What happens when you mix a newspaper with talk radio? The results can be found more and more on our Web site.

We started allowing readers to add their comments to our stories almost a year ago. That made plenty of people inside the TNT a bit nervous. For decades newspapers have thrived as primarily a one-way flow of information: we report, you read. That was more of a lecture but now, with the internet, it’s easy to foster a conversation by opening up a Web site and giving readers the power to add their own take.

It’s not only easy – it’s becoming expected.

At a young readers forum here last year, that was a major reason several attendees gave for preferring to get their news online rather than from the printed paper: the ability to interact with the news and read what other readers thought about the story. This concept has helped blogs become so popular and many readers refer to the comments section of our web site as a “blog.” Even though it’s technically incorrect, they’re on to something. In one small way, we’ve started converting our newspaper web site into a giant collection of blogs. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone around here.)

In contrast to the newspaper’s original “interactive” space – letters to the editor – we don’t double check and verify the identity of everyone who posts to the comments on our site. It’s a different type of content and I think readers know the difference. A letter to the editor is more credible than a comment posted online, at least when it comes to knowing who’s doing the writing. But comments are valuable because they allow people to post ideas with some sense of anonymity that otherwise would prevent them from throwing their two cents into the mix. Then other readers take those ideas for what they’re worth as ideas, not as a message from someone because of who that person is.

Of course, there are a few pitfalls. There is comment spam where people try to use the tool for commercial purposes. There are comment vandals who try to agitate other people just for fun. There are flamers who can’t seem to trade ideas without avoiding personal attacks. And there are foul-mouthed jerks who think it’s fun to see how long all bad words they post will be left on the site.

So we try our best to moderate the comments and keep the discussions on topic and at least PG. The system sends an email to me and a couple other folks on our team every time someone places a comment. Some days are worse than others, but I can honestly say that we have only had to remove a fraction of the comments that have been posted.

So you want to listen to a local podcast but aren’t feeling so, well, spiritual today? Well, there are actually a few other local podcasts to choose from. By the end of the year, I predict, there will be 4-5 times as many.

Again searching in iTunes, I was able to find podcasts from the Tacoma Art Museum, the University of Washington-Tacoma, the Covenant High School Choir and the Tacoma Cat Hospital.

And Dick Stein’s Jazz Kitchen podcast emphasizes his dry wit, knowledge of jazz and cooking to serve up an entertaining combination on KPLU’s weekly cooking show. (That's him in the photo.)

Digression: I also found podcasts by the Lakewood Observer and Lakewood High School, but wondered if it was our Lakewood or some other burg. After about 10 minutes on the Observer’s site, I finally found that it’s actually in Ohio. Which brings me to one of my top Web peeves: sites that don’t explicitly say where they’re coming from. It’s OK for a newspaper to simply say “Lakewood” when it’s only available in print form in and around the town. But once you’re on the Web and your content is accessible globally, understand the opportunity and make it easy for visitors to know where you’re coming from.

OK, rant over. Back to work.

Would you believe that local churches are on the cutting edge of the latest digital craze of the information age? They are, and I’m impressed.

Local churches all over the country – including many here in the South Sound – have embraced podcasting with the kind of feel-good hug you might get from a pastor on a sunny Sunday. (The only other segment that I have seen move this quickly into podcasting is radio stations, but that just makes too much sense for them not to offer podcasts. All their content is already digital audio – how simple can it be?)

Searching the iTunes Podcast Directory, I found a listing of more than 4,000 podcasts in the “Christianity” category. Some have taken to calling these “Godcasts” (see USA Today article). Apparently even the Pope is getting into the act and has a new iPod Nano to show for it.

Locally, I found these podcasts listed in iTunes:

- The Tacoma Church of Christ
- Tacoma College Ministry
- Faith Presbyterian Church
- Puyallup Foursquare
- Evangelical Reformed Church
- Lighthouse Christian Church

Know of any other local podcasts related to religion or spirituality? Let me know.

Have you changed the way you get your news?

Chances are pretty good that you have, thanks to the internet, cable news and other advances in technology. But new technology isn’t the only reason news consumers are making different choices. The perception that their traditional news sources have changed – become more biased, less trustworthy or more sensational – spur many readers and viewers to find alternate sources for at least some of their news.

A couple of recent reports were released that provide statistical and empirical support for this emerging trend:

A Pew Internet & American Life Project report Wednesday said 50 million Americans obtain news online on an average day, ``a new high-water mark for online news-gathering that coincides with rapid growth of broadband adoption in American homes.''

The third annual State of the News Media offers a comprehensive look at the state of American journalism. The 2006 report found the “problems of the news media have worsened,” and “with that we get a stronger sense than in earlier years that the news industry is beginning to move into the next era—especially to the Internet.”

A much less scientific survey echoed these findings and offers an interesting glimpse at the local view of a national trend. We sent an email query to the 3,000 people who have signed up on our Web site to be part of our News Network. We send emails occasionally to these people to seek their input on stories we’re covering or reaction to recent events. This time we asked the question that led this post: Have you changed the way you get your news?

More than 100 people replied and, given the pool of active news readers we’re drawing from, I wasn’t surprised by an overwhelming number of affirmative responses. For every one reader who proudly claimed that they were sticking with their old habits, 10 readers described how they used RSS feeds on customized portal sites like MyYahoo and Google to read a diverse collection of news, received email news alerts via email or on cell phones, found bloggers who cut through the bias they felt prevent accurate reports in traditional media.

Many talked about how important the morning newspaper remained to them, like this Marci Spear. She wouldn’t say she has changed, but her news consumption has been “enhanced.” She still takes the “actual” newspaper, (is the online version fake?) watches TV news and gets news updates, emails stories to friends and enjoys getting the “whole story.”

Laura Nole, meanwhile, just likes the speed.

Like most Americans I have come to expect instant everything. So, if I want to know what is happening anywhere in the world, I can just turn on my computer any time of the day or night. If something interests me, I can do a quick search to find out more without getting ink on my fingers. It is so much easier to delve into a topic on the internet than to search through the paper. If asked this question a year ago, I would have insisted reading the news was the only way to go. Gotta go with the flow.

Not everyone is ready to ditch the paper for the Web, of course. But most readers, including Dan Johnson, recognize the power that both resources – combined – provide them.

There's really no good substitute for an old-fashioned, low-tech newspaper with a bowl of cereal at the breakfast table, for local news and national headlines. But there's no substitute for the Internet when it comes to getting the real scoop on national and world events that the mainstream media is not allowed to print. Without the Internet, most of us would still be blissfully ignorant.

This comment was echoed by many. Seems that a local newspaper like the TNT, or even the Seattle papers, doesn’t offer the kind of comprehensive and "unbiased" national and world news report that readers are looking for. Lots of people said they read the TNT (in print or online) for local news and sports but went elsewhere for national and world news.

So what does this tell us? As readers change, newspapers and news Web sites need to change with them.

The podcasting phenomenon has now reached The News Tribune. Some say that when newspapers finally get involved in a trend, the trend must be long over. Well, we're trying to change that perception and get into things a little closer to the leading edge.

So here goes, our first try: http://www.thenewstribune.com/podcasts/inside

It's very easy to produce a podcast - even I can figure it out. I plugged a microphone into my laptop and recorded Rob and Dean with a free program called Audacity, which is also how I did the editing. I found a decent music loop in GarageBand and added that to make it sound professional (my wife thinks it sounds cheesy). And the whole thing only took a couple of hours despite my complete lack of audio editing experience.

But isn't that the reason these things become popular? From digital photos to blogs and now podcasting, everyday folks with little or no technical experience can publish content online. It's a game-changing reality for newspapers, of course, since we used to be the only ones who owned a printing press. Thanks to the Internet, everyone does.

We know you've heard of podcasting, but how about "mommycasting"?

At least one maternal duo has already cashed in on the concept. They live in northern Virginia, have been interviewd on CNN and recently accepted $200,000 from Dixie as a sponsor.

What is the concept, you ask? It's simple: two moms talk about the ups and downs facing mothers in everyday life. That's it. As they said in this story, it's not much different than the telephone conversations they used to have.

How popular is podcasting? A tech columnist named Doc Searls has tracked how many hits Google got for the word 'Podcasts.' On Sept. 28, 2004, it had 24 hits. Only one year later it received 100 million. Today, that search returns 261 million.

Like many people, I get a majority of my news online, but also read printed newspapers and magazines. There are still some things that paper can do better than a digital screen.

But what if there were digital paper?

Combining the best of both worlds has long been anticipated. Another step in that direction was unveiled today at Gizomodo - scrolling digital paper spawned from a mobile phone or PDA.

I know I'd be much more intersted in reading news on my phone with a large, full-color paper-like display than I am now.

News Tribune sportswriter Mike Sando stopped by this morning - he doesn't have a desk here since he's on the road so often - to discuss improvements and enhancements for his blog. In case you're not a Seahawks fan, Mike started writing a blog last year and it has evolved into one of the most popular features on the site.

This week has been wild for Sando in covering the Seahawks as they maneuvered to keep Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson on the team. This is not a story that can be done with a once-a-day news cycle. The nuances, the speculation, and the discussion it generates does not fit neatly into a 15-inch story in the morning paper.

So Mike evolved. And his readers have, too.

Monday, when the story hit its zenith, the blog received 19,000 page views and the comments - which pop up into a new window - received an additional 10,000 views. Considering the homepage of our Web site received 50,000 page views yesterday, this is a hugely popular feature.

I asked Mike if he could imagine life without a blog today, noting that a year ago, he had yet to launch. His reply:

No, I can't. I don't know what I'd do without the blog. It was always so frustrating to be limited by what you could put in the paper. I just want to get this stuff out and the blog allows me to do that. Once you live in the digital world, it just becomes part of you.

Will all of our coverage be transformed by the digital world? Probably. We're living in the evolution right now and it's milestones like this that allows you to see the changing media landscape a little more globally. At least for a moment.

Newsday has an interesting piece regarding the overnight fame and sometime fortune some bloggers are falling into. Still, the desire to be published in print offers something 15 minutes simply can't.

"Every so-called professional blogger I know wants to work for print," says Melissa Lafsky, 27, a lawyer whose popular blog at Opinionistas.com led to her finding a book agent, quitting her big law-firm job and starting a novel based on her blog. "There's still that desire for legitimacy. I'll admit it: I'll feel like a real writer when I have something published in print. 'Til then, I feel I'm faking it. Most bloggers I've talked to feel the same way."

If Pierce County were a mutual fund, it would be a strong value pick. Is that good enough? Or should we be wishing for more agressive growth?

According to our Business story on Sunday, there is good news on the job front locally, but not if you're looking for an Internet-related gig. While the overall job picture looks strong, most of the employment is with military, healthcare and public entities like schools and government (Intel is the singular high-tech entry). And the commercial enterprises that employ the most folks are places like Wal-Mart, Emerald Queen and Fred Meyer - none of them are hiring local Web designers or database programmers.

It's too bad, really. Without an exciting up-and-coming technology-related business or two, Tacoma and Pierce County will continue to lose young and talented 20-somethings to King County. And for a region to grow its economy, some new world jobs sure would make it easier.

Local Web design firm Sitecrafting has produced a new look online for the Grand Cinema. It's a stripped down, austere look that is much more simple and inviting than the previous edition.

Thanks to local blogger, one-time News Tribune contract programmer and Sitecrafting employee Kevin Freitas for the tip. And like Kevin, I too am salivating at a late-night showing of Fight Club on the big screen.

A couple of stories at tech.nytimes.com/ underscore the importance of online video in this quickly changing media landscape. So we're happy to report that we're in this game, albeit as amateurs, but hoping to get better with each and every assignment.

Readers appear ready: Our collection of highlights from the 4A state basketball tournament drew 4,500 views in a few days.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hendrickson and Kelly Kearley collaborated on our first real documentary for Kelly's Sunday business story. It's our best video work so far. Check it out if you haven't seen it already: http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/5583524p-5021353c.html

What do you get when you cross Google News, the wire, RSS, Digg, Amazon.com-like social recommendations and a blog platform? Well, at least one blogger calls it the “perfect news site."

Newsvine.com launched in March and provides a glimpse into the future of all news sites. It’s “a place to read, write, and discuss the news” according to the site’s welcome message, and newspapers had better take note. All newspaper sites started by offering one of those elements (read), and many have taken on a second (discuss) in a limited fashion, while a few have ventured into the third (write). But the next generation of newspaper sites will need to do all three – and do them well – in order to succeed.

Perfect? It would be if it also provided a simple, targeted, self-service contextual advertising platform a la Google AdWords to pay the freight.