Beachcombing – Change

Change is good. That’s why the Beachcomber is now “putting the cart before the horse” by posting most of our news stories online before they appear in our bi-weekly editions.

In the past most of our reporters would submit their stories by the previous Monday, followed by the process of editing, layout, final production and posting stories online. Now, after editing, the news stories will first appear online and only the regular features – prepared by columnists – will first appear in the print edition.

The benefits are significant:

There will be more timely stories and photos appearing at the Beachcomber website, allowing for necessary updates and changes.

Readers will be able to submit letters to the editor in a timelier manner.

Readership will increase among the younger audience, many of whom get their news online or through social media platforms like Instagram, X, Facebook, etc.

Online content will increase, providing a larger pool of stories to pick from for use in the print edition.

Internet content automatically yields readership statistics, letting us know which stories are of greater interest. This will guide us in the subsequent assignment of news stories to reporters.

More visitors to our website will increase our online advertising revenue, which has increased significantly in recent years due to the posting of breaking news.

We recently acquired a program called Buffer, which allows us to simultaneously send out notifications of recently posted news stories at www.beachcomber.news. If you follow us on Twitter (X), Facebook or Instagram you will receive periodic notifications that contain the headline, story synopsis, photograph and link to our website story.

ChatGPT is another program that has made all this change possible. It’s a valuable tool that aids us in doing story research as well as checking accuracy, grammar and spelling. We are mindful that ChatGPT has its flaws (especially ignorance of “breaking news”), which is why only knowledgeable users should rely on it as a reporting tool.

A recent example was a Jan. 23 Steve Propes story that referenced the Jan. 10 death of Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. ChatGPT incorrectly flagged the death as a “major factual error.” They later withdrew that objection when we pointed out the error of their ways.

Yes, change is good. And we know that many senior citizens prefer the ink on their printed news sources versus the tiny screens and keyboards on their cell phone. We are pleased to offer more options to both audiences.

Some historical (hysterical?) commentary regarding government:

• In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. –Voltaire (1764)
• Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you! – Pericles (430 B.C.)
• No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. – Mark Twain (1866)
• Talk is cheap, except when Congress does it. – Anonymous
• The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. – Ronald Reagan

publisher@beachcomber.news