Just kidding. Time for correction No. 1 of the summer.
Much like some of the rowdier folks at political events I’ve covered have foretold, I may one day call you fellow traveler. I think it’s highly unlikely — I group quite a few of my friends by the patriotic or American song that fits them best — “Fortunate Son” tops the list for me — but I can’t rule out change. Which brings me to the longest segue I’ve ever written: on change.
The times, they are a-changin’. Now that we’ve passed the initial hiccups of a new staff and the first papers of the summer, I’d like to lay out some of the changes for you consumers-of-news out there. Many are internal or deal with office politics (and one huge one that isn’t ready for primetime yet), and I won’t bother listing those. But some are big projects that I want to put out into the universe.
Think of this as a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” scorecard for those of you keeping track at home — except now the points do matter.
First is breaking news. Because this is a new-ish venture for the way our newsroom works, I can’t say with any certainty good results will happen soon — especially in the doldrums of summer news — but rest assured, we’re working on improvements. News art is another point I want to touch on. I was thrilled to see maps being done in-house this Spring to go with stories, but it’s not enough. Look for more as the semester rolls on. More Web interactives, too.
Sadly, we have floundered on social media and video in the past: some semesters were great, others lackluster. Again, I’m working with our online and photo folks to ramp up both of these. But I’ll cut it off here.
Thanks for continuing to read the Alligator. I’m proud of the work we do for each and every issue, and know it when I sit down and cut stories to fit the page, and I can’t find any weak parts to get rid of.
Have a great summer, y’all. I know I will.
