Dome makes the leap

Political gossip. Tidbits about goings-on in state government. Bureaucratic bungling.

It all sounds like great fodder for a blog, that famous 21st century medium. In 1934, however, it debuted as the newspaper column Under the Dome. which has since been found uniquely and reliably in The News & Observer.

We call it Dome, and it has been a staple of N&O political coverage through the decades. It has moved onto and off of Page 1, and currently runs on Page 5B Monday through Friday.

And, yes, it is just the thing for a blog. Last week, Under the Dome quietly moved into the Internet age. You can find it at http://dome.newsobserver.com.

Ryan Teague Beckwith is our first Dome blogger. He'll keep the site updated with political news and information, profiles, documents, cartoons, sound clips, photos and video.

It's the Jon Stewart version of the venerable political column. Political junkies will enjoy Dome, of course, but so will others who don't care as much about politics as they do about issues, people who enjoy the characters, drama and occasional silliness of the whole business.

The Dome blog takes advantage of two of the Web's biggest strengths: Immediacy and permanency.

"I just got off the phone with John Blust talking about corporal punishment, and people will know what John Blust told me 20 minutes after he said it," Beckwith said the other day. That's the immediacy part.

Should someone become "suddenly interested" in Blust or corporal punishment, they'll be able to find this quote and other material on the Dome site by using its search capabilities. News now, information forever.

Along with original reporting from Beckwith and our political staff, the Dome blog will connect readers to other political Web sites. Readers can post comments and share information.

"I'm hoping that one of the more vigorous things about this site will be an opportunity for people who care about politics and state government to talk with each other, not just talk to us," said Bill Krueger, the editor in charge of our political coverage and Dome. "We'll be providing a steady diet of things to chew on."

Beckwith, who covered Wake County government and launched our WakePol blog on local politics, has been working on the Dome blog for weeks.

He went into the archives to learn some of Dome's history. For instance, as Jack Betts of The Charlotte Observer wrote in a 2005 column, political old-timers used to describe the "Under the Dome rule" -- if you don't want to read about something in Dome, don't leave a paper trail.

For decades, the column was unsigned and at times downright gossipy, with unnamed characters indulging in delightful dialog.

You can learn more about Dome's history and read excerpts from the original Under the Dome and others published later at -- where else? http://dome.newsobserver.com.