Newspaper and Internet complement each other

I get this kind of comment every once in a while, most recently in a letter last week from a reader:

"...The biggest disappointment for us is when we would like to know more about some of the articles, we are told to go to the computer. We do not own a computer and have never had any experience with one..."

It is an earnest comment and I understand the reader's dilemma. So let me try to explain why you see references in The Gazette to check online for more information.

The main reason is because more information always is available about a topic. In the old days a limited number of news outlets -- newspapers, television, radio -- gave you only a snippet of the news. Sometimes one outlet would have something the other didn't report. But after that, the rest was left unsaid.

But we have more tools now to help you get the information you formerly would not have had.

Do you want to see the entire agenda for Iowa City Council meetings? Printing it would take too much space in the newspaper, but  you easily can read it online, along with briefing documents that are public records. Do you want to watch video of Hawkeye football player Bryan Bulaga talking last week about Saturday's Iowa-Wisconsin football game? It's online.

People like to interact with news stories in a different way online than they do with a newspaper. They have access to video, audio, quick links to entire documents, immediate reader feedback and, most important, updates on breaking news so that they don't have to wait for the morning paper.

Because Gazette Communications has several online sites we can give you that  kind of interaction. That is why you see at the end of some of our stories that you can have further discussion at GazetteOnline.com

We are referring to additional ways you can understand a story that cannot be done in print.

My column in The Gazette ends with a note that lets you know you can go to my blog and find Internet links to some of the topics or people in the column. An example is the Web site of a Fayette restaurant where Gazette staffers will be later this week. It's helpful information if you use the Internet, and increasingly more people are linking in.

I appreciate the concern, though, of those who say they don't use the Internet, especially because so many of them say they love to read a newspaper. I get a lot of comments from people who say they enjoy holding the printed word and poring through the information as a personal experience.

Who could argue with that?

More council candidate forums

Join us this week for two Cedar Rapids City Council candidate forums that The Gazette is sponsoring. Both forums will be from 7 to 8 p.m.

Candidates for two at-large seats up for election will debate at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Auditorium, 410 Third Ave. SE., on Monday, Oct. 19. Candidates for the District 1 seat will debate at Pierce Elementary School, 4343 Marilyn Dr. NE., 0n Thursday, Oct. 22.

Join us for coffee in Fayette this week

Staffers from The Gazette newsroom will be in Fayette Wednesday morning for the second-to-last Gazette community coffee of the year. Join us for a cup of coffee between 9 and 10:30 a.m. at Boikes Trailside Inn, 152 S. Main St.

Few things beat going to northeast Iowa in the fall. It is beautiful country, so the trip is a treat for us. But this also is a good opportunity for you to visit with us in person about how you think The Gazette is doing, drop a few story ideas on our laps and enjoy a cup of coffee on our tab. See you there.