Depressing Gannett P&L statement (uh, make that an L statement)

It's LOCAL INFORMATION CENTER ... and we haven't even started it at my shop. I gotta believe we'll be the first. Can't blame LIC for these problems.

 

I'm at the Gannett test site for the info center. 40 reporters received new notebook-laptops with wireless cards, built-in digital recorders and digital cameras. Two of those would pay for an agate clerk for a year. We gave them to some of the oldest, technically inept reporters and sent them out. Even they managed to update his own blog from the field.
And, yes, no animals were harmed in the course of this test.
On the sports side, basically, we ask reporters from a game to send 3-4 updates that they can post themselves or update their blogs. So far, most of the guys and gal, said it wasn't too bad, especially having the right equipment. Things may change and we may be forced to cover Little League games this way, but for now, it seems OK.
We might as well roll with it. papers have new initiatives all the time, many fail and we fall back doing what we've always done.
In the end, it beats digging ditches in the Everglades.