Methods of the press evolve, but the mission remains unchanged

On Monday, my boss, Ron Fields, handed me a certificate recognizing my honorable mention achievement in spot news reporting from the 2008 Harris News contest.

On Tuesday, I conducted The Hays Daily News' first live blog event from the Kansas attorney general's workshop on the Kansas Open Meetings and Open Records acts in Dodge City.

Guess which I was more excited about. Hint: If I want a prize, I'll buy a box of Cracker Jacks.

While recognition from one's peers is nice, it's not why I got into journalism.

Our government, you might remember someone once saying, is one "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Trouble is, often the people are awful busy. You're earning a paycheck to clothe, feed and educate yourself and your family. Socializing with family and friends. Volunteering to help others in the community.

Not everyone's got the time to make sure the county commission or the school board is following the rules and decisions are made in open forums or that certain information is not being kept from you.

That's where the press comes in. It's part of our job to make sure your rights are protected. We go to the meetings, question when things don't seem right and request information everyone has a right to see.

And we bring it to you in a neat little package.

While the future of that package is a little uncertain right now, I believe one thing for certain: The press will live on no matter what.

Hence, Tuesday's live blog experiment. With the ability to include multimedia as well as text, the possibilities for this are endless. Live, interactive coverage of government meetings or sports that can be replayed at your convenience are a couple of examples.

Not that sitting and staring at your computer screen is better than being there yourself, of course, but when you can't go, we can bring it to you.

Encouraging people to get out is one reason I started a new blog, Live in yourTown (blogs.hdnews.net/live/), to help get the word out about the arts and entertainment in northwest Kansas. Chief copy editor and page designer Nick Schwien writes and photographs action at RPM and WaKeeney speedways. Reporter Gayle Weber has done several excellent video reports to complement the stories she's written.

Add to that Buffalo Bob is on Facebook and we're on Twitter @NorthWestKansas, and I think we're doing well for a paper our size in engaging new media.

Our online presence is no longer about just trying to reach a certain age group, as was emphasized just a few years ago. It's about reaching you, period. Whether you prefer getting your news in the finger-staining "dead-tree" version of the HDN or any of our online personas, we are reaching out.

And we hope you reach back. Tweet at us. Like Bob's status. E-mail us. You can even still send us something on a dead tree.

Never before have you the people had so many ways to communicate and even interact with the media. It's something we're learning to adjust to -- personally, it's relit some fires that not too long ago were in danger of fading out.

No one can tell what the news media will look like in 10 years, five years or even one year.

But I do know one thing for certain: With you along, it's going to be a heck of a ride.

Juno Ogle is a copy editor at The Hays Daily News.