Otterblog

We get all sorts of tips and story ideas from readers. That’s one of the best parts of being a journalist. In the old days, somebody might call us up about a neighbor or a friend who had died and say the deceased was well-loved by everyone and we would proceed under the assumption that that was true—but with no way to know if it was really a much smaller circle of love and influence.

The Web changes that. Our story today on Michael Holcomb, whose autobituary was an inspiration and a darned good read, is a case in point. Bloggers and readers alike spotted the story. Our staff on JournalNow saw a huge spike in hits on our obits page. And the Legacy page—which is an online condolences book—confirmed the reach of Mr. Holcomb’s death.

Kim Underwood’s piece on the man behind the story brought it all home. This is—at least for me—the way that newspapers and Web sites ought to interact with readers. It helps us spread our reporting resources and find common threads and details where we might have had to hunt in the past.

There are few rivalries in town more intense than that between Womble Carlyle and Kilpatrick Stockton. Look for our piece tomorrow on five KS attorneys who defected to the other team.