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Blog Entry 44 of 51 Something to think about...

An occasional visit to things that make you go "hmmm..." opinions on life in the world close up and far away. By trade, I'm a community reporter covering Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys for the Daily News, but can't help thinking outside the box sometimes...in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm involved with the Canyon Theatre Guild and Newhall Redevelopment, so history and the arts are pretty important to me. I'm open to discussions, suggestions, criticisms and compliments. I might not like what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it. Shall we?

Blog Url: http://valleynews.com/~SCVdramaqueen

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Goodbye wrap, hello window

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Contributed by: Carol Rock on 8/10/2007

Today might be the last time you see my mug shot with a blog - which some of you think of as a column, bless you - now that the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley special sections (wraps) are going away.

Change is hard only if you decide it's going to be. There are hundreds - no, thousands - of people who do things worthy of attention in this community. Funds are raised, events are held, kids or all ages dance and sing and make touchdowns and home runs or decide they want to make the world a better place and we want to continue to shine the spotlight on them.

But we need your help.

The paper you hold in your hand is only several pages of newsprint featuring stories about your friends and neighbors. Here, you've been able to find out why traffic is messed up, who got caught with their hand in the municipal cookie jar, what new project is being developed in that lot you see every day on the way to work. When we had the luxury of lots of reporters, we could spread out and write about every single thing that was happening, keeping you informed.

I've decided we're going to take what some people might think is a bad thing and make it a lot better.

You know the old saying "when one door closes, another window opens?"

A lot of people perceive this change in the Daily News as closing off an outlet for news. That's the door.

You've heard of the Internet, right? That's the window.

The same thing that feeds you a daily dose of YouTube, e-mail, alerts and jokes also brings you news as local as you can possibly make it. Valleynews.com is part of that great, big, wonderful world and ready for your review - and input - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Where you come in is by writing and posting stories or event listings or bragging about your kid's achievements or venting about the latest political fiasco. Valleynews.com is a citizen journalism project (I'm here just to keep all the ducks in a row and produce a duck or two myself, like this blog) and the last time we checked, you're all citizens in this big world wide Web.

The sad truth is that we no longer have the reporters to re-type or cut and paste press releases into our calendars or come out to your school or event. But you're there, you're already the acknowledged expert on the story, so why not add to the cornucopia of news we offer by registering and posting your opinions, stories and pictures on valleynews.com?

News is becoming more participatory every day - look at the images captured on camera phones of some of the world's biggest news stories, such as the campus massacre at Virginia Tech or the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis. Some of the best pictures and eyewitness accounts were captured by people just like you and shared with the world. Valleynews.com can be your portal.

Ever wanted to share something that was in the paper with a relative far, far away? No more waiting for extra copies. Simply e-mail or link your story on valleynews.com to the entire family and keep up on each other's activities and achievements.

Think you aren't heard at city hall? Think again. City and county officials have told us that they read valleynews.com to see what issues are bothering people before they end up coming to a council meeting and raising a ruckus.

Don't think you're a writer? You'll never know if you don't try. Valleynews.com has a few people like me to help you along the way who can fix the grammar or punctuation if it needs it and will call you if they have any questions. You get the byline and the attention - and trust me, there are lots of our users who are thoroughly enjoying more than 15 minutes of fame.

The same goes for pictures. I know there are lots of people out there snapping some awesome digital images. Why not post them on valleynews.com so everybody can ooh and aah over them? On valleynews.com, you're always guaranteed color - unlike some photos that have run in print that had to go into black and white, losing some of their effect. And there's no limit to the number of photos you can post, so you could create a virtual tour of your world.

The community calendar, which has appeared on a space-available basis in the paper, will now be featured in all its detail and glory on valleynews.com. Simply log on to valleynews.com and click on "events" when you're looking for something to do.

While the wraps are disappearing, the regular section of the Daily News is not going anywhere and will include stories about the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys as well as the San Fernando Valley and all its activities.

You will find in-depth stories every day about your community. And we promise to select at least one story a day from the ones you send us to feature in the print edition that comes out of Woodland Hills.

So you see, it's not the end of the road. While you might miss the wrap, I'm looking forward to the start of a whole new road to travel - together.

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