Otterblog

Couple of technical/logistical issues delayed posting today ...

1) We appreciate everybody’s calls about the changes to the stocks pages. Even the complaints. Change is tough. But it’s happening. One thoughtful writer said essentially that the more we tell people to go online to find things that used to be in the newspaper, the worse off we are. Some truth to that, but it’s a much more complex problem than that. Newspapers believe—correctly, I think—that what we can do best is provide news and content that can’t be found elsewhere. Stocks didn’t fit that goal at a cost-benefit we were willing to maintain.

2) The surgeon general is always news in Winston-Salem, as it was on our front page today. It’s who we are, part of our historical DNA and our present DNA as well. If you ever have time, it’s worthwhile to go back and read the initial report on smoking and health from 1964. Here’s the link. Without taking sides in the debate, as I have good friends who work in tobacco and relatives who have died of smoking, it’s a remarkable document, and it’s amazing how this issue has changed and broadened during the past 42 years. The intersection of health and politics and personal responsibilty is an incredibly lively area.

3) Our front-page piece on why North Carolina’s gas tax is so high is what I would call a clip and save. You may not like the answer, but the explanation is a good primer on why our state is the way it is. Not necessarily better or worse, but different.