AJC

Wow. At some point, I would have nicked a vein and seen how long I could hold on.

 

Actually, I was referring to you in the first place. You have that youthful ADD or something?

 

Well the talk was about restoring old Cobras GT40s and Shelbys they worked on "back in the day," so some of it was interesting. I'm no car buff but those were some nice rides in their day.

 

drip...drip...drip

 

Didn't mean to hijack this thead.


As someone who lives in and talks to others in the Atlanta area, I don't think the ones I know will be too thrilled to lose the NASCAR writers (or the NASCAR coverage if it comes to that).

 

Now I'm lost. Why the French National Flag?

 

I don't understand how you can function without a sports editor.
SOMEBODY is going to have to decide what you put on the sports cover ......... whom you hire when you have an opening, etc. Seems like someone will emerge as sports editor. Maybe it's camouflage to make a change without hurting feelings. Some people at The Miami Herald are hoping Ronnie will return here.......

 

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:8RaUXPV8iX8J:www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tuck/stories/2007/05/04/0505edinside.html+AJC+readers+can+expect+change,+not+lack+of+coverage&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

From today's AJC:

How and why are you restructuring the newsroom?
About half of the jobs are changing in the newsroom. Some of it readers will see. Some of it they won't. For example, in the past, editors handled production and content responsibilities for the newspaper. As we look at where we need to be — offering content online as well as in print — we realized we needed editors just focusing on content, with other editors focusing on the production of the newspaper and the Web site. This isn't something many readers will notice, but it will help us be more effective.


How will this alter what the AJC covers?
One change that readers will see is that we will be devoting our newsroom resources to a much stronger focus on local news. We know that readers want and expect us to cover what is happening in our communities. Every time we write about something outside of our area that means a local story isn't getting done.


What about world and national news?
We will still offer world and national stories that we know our readers want, but we'll be more likely to rely on national experts, available through the many wire services we purchase and the Cox Washington bureau and foreign correspondents.


You've stressed the importance of unique local content. What do you mean by that?
We have nearly 200 reporters and photographers covering metropolitan Atlanta. They cover key beats in sports, business, news and features. In most cases, if you hear about something that happened in Atlanta, it's because one of our reporters found out. We want to continue to break news on key beats. If you want to know something about Atlanta, we want to be the ones to tell you first. We also want to provide stories and other information you can't and won't get elsewhere. That's what makes the newspaper have value. We are creating a 50-person reporting and editing team with just this goal — focusing on investigative work, explanatory work and great storytelling.


The AJC has been growing its online operation for years. How will the restructuring impact online offerings?
We are changing the way our Web site is produced every day, dividing what was one editing job into three. Again ... it's not something users will see, but it will allow us to do a better job. Ajc.com continues to grow and evolve. People visited our sites well over 100 million times last year, clicking on stories, photographs and information. That's amazing. We have gained a reputation for being the best at breaking news. We will continue to build on that. We also think we have opportunities to create more interactivity with readers. In the past year, we have launched dozens of blogs and other ways for online users to comment on stories. We will build this area significantly — understanding that part of the power of online is the two-way communication. It's not just us talking, but listening as well. We will grow the information area that allows people to better live their lives here in Atlanta — tips on what's for dinner to how to get a driver's permit for your 15-year-old.

 

So what's Ronnie going to do?

 

With age will come mastery of the quote function.

As to the true topic, sounds like a quality-killing cluster.

 

I'm wondering that, too. I heard an explanation but it was not too clear.