Saturday, July 27, 2002

In the discussion of newspapers on paper and on the compuer screen, I'm also thinking about the element of place. Each morning I walk across Michigan Avenue, one of the great city streets in the world, and through the golden revolving doors of the Tribune Tower, a temple of journalism complete with a marble lobby with chandeliers. The thought of all the history the building represents, of the great journalists who have worked there, and the buzz of the place as deadlines come and go, injects me with energy as a journalist.

Today I'm working from my home, in khaki shorts, shuffling back and forth from the kitchen, talking to my wife, staring out the window. My "office" is my living room. I miss the energy, but the freedom is interesting.

A footnote on the paper question: The NY Times says it publishes "all the news that's fit to print." Actually, it runs all the news that fits in print. Weblogs allow for infinite space and free publishers from the boundaries of physicality.

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