Disappeared News

Ever wondered what the top of Jerry Burris' head looks like? You can see a decent picture over at the Advertiser's new blog pages at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.

More important, of course, is that there is some good writing and conversation going on there. Some of the bloggers reply to the comments, some don't. I find that I'm a regular reader of David Shapiro and Jerry Burris.

If they feel so moved, they can write and publish instantly via the blogs without the constraints of column inches and rigid deadlines.

They also get to write their own headlines, a great improvement.

It's good to have access to more editorial thinking and commentary. Now, if only there were a way to expand the Advertiser's national and international coverage. The whole paper is getting rather lightweight. I find it practically useless for news from the mid-East, for example, and you won't find much from other parts of the world at all. It no longer makes a thump when it hits my door except on Friday and Sundays. In fact, it sometimes gets blown away in the breeze. Sad.

The blogs may eventually put the paper in touch with something greater than it is now. Journalism has to survive. Bloggers (usually) aren't journalists, but journalists can cross the divide and bring their professional skills and standards to the Web. As newspapers shrink and newsroom staff disappear, I hope that there will be a countervailing move to the Web.

So the Advertiser's experiment with blogging is very welcome to me. It could and should be the beginning of something new and better for both journalists and readers.