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Gregory Favre of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in Florida, addressed that concern when he visited The N&O earlier this month for a workshop on newspaper credibility. "Can we really be gatekeepers?" he asked. "Now we're standing at the gate defending our publications, but there's no fence around us. All these bloggers are out there all around us."

His advice: Bear down with the tools that make newspapers authoritative -- verify information, check facts, be slavish to accuracy, admit mistakes when we're wrong, be transparent in our work, be accountable to our readers. (Favre is former vice president for news of The McClatchy Co., which owns The N&O.)

I had two interesting discussions about the blogosphere phenomenon last week. One was with John Drescher, The N&O's managing editor, who says he welcomes the bloggers.

"Democracy thrives when there are more sources of information," he said. "And competition is good for all of us. Having active bloggers in the Triangle would be like having seven daily newspapers, and I think that would be good for the community."

(There aren't many good local sites yet, but for an example, check out OrangePolitics.org, a lefty look at Chapel Hill politics.)

The other talk was with a reader named Anthony Magarello from Willow Spring, who is one of The N&O's most energetic critics. He is an avid consumer of blogs, as well as traditional media, and a part-time blogger himself. Despite his problems with newspaper reporting, Magarello says, he recognizes its value.

"Bloggers don't have the editing staff, and they don't have the professionalism," he said. "Nobody sits behind my shoulder and says, 'Now Anthony, you really shouldn't have said it that way.' As long as there are quality newspapers out there -- and I believe The News & Observer is one -- that have quality editors who are sensitive to bias and have the best interests of the readers in mind, there will always be a need for newspapers."

Finally, note to self: Start an N&O blog.

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