Welcome to the re-launch of Behind The News!

I started this blog in the spring of 2007 as a way to interact with readers, solicit story ideas and explain some of the decision-making that goes into producing a daily newspaper and Web site.

At times, like when I explained why we held an Opus cartoon, it was a blast. The reader response was huge and the debate in the comments section was hilarious.

Other times, like when I recently talked about restructuring reporters' beats, the blog was downright dull.

So for the past several months - since May, actually - the blog has been on hiatus. And there have been other issues to contend with, as regular readers of our newspaper well know. The recent layoffs and employee buyouts have necessitated major changes in the way we approach and cover the news.

In reviving this blog, I hope to give readers some insight into how Maine's largest independent news staff practices journalism at a time when newspapers across the country are battling to survive.

There are plenty of descriptions on this page to explain what this blog is all about. But I’d like to add another. My goal here is to shed some light onto the day-to-day decisions that we as editors and journalists make every day in producing the newspaper, not only the print version but the Web site. I know there’s interest in this topic, because I get a ton of calls and e-mails each day from readers pitching stories, or wondering why we covered something, or didn’t cover something.

So I’ll try to explain why we do what we do, which will hopefully prompt some discussion here on the blog. And I’ll also give you an early look at some of the stories we’re working on for future newspapers. That way you can see and maybe even influence how stories evolve from the planning stages to the printed (or Web) product.

Stay tuned...