It's been another busy week. A few random thoughts running through my head on a Friday night:

• My old paper, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, recently unveiled a redesign. I like it a lot. For Wyoming especially, it's very bold, scanner-friendly and visual. It's also out-of-the-box in some ideas, like this page right here where a giant pull quote takes the place of a headline:
  

I also like the heavy index format on the front page. You can digest the best bits of news from the front page and still sound smart at the watercooler, or you can go inside for more details. The choice aspect is a great call.

As for the visuals, there are plenty of them. Check these out:



And this one:



In a way, I miss being there right now. This would have been a lot of fun to implement.

• I got wicked sick this week with one of the worst summer colds I've ever had. I hate summer colds, mostly because of the irony -- I feel like such a wimp when I'm complaining of a cold when it's 90 degrees and humid as hell. I'm pretty sure I caught it from Audrey, who probably got it at daycare. Such is life.
  
• I'm really disappointed in Barack Obama. I get why he's not taking public funds -- it's hard to say no to the kind of millions he's been raising -- but it's still going back on his word. I'm also suspicious of his ties to the ethanol industry, mostly because I think corn-based ethanol is a bad idea. It makes a lot more sense to leave corn on our plates and put sugar in our gas tank (in the form of sugar-based ethanol, like what they have in Brazil) than the other way around (actually, biodiesel and cellulose are even better). Hey, it helps the obesity problem in this country if high-sugar foods go up in price, plus the sugar-based ethanol is more fuel-efficient. But don't just believe me: believe Bill O'Reilly.
  
• On the work front, the editing class I'm teaching for the first time is going well. I'm really enjoying myself, though I have to say it's tough keeping up with the all of it. I'm pretty much set on not doing work on the weekends and spending that time with the family. Unfortunately, the workload is such right now that I can't really get it all done during the week. So that's been a tough balance, but I think I'm doing all right.
  
• I'm trying to get Cheever hooked on Heroes. I just got into it myself. She usually doesn't get into sci-fi stuff, but I think she'll like this.
  

Last thing: Can't wait to come home in August! More details to come later.

Oh, and look for new content at SherlocksOnline.com soon.

The Missouri Press Association has passed a resolution "vigorously supporting" the notion that the Missourian needs to remain a print publication. The resolution is published on the Missourian's Web site as a letter to the editor.

While I love the passion behind the resolution, there are two things about it that trouble me.

1. Where is the mention of online publication? We're being encouraged to "continue the printed version of The Columbia Missourian for the purpose of training future newspaper journalists as has been done for the past 99 years." But with no mention of online publication, I have to ask: Do the powers that be at the Press Association understand that print is a dying animal? The wording of this makes me wonder if the Press Association members believe we should still be teaching hot type and paste-up. Surely not, but with no mention of the future in the resolution, I think it's a legit question to raise.
   
2. The other thing not mentioned here, or anywhere else for that matter: What about the beleaguered staff? What about the editors who are constantly asked to do more with less? When do we get some relief? I'm lucky when I can find five minutes to grade papers in between producing a Web site and print edition, teaching students and sitting through meeting after meeting. I, for one, am sick of taking work home with me at the expense of my family. On the flipside, if I don't, then the students suffer through poor lesson planning and long waits to see grades.
   

To be fair, the workload being thrust upon us right now hasn't really been in the public eye. And internally, it's something the deans seem to have on their radar. We'll see how this plays out.

I woke up this morning to a George Carlin bit on the radio and got pretty excited. Surely the reason for the bit was he was coming back to Columbia soon.

Carlin died Sunday night at the age of 71.

We saw Carlin last November when he played Jesse Hall on the MU campus. It was my birthday weekend, and I was thrilled to learn my all-time favorite comedian would be in town.

I first discovered Carlin shortly after high school when I was working at a radio station in Casper, Wyo. I had dropped out of college to pursue my misguided dream of becoming the next Wolfman Jack, but I was often homesick for life in my hometown of Laramie. So I'd hit the road most weekends, and I had picked up the album "Parental Advisory — Explicit Lyrics" to listen to on the drives home.

I was hooked.

I scraped together the money to buy another album or two several months later, after I'd gone broke in Casper. The radio station there started writing rubber paychecks, and it wasn't long before I was back home living with mom and giving school another try.

I switched my major from broadcasting to journalism. I had always been a newspaper geek, and I thought the industry was a little more stable than radio. I also felt I probably had more talent in the written word than in the spoken, and I can thank Carlin for that.

I loved his rants on word play, which is why I included a variation on the classic "Seven Words" with this blog post (as long as YouTube keeps it up).
He taught me through his comedy that words carry a lot of power, which inspired me to change my focus from reporting to editing. He also taught me the power of accuracy (Why do we call two planes almost colliding a near-miss? That's a near-hit. A collision is a near-miss); the importance of seeing through "softened language" and not buying the spin; and that dissent is often part of being a good American.

George Carlin was an amazing comedian, a fantastic entertainer and a great American. I didn't agree with him on every political topic, but I always respected his point of view. And I always appreciated his little insights into life, especially the things all of us do. I think I'm going to break out some old albums in tribute before going to work today.


Rest in peace George. I'll miss the hell out of you.



    

We're looking for Columbia citizens to participate in the "Watching the Watchdogs" event. This note just came to me (and the rest of the J School) from Executive Editor Tom Warhover:

On Wednesday Reynolds Journalism Institute, the Missourian and the Columbia
Human Rights Commission's Study Circle program hosts the first of three
community events to gauge Columbians' views on the news media.

"Watching the Watchdogs" will be 6 pm to 8:30 pm Wednesday at the Columbia
Public Library. We're looking to attract a wide swath of the public, so
please invite someone you know. Journalism types, including Missourian
reporters, will be able to observe, but the group discussions will be
moderated by volunteer facilitators from the Study Circles program.

Participants will be eligible to attend the centennial with a "citizens VIP
pass."

So if you know someone you think might be interested, please let them know.


Thanks,


Tom

So, if you're a Columbia resident and you want to voice your opinions on how news organizations can better serve you, this is a good chance to get involved. Please consider showing up to this session. Thank you!

Congrats go out right now to Scott and Michelle. I got this note from Michelle just moments ago:

Announcing the arrival of Andrew Crozier Haynes!  He arrived on 6/16/08, weighing in at 8 pounds, 15 oz.  We are all back at home and doing great!

Can't wait to meet the little guy. Congrats again on a second beautiful, healthy baby.

Here is the photo:

The Tribune published this story on its Web site Wednesday as a sort-of followup to Tom's column about the idea (be sure to check it out for all the comments.

And I have a few problems with the Trib's piece.

First, the headline and deck: Missourian mulls return to solvency; Fiscal struggles mark centennial.

For starters, we're not mulling whether or not we should be solvent. The provost has already made it clear that times are tough right now and money needs to be saved. Also, how do the fiscal struggles mark the centennial exactly? I could see "Fiscal struggles come as paper celebrates centennial." But that's apparently too many words, accuracy be damned.

Now, let's examine this passage from the Trib's piece:

"I think Walter Williams would be turning over in his grave," said Dalton Wright, publisher of the Lebanon Daily Record and a board member of the Missourian Publishing Association. "I think that the print product for the print journalism students is important to be maintained or preserved in the curriculum."

With all due respect, should the medical school still teach the proper way of applying a leech?

Has this guy not seen the way the newspaper industry has slipped over the past decade? The industry is making the move to digital, and we're doing our students no favors if we don't push them to the digital world. And if Mr. Wright is really concerned that students who work on digital publications can't make the backward step to publish in print, he should consider this:

We don't teach our students how to operate whatever computer system the Lebanon Daily Record uses. We don't teach students what the major issues are for that community. And we don't teach our students the design style used by the Daily Record.

What we do teach our students is good journalism. We teach them how to be fair and balanced, how to get ALL sides of a story. We teach them the importance of accuracy, truth and trust. We teach them that content drives everything. We teach them to challenge, question and dig. We teach them to be studious, creative and good communicators.

From there, it's Mr. Wright's job to train them to produce good journalism in whatever format it is the Daily Record is producing, be it a broadsheet, a tabloid or an online site.

Good reporting is good reporting, and good writing is good writing. If a student can do that on the Web, they can do it in print. If they can produce solid visual content for the Web, why can't they do it for print? The goal of both formats are the same: attract readers with a format that is easy to follow; make it visually engaging, ethical and accurate; and vary it up enough from day to day so that readers can tell immediately when they have something new.

I, for one, am rooting for the option where we have as little print as possible. If we're going to keep print, then we need to look at niche publications -- vehicles that basically serve to draw readers to the Web. Commemorative publications, newsletters geared for specific neighborhoods and a daily or weekly "best of" would be our best bet, I believe.

We'll see what transpires.

It wasn't easy for me to take JakeSherlock.com offline for a few days. But it needed to be done. Here's what's up.

I'm creating a new Web site at SherlocksOnline.com. This site will be all about our family, including all the photos and videos of Audrianna so many of you come here for. And therein lies the problem. We've gotten a little worried that maybe we're putting too much out there for total strangers to see.

SherlocksOnline.com will be password-protected. If you'd like to have access to this Web site that is just for friends and family, send an e-mail to register@SherlocksOnline.com, and put the word "Subscribe" in the subject line. Once the site is ready for unveiling, I'll send you an e-mail alert with the username and password. Registration also means you'll receive an e-mail alert whenever new content goes up at SherlocksOnline.com.

JakeSherlock.com will become more my personal blog home, with my thoughts on news and politics, the evolution of journalism, etc. etc. If you'd like an e-mail alert whenever I have a new blog up here, send an e-mail to hey@JakeSherlock.com and I'll add you to the list.

Ever since Tom Warhover's column came out publicly announcing the possibility of the Missourian forming a partnership with the Tribune, I've had several students and recent alums express some wariness over such a partnership.

So, is it a good idea or not? I hate to cop out here, but only time will tell. I will say that I'm hopeful the partnership will allow us to erase our debt to the university while generating more revenue for us and the Tribune. One of my favorite things about Columbia is that it is a two-newspaper town, and having that competition makes both newsrooms stronger. The people of Columbia, in my humble opinion, are pretty darn lucky to have the kind of media it has here (because KOMU and a handful of radio stations are very strong as well).

There are a lot of details to be worked out, and therein lies the devil. And those details, that wish list, is still very much in the internal stages, and it's probably best if I don't reveal them publicly. But I will say we're looking more at a mini-JOA than just another printing contract (as I understand it, we got a pretty sweet deal from our current printer, and from that standpoint the paper has never worked better). And the deans have been very involved in listening to our concerns and questions about the proposed merger, so I'm confident that my primary concern -- editorial independence -- will be addressed and independence protected.

So why the proposed merger? Mostly because we're out of time. We've worked to erase that deficit for years now, and the university has decided we're just not going to get it done. It's too bad, too, because we made big strides this year in revenue gains. Rob Weir has Vox in the black for the first time, and he's only been on the job about a year. Our poster pages commemorating the football season were big sellers. We landed several full-page ad contracts for the Weekend Missourian, including a 1-year deal with Dillard's.

If we had more time, I do believe we could start to turn the ship around without a partnership. But it's too late, unfortunately.

I remain hopeful that the contract works out well for both newspapers. For the Missourian, I hope it gives us a chance to break the cycle we're currently in with a huge shakeup. Right now, our print edition still carries as much weight as our Web site if not more. We've got to flip that on its head, and a change of some kind in the printing cycle may shake us out of our rut. A more stable Web site would help too, and hopefully my friends in the programming office are getting close to launching the new Web site. I'm ready for it.