Report to Readers by Susan LoTempio

Blog update

You're right, Libby56, staff writers (including myself) should blog more often, if not every day. And if writing blogs was all we did here in the newsroom, the blogs would be a lot fresher. That's not an excuse, just a reality.

   Which leads me to the point of this blog posting, and that is to let you know that we are in the middle of revising, retooling, reordering the blogs on Buffalonews.com.

  Some blogs are going bye-bye. Others will stay where they are. Some are being absorbed into another blog. But the best news is that we have a whole list of new blog topics and bloggers that will debut in September.

Of course, the irony is that because I've been working on that project, and posting other writers' blog entries, I haven't had much time to update this blog.

Just before the new blogs debut, we'll let you know what to expect. Not to worry, though, you'll still be hearing from Anne Neville, though on a new blog that will include "American Idol" plus other pop-culture topics. And the Connors will still guide you through the maze of parenting in the Parent Company blog.

There will be new voices, new topics and new controversies to comment on.

And as for a blog on Niagara County, thanks for the great idea jen14221. I'll add it immediately to the blog wish list.

Blog behavior

  I hope you've noticed that we added a new blog today - Talkin' TV - that will be written by our TV critic Alan Pergament, TV Topics Editor Toni Ruberto and TV columnist Jeff Simon.

Right now, Pergament is in Los Angeles attending network meetings where the new fall shows are being announced. Hopefully, plenty of juicy blog-worthy items will come out of those press sessions and will show up at all hours on the new blog. Pergament will continue to file his column that reports on what he's finding out in La-La-Land, as he calls it, for the daily print and online newspaper. 

We hope that as the TV season heats up, we'll hear from a lot of people who want to weigh in on their favorite (or not) TV shows.

I hope to add my two-cents when "House" reappears with new episodes. There's no better show on TV.

Speaking of weighing in, we have recently added a way for readers of our blogs to flag us when objectionable material is posted in the comments sections.

This is not an attempt at stiffling comments, but we don't believe there is a place on News-sponsored blogs for personal attacks against the bloggers or those who comment.

We want lively discussions on all our blogs, but we also expect them to be civilized. We've seen just the opposite from time to time, and now want to make sure comments rise above the base level of discourse seen elsewhere on the Web.

So, just as a reminder, here are the rules we've posted with each blog:

   * Reader comments are posted immediately and are not edited.

   * Those who post comments are required to use good taste, be respectful of other writers, and not impersonate someone else.

* Comments are expected to be relevant to the post.

  * The News is not responsible for comments on the blogs, but we reserve the right to remove any that are libelous, obscene, threatening, abusive or otherwise offensive.

* We also reserve the right to block any user who does not follow these guidelines.

So, keep commenting please. But talk, don't attack, and please show some respect for our bloggers and each other.

Sabres chatter off the charts

As I write this, there have been more than 30,000 page views of the Sabres Edge blog since midnight.
 
   You read that number correctly - THIRTY THOUSAND PLUS.

All those people are worked up, of course, about the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere from the Sabres line-up next season. The comments on the blog express the disappointment and frustration fans are feeling.

But nothing - not another blog posting, nor a story - on our Web site has even come close to the response Sabres Edge is getting today.

We're amazed. And grateful because it pushed Paris Hilton and the IPhone to the back burner, at least for now.

Two new blogs

  Too many people think that Buffalo is an "old person's" town. On the contrary, there is a thriving twentysomething community that lives, works and plays right in our midst. To give them a voice on Buffalonews.com, we've started the new blog, "Twentysomething in Buffalo," written by Heather MCarthy.

This blog will chronicle Heather's life and her adventures in and around the Queen City. And, she is definitely up to the task. After graduating from Holy Angels Academy, she earned a degree in communication studies from Emerson College in Boston. She's back in Buffalo now and is willing to share the ups and downs of being young in her hometown.

Another blog debuting this weekend is Buffalo Nation, which is for the thousands and thousands of former Western New Yorkers who now live elsewhere but are devoted to this region. It's being written by Charles Anzalone, editor of our First Sunday magazine, though we expect plenty of guest bloggers.

While many worry about the local "brain drain," ex-patriates still have much to contribute - at least in ideas and energy - to this region. The Buffalo Nation blog will be one way for them to participate and share.

Haven for harried parents

  If there's one thing that time-compressed, over-stressed, modern-day parents need, it's a chance to communicate with each other. To share the joy. To share the pain. To share the secrets of successful parenting (oh, and of course the mistakes).

Obviously, though, that time-compressed thing gets in their way.

We hope to make communication easier by offering a new blog, Parent Company. It's written by husband/wife team Greg and Allison Connors, who will open the front door of their home ever so slightly to give us a glimpse of their parenting dilemmas and successes. That includes, of course, not just the behavior issues and attitude problems of their kids, but also the complicated culture they're bringing their kids up in.

We're hoping to get their blog online today, but we're having some technical difficulties that may delay it a bit.

This blog shouldn't be a one-way dialogue. It can be a helpful, fun and easy way for parents to talk to each other. Just click on the comment section to talk to Greg and Allison and the many other stressed-out parents who partake in the blogosphere.

It's said that there's strength in numbers, and these days parents need all the strength they can get. Perhaps now they can find some on a blog.