumps the dismay with the paper, fights and the super. Of course, the topic is John Edwards and his campaign today so he could fight his way to the top.

Tuesday update: As of this writing Tuesday morning, Edwards got 13 comments, respectable but moderate in turnout. I don't know if that's a good or bad sign for his candidacy. If you read the responses to the stories with the most comments, they are dominated by people passionate in their distaste of the topic. If you're a political candidate, you don't want the dislike, but you want the passion.

I continue to be impressed at how the different media tell stories in different ways. The latest case is this written story, this photo/audio slide show and sound, and this video, all about Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. And they are all really about Martin Luther King Jr.

Each presentation is both informative and moving in its own way. Listening to and comparing these should put to rest the old media types who keep popping up with complaints that they didn't get into journalism to take video or record sound. I defy anyone to listen to Dr. King's words and the gospel music (on the slide show) and not be inspired. That's a message that even the most powerful words on paper can't replicate.

For the second straight month, this post has ranked among the top 10 most trafficked blog posts on our site. As you might note, it was written in October.

Why? I'd wager it's the perfectly Googlable headline: "Talk dirty to me."

Ahead of it last month were posts more specifically local: about Terry Grier and the sale of the paper.

As for this blog, these posts made the list.

We have transformed greensboro.com into our city bicentennial site. We're building it as we approach the bicentennial itself in March. You will note that some of the pages are still under construction, and we'll be adding more content to it as we complete it.

From the intro page: Turn to Greensboro.com throughout 2008 to find out about events scheduled to celebrate our fair city's 200th anniversary, learn about Greensboro's rich and colorful history, and connect with the people and places that make the city a wonderful place to call home.

It's common knowledge that the diet of news folk is more John Daly than, say, Lance Armstrong. Fast-food burgers, eating on the run, drinking too much...you know the drill. Heck, in my earlier reporting life, I lived off the sandwiches, honey buns and so-called fruit pies in the vending machines across the hall from the newsroom. Hey, make fun all you want, in those days we believed Wonder Bread helped build strong bodies 12 ways.

Which brings me to Cheesefry Nation, our latest blog. Proud eaters Joe Killian and Amanda Lehnert write about their efforts to clean up their act.

Joe writes: So Amanda and I are doing something about it -- taking the Get Healthy Guilford Challenge and launching a blog to chart our progress. In our typical fat, lazy fashion we're doing it a week late -- but I'm still determined to lose ten pounds in ten weeks. And, hopefully, a few inches off my waist. Those pants aren't getting any bigger.

Knowing the two of them, it'll be fun to watch.

We have a video entertainment report called Unwind. I haven't written about it before because it is still beta, but what the hey... you like to give us feedback.

This week's episode has reports on synerG, Molly McGinn, speed dating and some best bets for entertainment. And as I'm a big fan of Molly's and we have her playing and singing, it's worth a look for that alone.

If you missed the special section on Greensboro: 1808-2008 in yesterday's paper, go back to the recycling bin and get it. It's a keeper.

That's not just me talking, either. The Greensboro Historical Museum is going to display an enlargement of the 1808-2008 city map by Doug Cox in its lobby during the long bicentennial celebration.

A bunch of Greensboro bicentennial info here.

Credit for the bicentennial special section goes to editor Bob Williams; designer Jennifer Burton; copy editor Brenda Hiles, researchers David Bulgin and Diane Lamb, and, of course, Cox.

For Tar Heel junkies, we have gathered our season's worth of UNC coverage in one place, beginning with a nice sights-and-sounds slideshow of the Eastern Regionals. (All the photo galleries are there, too.)

Just to get you ready for Saturday night.

As part of our bicentennial coverage, we have digitized some of the more historically significant papers in our archives.

News librarian Diane Lamb explains:

This assignment was like going into a candy story that has all your favorites but you are told you can choose only 2 pieces.

Stay tuned -- we hope to scan more of our historical microfilm in the future.

We have looked into digitizing the total archives. Way too expensive...now.

It is interesting to wander around in these editions, looking at how news judgment, design and advertising styles have changed over the years.

The Society of Professional Journalists is conducting a Citizen Journalism Academy June 7 at at Guilford College's Frank Family Science Center. This looks like a good deal -- a lot of valuable learning.

From the release:

Among the topics this daylong workshop will explore:

* Journalism ethics. The new-media landscape is rife with dilemmas for anyone wanting to report accurately, fairly and outside the bounds of special interests.

* The basics of media law. The same longstanding laws concerning libel, slander and access to people and information apply to 21st-century news-gatherers.

* Access to pubic records and meetings. Public information can add substance and value to every news story. But knowing where to look for it can be tough.

* Standard and responsible reporting practices. With media ethics and law in mind, how else should news-gatherers approach sources.

* Tips on smart writing. SPJ instructors want to help ensure your voice is clearly understood.

* The use of technology. We'll show you an array of tools you could start using -- or continue using even more effectively.

The cost to attend the Citizen Journalism Academy is $25, which includes lunch and course materials. For more information about this program or to register, visit SPJ's Citizen Journalism Academy page. Please note, the registration deadline is May 24 and seating is limited.

Want to hear the straight talk on McCain's Straight Talk Express? Mark Binker taped it in all its 25-minute glory today.

Be prepared to listen to sausage being made.

About four weeks and change until the Citizen Journalism Academy being put on by the Society of Professional Journalists The June 7 session at Guilford College promises to be good. Learn about journalism ethics, media law, public records, new tools and smart writing, among other things. I know two of the session facilitators and they're top drawer talents.

It costs $25. Register here.

For what it's worth: Friday morning's storm brought us the most page views of any day since we installed our current measurement system in August 2006. Comparing tragedies, the traffic was a third again higher than the fire at Eastern High School in November 2006. These numbers don't include multimedia (photos, video or audio) so the total is even higher.

I asked Michael Grossman, our online content editor, his thoughts on why the numbers were so high: Typically, bad weather (hurricanes, winter storms -- both actual events and predictions) are among the most viewed. There was a death which may have added more. And it made the national news, which I'm sure helped as we got some traffic from Google, but it wasn't a big chunk of the traffic. I think the fact that there were numerous updates always helps bring people back -- the initial reporting, the city letting some business owners in, several press conference updates, releasing the identity of the man killed.

Compelling news story, constant updating and different types of media. That's a recipe for success. I'd add that we posted virtually the entire day beginning at about 12:30 a.m. and were really cranking it up before most people woke up in the morning to see the damage.