News-Record.com

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

Last year, I was spreading ink for the High Point Enterprise. Now I'm blogging for the News & Record, the most forward-thinking and reader-interactive newspaper in the industry. What a transition!

Not that the Enterprise wasn't changing. It was, but not in ways I would have welcomed. I left in April 2004, just before Paxton Media acquired full ownership. The HPE's general manager and business manager were axed right away, and within a few months more than 20 other employees - not in news/editorial - were laid off. They were good people, most long-term employees who gave a lot to the Enterprise over many years. Meanwhile, a handful of vacant positions in the newsroom remain unfilled. Staffers are stretched thin, and several have told me they're looking for opportunities to leave. They're talented professionals, and I hope they get their chance soon. For now, they're hanging in there and doing the best they can. I wish them all well.

Paxton next took over the Durham Herald-Sun and began making cuts immediately. The new owners announced they'll trim the work force by 23 percent during the first quarter of this year. Several dozen staffers were escorted out the door - literally - the first day.

Paxton's approach seems to be to maximize profits by reducing production and personnel costs to a bare minimum, with less concern for quality. I don't know how they expect to succeed in competitive markets like the Triad and Triangle. I'm just happy not to be a cog in that machine.

Instead, I'm setting out with my N&R colleagues on an exciting venture into the newspaper of the future. In our new relationship with our customers, readers have more control over content and the flow of ideas, becoming full participants in this community forum with editors and writers. We'll inform each other, challenge each other, prompt each other, scold each other, encourage each other, correct each other and connect to each other. My job here is to throw out a thought or two every day or as often as I can and then stand back while the rest of you run with it - in whatever directions you want. Maybe we'll find some continuity, maybe not. All I hope for is participation - even as I understand that there are many other claims for your attention.

Most of my time is spent writing editorials and a weekly column (Wednesdays) for our print edition. That's challenging enough. But I'm looking forward to the chance to engage readers in daily conversations via this blog, and to give you another platform where you can engage one another. If all goes well, we'll learn a lot more from and about each other.

Hey, we're all in the right place at the right time. Thanks for being here.