News-Record.com

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 her learn some more of the news ropes first.

Sonja Elmquist, intrepid police reporter for the past couple years, is going back to school to get her master's at the Medill School at Northwestern. (I've never understood why people get masters in journalism, but that's another discussion.) She really did a range of stories -- more than just crime -- as any reporter does these days.

As Metro editor Teresa Prout said, "Sonja has brought energy, enthusiasm and a fearless approach to reporting to this newspaper since coming to the Rockingham bureau in December of 2005."

We have been inundated with "Good Stuff" submissions and we've published a couple dozen.

Life editor Susan Ladd sent an N&R version out to the news staff this morning that says so much about the people who work here I asked her if I could post it.

After work yesterday, I was heading to a meeting with one of my professors. But when I got to my car, one of the front tires was completely flat. After turning the air blue with profanity, I was in the process of trying to reach my professor and AAA by cell phone when News & Record photographer Scott Hoffmann walked up. "Don't call AAA, I'll do it. It'll only take about 5 minutes."

I limped into the parking lot where I found more level ground, and Scott started the process, only to discover that my lug wrench was nowhere to be found. He proceeded to unload his trunk -- Have you ever seen a professional photographer's trunk? It holds the equivalent of the cargo from the Titanic -- to find his lug wrench, and set a land-speed record for changing my tire.

Turns out, he had to head to another assignment, but took time out to help me anyway. Meanwhile, a second N&R good Samaritan, Jennifer Fernandez, used her cell phone to email my professor when email from my phone (Roadrunner strikes again) failed to go through.

So I wanted to say thank you again to my N&R heroes. And remind everyone that we have some of the nicest people in this building that you'll meet anywhere in the city.

We all hate that 25 people left our company yesterday. They are good people and did good work. We miss them as colleagues and as friends.

There is no great surprise in why this step was necessary. Incidentally, neither the newspaper nor the Web sites are going away. Unlike many of the media companies in trouble, the News & Record is not saddled with massive debt.

Newsrooms are special places. The public image is of a noisy place full of loud, wise-cracking people, who shout, complain and curse their way past resistant sources and deadline pressures. That's pretty much accurate. Less known is a key characteristic that makes all that worthwhile. This afternoon, a co-worker brought me a bottle of gin to console me after yesterday's pain. Unexpected, unnecessary but certainly welcome.

That's what newsrooms are like. That's what the people who inhabit newsrooms are like. (Now that I think of it, I should have given a bottle to each of the six people I spoke with yesterday.)

To me, the joy of this business is in chasing good stories and working with great people. That joy is diminished when great people leave. There's a hole within us; something's missing. But journalists are a resourceful, resilient bunch and joy regenerates relatively quickly. It must. There are good stories to tell and deadlines to meet. (Liquor helps.)

Lex Alexander, who has covered cops, City Hall, religion, health and the region and who has filled several editing roles in his 21 years here, took the buyout. As you can tell, he was invaluable as a utility infielder, going where he was needed and doing well. He has won state and national awards, including this one.

In my mind, his greatest influence was felt on our digital efforts, beginning with his report in 2004 about how we should build out our digital presence. We haven't completed it even as we've tried to embrace it. That's no fault of Lex's. His vision was clear and on target.

In her announcement about Lex, his editor, Teresa Prout, included this note in 1989 from then-editor Ben Bowers: Thanks to the efforts of Lex Alexander, the News & Record did a good job of keeping our readers informed about what was going on in the fraud trial of Jim Bakker. Lex's stories told more than what was said in the courtroom every day. He also gave some perspective to what was happening … Covering the PTL trial was not an easy assignment. It required Lex to get up at some godawful hour every morning to wait in line just to get in the courtroom. Although court usually didn’t recess for the day until 6:30 p.m., Lex still managed to have stories to us by 7:30 p.m. most days. … Lex's stories measured up quite well with those of reporters for The Associated Press, the Charlotte Observer and national newspapers.

And, as our chronicler of the strange, it's fitting that, right before his last day, he collected on my New Year's challenge, leaving my wallet $100 lighter.

Rascal.

I'm pleased that Lex Alexander completed the year by completing my New Year's challenge. He's the third to do so.

I am disappointed that I didn't get more takers for an easy $100 that doubled as an investment in the future. 2009's challenge will likely be more directive and more immediately beneficial.

Allen Johnson writes eloquently today about the retirement of Becky Layton and the departure of Elma Sabo.

When I was in the editorial department, Becky taught me as much about reader response as anyone in the news business. We would get angry, personal letters in response to an editorial or a column or a point of view. As part of her job, Becky would open the letters, log them in and pass them to me for a decision on whether to publish. When I would remark on the viciousness of the sentiments, she would say, "You can't make everyone happy. Just let it roll right off your back."

Her lesson: In this job, if you aren't making some people mad, then you're not doing your job.

A shoutout to Jennifer Burton, who is one of our page designers and who organizes a bake sale in the newsroom every year to raise money for Urban Ministry. People in the newsroom -- Journalists? Cooking? Uh-oh -- donated homemade and store-bought cookies, breads, pies, brownies, fudge and, even doggie snacks. The food was piled high on a couple of tables in the newsroom and everything was priced to sell.

(I brought brownies, but, fearing that my efforts would be deemed insufficient -- journalists are nothing if not insecure -- I supplemented them with some timely purchases at Cheesecakes by Alex.)

Jennifer's report: "In about 9 hours, we raised $600 for Greensboro Urban Ministry’s food bank. That far exceeds our total from last year (and it's gone up every year since we started this!). The bake sale would not be so successful without everyone’s generosity. It makes me proud that we are making a difference."

Me, too.

The bake sale is over, but you can still participate in the giving.

Business reporter Lanita Withers is going to work at the UNCG news bureau. In her five years with us, she has worked in Rockingham County, covered higher education and, now, covered business.

She's probably best known outside the newsroom for her Savvy Shopper column. Inside this place, she's better known for her sense of humor, her polite yet incisive questions of this editor, and stories that explain what the heck is happening to the economy.

Our loss is UNCG's gain.

Sportswriter Rob Daniels is mentioned in the first post of this blog because he had already beaten me to the blogging trough. In all, he's made a dozen appearances here, usually because he's won an award, because he's tried something new and interesting or because he's made someone mad.

All of which makes it doubly sad to announce that he's taking the buyout and leaving at the end of the year after, appropriately, he covers Carolina, Wake and State in their bowl games. Rob is our version of Tyler Hansbrough; he works as long as the lights are on, dives for every ball, loose or not, and covers all of the court. Though his beat is college sports, he goes wherever we need him or wherever he sees a story. Of course, his true claim to fame is being able to drop an obscure rock band reference into any story he writes.

We will fill his position, but it'll be tough to replace him.

Lenslinger writes about covering this week's visit by President Bush. Then, yesterday, he waxes on about photographer Jerry Wolford's shot in yesterday's paper. (Last photo in slide show.)

For all the words I used trying to describe my ride on Flatbed One, Jerry Wolford summed it up in a single frame. Actually, I bet the News & Record photographer popped off more than one shot as he lay in front of that puddle of standing water. I myself watched him recline there for a good ten minutes, before turning my attention back to the jumbo jet in question. While I transmitted pictures that dissipated on impact, he triggered an image that'll last forever.

I asked Jerry about that shot. He explained in his usual droll style:

I had been riding in the Pool coverage van and we arrived as "W" was running up the steps to AF One. So I am thinking, that's good, I am in the pool and I am going to miss him falling down the steps.

I was lucky enough to get the picture before the Secret Service could take me out with their long guns.

Thanks for the notice, Lenslinger.

Two folks are leaving us as part of the buyout program. Copy editor Frank Oathoudt and reporter Adria Hairston.

Frank came to us nearly 15 years ago, after a career in the military. In that time, he's done practically everything on the copy desk, including serving as our national editor. Like most of us, he has distinctive personality traits. For a while, he made sculpture out of plastic soda bottle caps. Like me, he usually has a bag of baby carrots to munch on. His devotion to getting it right never wavers.

Adria started here two years ago, about the time we launched the Guilford Records publications. She has written for all three of the Records, ranging from first-person columns to news stories about government machinations to human interest stories. She's also one of our go-to people to represent the paper at community functions.

We'll miss them both.

Christy Seals, one of our crack copy editors, will soon become an editor at Education and Training Systems International in Chapel Hill. Sound familiar?

In making the announcement, her boss, Cathy Frail, said, "Christy is an excellent editor, a stickler for style, and a clever and creative headline writer (she even cracks herself up sometimes with the really good headlines)."

Christy won a first place Landmark Award in 2005 and a second place in 2004. She won an N.C. Press Association award last year.

She was also one of the panelists at the first ConvergeSouth in 2005 when it centered on blogging, interactivity and creativity.

Happy for her, not happy with this.

We've released Tim Rickard's inner cynic.

Well, hardly. It was on the loose long ago. But our award-winning staff artist has added editorial cartoonist to his ever-lengthening list of job duties.

I can't speak for Tim, but my guess is that he considers himself ... a conservative!

Jim gets a new assignment. In New Delhi.

Jayme Elrod, one of our talented page designers, has signed on with Education and Training Systems International in Chapel Hill. Bummer. In her new job, Jayme will make sure that the pharmaceutical educational products the company makes fit presentation and editing guidelines, style and client criteria. Kinda like an editor.

I'm sure it'll be fun, but, as her boss, Ben Villarreal, said: "We will miss Jayme's eye for strong design and her attention to detail, which showed in her sharp, clean work in the paper."

It wasn't entirely a beautiful day in the neighborhood yesterday at the Palin rally.

One of our reporters, Joe Killian, is kicked by a rally-goer.

Classy.

Joe's take.

Joe's fine, by the way, and is ready to move to the next day's story.

Update: A report on the arrest of an Elon University student here. Meanwhile, Sara comments at Binker's place about other incidents.

Update: Palin rally video.

The nation's most prestigious journalism award for features and lifestyle reporting is the Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards. (I don't know how it became the most prestigious. It just has been for the 30-plus years I've been in the business.)

So, I am delighted that our Life section won first place in general excellence this year.

Judges comments:
The News & Record entertains and informs in its lifestyle section. From the significant story about the church members who moved into a neighborhood to be better able to serve their neighbors to a story about online gamers, the content is reported and written well. The photographs are excellent, and the design reaches out to readers by using impact and organization. The content is largely local, and it is supplemented by local columnists.

Winners in other circulation categories included the Washington Post and the Kansas City Star. Nice company.

Congratulations to features editor Susan Ladd, assistant editor Mike Kernels, day desk chief Kim Stacks Mills and their staffs.

Bam, just like that I got the privilege of paying another $100 to the second person to complete the New Year's digital challenge. Last week, it was Melissa Umbarger. Today it is reporter Gerald Witt.

Gerald is a host of Inside Scoop and is in the midst of planning this.

Down $200 and it's still a great investment.

Jim Young, who has covered sports for us since 1999, is going to become editor of ACCSports.com, the companion Web site to the ACC Sports Journal. (Don't bother going there now. It's under construction.) "Jim will provide daily analysis and commentary and learn first-hand what a challenge it can be to work with writers," wrote his editor, Joe Sirera.

Jim is a winner of state press association and national sportswriting awards, and is a regular SportsExtra contributor. As Joe wrote in his announcement to the staff about Jim, "His intelligence, humor and uncanny ability to quote lines from any 'Seinfield' episode will be missed."

My wallet is $100 lighter today, and I couldn't be happier about it.

I paid out to the first person who completed my New Year's challenge today. Among other things, designer Mel Umbarger created a copy desk wiki for a style book, schedules and more; created personal profiles on several social networking sites, learned Soundslides and Flash; blogged; and posted all sorts of content to the Web site.

The idea behind the challenge is to embrace all the tools available to extend our journalism. The personal upsides are that the staffers learn new skills and invest in their own future. For us, we get savvier digital journalists. Some of the learning that Mel took on was more useful than others. Everything she did was well-done, though.

For $100, I think I got the good end of the bargain. Thank you for taking it on, Mel.

Kavita Pillai, a reporter for the Guilford Record, is leaving us for Memphis, family and, eventually, law school.

When I told her that society needs good journalists way more than it needs new lawyers, she told me that she wants to be a journalist with a law degree.

She's done outstanding work for us.

The multiple talents of reporters. First, Taft Wireback sings. Now Tom Keller cracks wise. See for yourselves.

At 10 p.m. tomorrow, Tom is competing in the Ultimate Comic Challenge at the Idiot Box on Elm Street. And here your vote counts. Go jeer him on.

Sunday Update: Tom advanced to the next round! So cheer him on this coming Friday.

Steve Berry, who covered education here in the 1980s and who won a Pulitzer in 1993 while with the Orlando Sentinel, has written a book, Watchdog Journalism: The Art of Investigative Reporting, due out in August.

Steve was a tenacious reporter here, writing about school merger and school fire code violations, among many other topics. I'm not surprised he's writing about investigative journalism. Given the book's $35 price tag, I'm thinking that Steve, who is now an associate professor of journalism at the University of Iowa, is looking to get it used as a textbook. The Steve I know would have said, "We should take a look at this racket!" :)

Marie Inkenbrandt, who has been with us for 15 years, got married last week. That's the good news.

The bad news is that she is moving to Milwaukee to join her husband.

Marie joined the night desk as an editor and designer in 1993. Since 2004, she has done the same on the day desk.

Blog readers know her for her Scrabble-playing prowess.

You sure, Marie? It's cold up there on the shores of Lake Michigan.

We had a going away celebration for Managing Editor Ann Morris in the newsroom this afternoon. The things normally go like this: We say nice things about the person leaving, tell a few jokes, give the person a mock front page about herself, give her a ceremonial mug (don't ask) and then she addresses the newsroom.

Everything went according to plan, until we got to the part in which she addresses the newsroom. She started by saying that in these times in which newspapers are being downsized and sold, and when good people just want to do good journalism, people need some hope. People need some inspiration. People need music. People need Springsteen. And in walks what she called the East Market Street Band, which begins singing "No Retreat, No Surrender."

In case you were wondering about the state of newspapers, now you know.

P.S. It was a concert of a lifetime. Thanks, Ann, Margaret, Teresa, Jeri, Joe and Mark.

As I was channel surfing the local stations watching the weather coverage last night, Fox8 had a crew in the field reporting back about the lightning strikes in the area. After a moment, anchor Neill McNeill in the studio told the reporter and photojournalist in the remote truck to power down so that they don't attract a strike.

I don't know if the crew did; I surfed on. But I bet they didn't.

I have been in Neill's position many times and told working journalists not to get themselves hurt in reporting a story. Pretty much been ignored every time. The drive to get the story is powerful. Reporters and photographers don't go to the scene not to report what they see.

*Running Toward Danger

My longtime friend and colleague Owen Davis is retiring in July. Owen, who is our sports copy desk chief, has only been with us for two years, but I've known him since the early 80s when we worked together at the N&O. In between the N&O and us, Owen was at the Detroit Free Press, where he spent 20 years as deputy sports editor.

He moved here to be closer to family and we knew we wouldn't have him a long time, but he's been a pivotal player while here.

Ann Morris, who has been managing editor here since 2003, is leaving us.

It pains me just to write that sentence.

Right now, she's going to enjoy spending the summer with her two daughters and doing volunteer work. Eventually, she plans to rejoin the official workforce, perhaps in a community service role.

It's a tough loss for us because Ann has been deeply involved in all the important moves we've made over the past five years, including redesigning the paper, revamping Sunday, creating more digital elements, and conceiving and editing much of the compelling journalism we've produced. She has also recruited some of the best young journalists around. Her decisions made the paper better every day.

It's a tough loss for me personally because she has been a valued counselor and mentor to me. I admire her for making the decision she did; I know how much she loves journalism. After all, she has spent most of her career as a journalist, including 12 years here as a reporter, editorial writer and editor.

But I also know how challenging it is to raise two pre-teen daughters. Ann is working on the right things.

I've always thought that the managing editor's job is a meat grinder. Responsible for the daily operations of the paper, daily operations that span from 8 a.m. to past midnight seven days a week without break. Pressure from people like me on items big and small. Pressure from reporters and other editors on everything else. While all the time listening to and responding to readers.

She handled it all seamlessly.

As for her future, she will make a huge contribution wherever she lands. Any organization would be lucky to have her. And I'm crossing my fingers she'll come back here.

I didn't get my first reporting job because I wasn't tech savvy enough. This was back in the 70s and it meant that I wasn't a fast enough typist. True story.

Laugh if you must, but the same holds true today, only the technology has changed.

That's what I told Ryan Thornburg's brown-bag lunch gathering at UNC today. The more students learn blogging, Twitter, social networking, beat blogging, video, programming and the like, the better prepared they'll be to be on the front end of "if the news is important, it will find me" rather than choking on the dust trying to catch up.

When I ask job candidates if they do any of those things and they give me a befuddled look, that tells me something about them.

I don't want to be the smartest one in the room. (I know; no problem there.) I'm more impressed when someone discovers a useful new tool and adapts it to his/her work or tries to. If, say, a job candidate shows me the value of Twitter as a reporting tool, they have a leg up. It tells me that they're keeping up with what's happening in the field.

Innovation is more effective when it comes bottom up than top down.

We have moved some folks around. Amanda Lehmert is going to cover City Hall and Tom Keller will cover high school sports.

For those who feared we would assign a "rookie" to City Hall -- I've heard the whispers -- rest easy. She's been a full-time reporter for five years and won first place awards from the New England Press Association for investigative reporting, education reporting and environmental reporting.

We did well in the annual Associated Press Sports Editors contest.

In our circulation category:
* Jim Young is in the Top 10 in the Game Story category for his report on UNC's loss to Georgetown in the NCAA basketball tournament.

* Ed Hardin is in the Top 10 in the Projects category for his Changing Landscape series.

* Our Sunday section was an honorable-mention choice, meaning it was in the top 11-20.

It's a national contest and very competitive. We continue to try to do new, different things with our section. It's nice that the individual and section efforts are recognized.

Margaret Banks, our city hall reporter and veteran Inside Scooper, is making the leap to the dark side. She's becoming our assistant sports editor. (Listen as editors across the country go screaming out into the night!)

Margaret is ready. She has covered city hall for nearly two years and has also been a religion reporter, a general assignment reporter and a reporter in Rockingham County. No direct sports coverage experience? We're in interesting times and that calls for interesting experiences. She's got 'em.

And for everyone who thinks we have a Tar Heel blue tint, she graduated from UNCG.

Our friend and columnist Glenn Chavis was featured on Fox8 last week talking about his special interest in black history in High Point. Check it out.

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is the highest civilian honor that can be granted in North Carolina.

Past recipients include Michael Jordan, Charles Kuralt, Maya Angelou, the Rev. Billy Graham, William C. Friday, Doug Marlette, Fred Chappell, and artist Bob Timberlake.

And now, Jim Schlosser, who got it last night.

Update: Seth Effron, a former colleague of mine and Jim's at the N&R, presented Jim with the award on behalf of the governor. His comments at the presentation ceremony -- which, regrettably I missed -- are here.

His dearest friend, Alina Wilson, writes about Jeff in a way that no one else has or can.

We'll all read in the next few days about Jeff Carlton the writer, the reporter, the UVA alumnus, and the sports aficionado. But I have had a different experience with Jeff. I knew Jeff, the man, the friend, the devoted confidant, the loving son and brother. I will talk about things few people knew or maybe fewer people noticed.

And then she does just that. Read the whole thing. It is a wonderful, mournful, loving tribute.

Wednesday update: Jim Young posts his comments at the memorial service for Jeff.

If you've ever wondered about the measure of the impact of a man, read the comments about Jeff Carlton. They inspire me to be better.

Jim Young describes a friendship:

His cubicle at the News & Record sat next to mine. In the long stretches between interviews, during the frequent bouts with writer's block or while trying to avoid tedious transcriptions, we'd engage in conversations that could drift any which way at any moment. Frequently they were about minutiae that would only interest the two of us -- what other movies was Yaphet Kotto in besides Live and Let Die? Was there a better villain than James Earl Jones in Conan the Barbarian? Was Sammy Khalifa the only Arab-American to play in the Major Leagues? -- but they were always entertaining. They were talks I looked forward to every time I'd walk into the office and he would spin around in his chair to greet me. Our boss, Joe Sirera, used to joke that we could create a radio show just by recording the random conversations Jeff and I had and putting them on the air.

I realize that doesn't sound like the storybook version of friendship. Jeff never pulled me from a run-away train. I never introduced him to the love of his life. But in the real world -- the one that now has a huge, unfillable void it in now that Jeff is gone -- this is the true way friendship works: two guys, sitting around, having a conversation about nothing, sharing moments that, when you look back on them, mean everything.

Update: Fox8 came over to talk about Jeff. Unfortunately, Jeff's co-workers who know him best were all out working. That left me.

Our friend and colleague Jeff Carlton died today after a long and valiant fight with brain cancer.

Jeff was first diagnosed several years ago and went through surgery. He recovered and returned to work covering sports. The cancer returned and he's been battling it for months. He carried this horrible burden with grace. I never saw him down in the dumps. In fact, he was planning a bright future. Last Friday, we talked for an hour about his interest in becoming assistant sports editor. He was passionate and eager to lead the change in sports.

Two days later, though, he was admitted to the hospital and never left.

Jeff had been a copy editor and reporter here for 10 years, much of the time covering high school sports. He was a heckuva writer, broke his share of stories and won his share of awards. But his journalistic legacy -- one of his legacies, I guess -- is that he earned the trust and respect of coaches and players. He treated people fairly and got it right.

For us here, we lost a dear friend.

Update: A story here. And a nice piece at Greensboro Sports.

Update 2: Robert Bell's tribute this morning.

I hope others feel free to leave thoughts and memories here.

I should have noted that Jim has left behind some stories for us, including today's column, that we will publish over the next several weeks. That he retired before Greensboro's bicentennial celebration is unfortunate, given his ability to write the city's history in such a personable way. But he stockpiled some pieces for us that we will publish over time.

My newspaper column

I first encountered the work of Jim Schlosser when I interviewed for a reporter's job at the News & Record in 1984.

An editor asked what I thought of that day's paper.

The best story in the paper, I responded, was on the front page of the local section. It was about an old Oshkosh advertisement painted on the side of the Belk department store downtown.

The editor smiled. "That's Jim Schlosser. He's the best we have."

We've hired Robert Lopez as a feature writer. He has been with the Beaumont Enterprise in Texas for the past two years. He's also worked for the Houston Chronicle and the Times Union in Albany. Some of his work in Beaumont is here.

Jim Schlosser is retiring.

Let that sink in for a moment, and let me compose myself.

Jim has been a reporter here for 41 years. No, that's not precise enough. Jim has been one of the best and often the best reporter we've had for 41 years. He's been the first reporter in the newsroom every morning, and often one of the last to leave. He's done as much as anyone to educate people about the history of Greensboro. He was one of our early bloggers. He's our institutional memory. Better than that, he's an institution.

He has a few more weeks, and he's not gone even then. He has written some stories that we've saved to publish during the run-up to Greensboro's bicentennial, and then he will return as a weekly columnist.

More later.

While I'm at it, I should announce, too, that we've hired Brian Ewing as a reporter. Brian's from around here, graduating from UNCG. A former Guilford schools teacher, he is now a staff writer for the Eden Daily News and Reidsville Review.

Some of his work.

We've hired Tom Keller, who interned with us during the summer of 2006, to join our sports copy desk. He replaces Jeff Mills, who is becoming a reporter.

Tom was most recently a reporter for MLB.com, helping to cover the Florida Marlins. He's won his share of journalism awards, but his biggest asset is his humor. He was voted best stand-up comedian at Michigan State in 2005. His act.

John Newsom started this week as a fulltime online reporter. He replaces Amy Dominello, who was snapped up by Media General's D.C. bureau.

Newsom has been with us since 1995, when he joined our Rockingham County operation. A year later, he was in Greensboro covering education. For the past three years, he's been assistant sports editor and resident gearhead. Expect some cool stuff.

Today we had staff meetings at which we talked about the 10 things we plan to do in 2008. We're doing all of them right now to some degree. To the outsider, these may seem, like, duh. Everyone on the staff is at various places on each. Some are well along in their digital savvy, for instance; others aren't. Some are guided by traditional news judgment -- I suffer from this myself sometimes. Others have an impressive understanding of what resonates with the audience. Some learn something new every day; others maybe once a month.

In each case, we will ramp up significantly. We expect the rising tide to raise all boats.

In all, it's a team activity. Editors may direct, but everyone will drive; no one rides.

It will be challenging and fun.

* We will be audience-centric. Our decisions will be guided by our understanding of what the audience wants and needs. We will listen and interact with the audience. We will circulate audience information to the staff.

* We are smaller and we will act like it. That means we will make hard decisions about things we want to do and things we can't. We will move faster to stories and respond with flexibility. We will restructure for speed and mobility.

* Reporters will work on their best stories. We will emphasize enterprise and storytelling. (This isn't to the detriment of breaking news, as one person asked. We'll keep pushing hard on that. Rather, this will be to the detriment of those stories that have little impact on people -- those stories we do because we always have done them.)

We've hired Jayme Elrod as a designer on our night desk. Jayme was the lead designer at the newspaper in Grand Junction, Colo. Her name may be familiar because this is her second go-round here. She left us as part of the layoffs, and we're delighted to be able to get her back. She has a great eye for design.

Mark Sutter, who as much as anyone has helped shape our news report over the past decade, will become the editor of the Business Journal.

It doesn't come as a surprise. Nearly 18 years ago, Mark came here as a business reporter and later was business editor. If I were the publisher of the Biz Journal, I'd hire Mark. A short list of his accomplishments here:

* He was metro editor/Greensboro editor for seven years, smoothly steering our local news coverage through tremendous change, including a couple staff realignments and redesigns
* He has had a hand in every big news story in the Triad since the 90's
* He developed dozens of reporters and editors, many of whom have gone on to bigger jobs at bigger papers
* He was the author of our Town Square plan that has guided much of our recent innovation

When he left, he was i helping develop some new ventures for us and was in the middle of a updating Lex's Public Square white paper. We'll miss that, but I plan to continue to plumb his thinking on things, even as he is a competitor now.

Amy Dominello, our reporter devoted entirely to reporting stories for our Web site, is joining Media General's D.C. bureau as a multi-media reporter covering federal government issues affecting the Deep South. No, she’s never covered the federal government or the Deep South, but she’s a helluva reporter and has the digital chops.

In her five years here, Amy has shown incredible range and depth in her writing and reporting. She traveled to Meridian, Miss., to volunteer with a hurricane relief effort and write about it. As part of the health beat, she hosted a blog, created to record her weight-loss challenge. She was part of a team that won a Society for News Design award. She filed live online reports from Blacksburg during the rampage at Va. Tech. She won first place in features in our annual in-house Landmark Awards.

Media General landed a good one.

We have hired Amanda Lehmert of the Cape Cod Times to cover higher education. A graduate of Emerson College, she has covered Falmouth and the Mass. Military Reservation at the paper.

She participated in ConvergeSouth last month and still she decided to throw in with us. Here she is with her friend and now fellow N&R reporter Joe Killian.

Lanita Withers, who currently covers higher ed, is moving to write about business.

Nate DeGraff, our reporter keeping a watchful eye over county government, has resigned to go to work in marketing and media relations in the engineering school at N.C. State. (State! He's a Guilford and UNC grad.) Nate has been here for three and a half years, much of it covering the county. He is a regular Scoop contributor, of course, and he's done good work covering the exploits of Skip, Billy and Steve.

I'm hoping that the old saw, "Bad things happen in threes," is true and it stops here.

Katie Reetz, award-winning feature writer, video star, and journalistic troublemaker, has resigned to work for Elon University as assistant director for admissions communications. (With all due respect to Elon, we don't have any real desire to be a feeder paper.)

Katie came to us straight out of UGa. two and a half years ago and has done fine work. Part of her job will be to begin the school's efforts to reach students digitally with podcasts, Web casts, blogs, etc. I'd like to think we helped prepare her. We'll miss her.