A View From The Press Box

I do receive a lot of feedback for my weekly column in National Underwriter magazine--appearing in both the print edition as well as on our Web version, available at www.propertyandcasualtyinsurancenews.com.

However, given the amount of mail I get, perhaps I neglected to respond to you fast enough (or not at all). More often than not, because of the inherent space limitations in a print publication, your letter probably never ran in the magazine, or only a slice of it survived in a followup column.

That should no longer be a problem starting with the launch of this blog at www.property-casualty.com. (For more details, see "Ground Rules" on my blog's home page, and for my bio, see "Who's The Blogger?")

When I first considered doing a blog, I received two conflicting signs. The first was a New Yorker cartoon featuring two dogs, with one telling the other: “I had my own blog for awhile, but I decided to go back to just pointless, incessant barking.”

Besides a good laugh, that gave me pause—until I had a Chinese lunch in which my fortune cookie read: “Many people will be drawn to you for your wisdom and insights.” Of course, this was the same restaurant whose cookie had predicted: “You will excel in the field of medical research,” but I chose to take it as a good omen to charge ahead.

Almost every week, I have the privilege of sharing my views with NU's print and Web readers about breaking news, trends and/or personalities in the industry. Often, a letter or two (or a dozen, in some controversial cases) come my way. Space is at a premium in a newsmagazine, but a blog gives both of us a much broader opportunity to sort through the many challenges confronting this industry.

Indeed, a blog by definition provides many advantages over a print magazine column.

• For one, a blog will allow me to comment immediately on a breaking story, rather than wait for the magazine’s next edition to go to press.

• For another, while my print columns are normally devoted to one topic each week, I can file an unlimited number of comments on the blog, driven by the news rather than press deadlines.

• Third, Dan Gillmore, author of “We The Media,” points out that a blog turns a lecture into a conversation. Letters to the editor are welcome, but with a blog, readers will have a chance to respond immediately to one of my posts, as well as to the comments of others, and I can answer back in kind. Blogs create a genuine dialogue, debate and community.

• Fourth, I invite readers to post not just reactions to my opinion pieces, but also critiques of NU’s content and story selection. I also look forward to generating many article ideas and gaining invaluable feedback on how we can do our jobs better.

On the blog, I will post each edition’s print column and invite responses. Over the course of the week, I’ll comment on breaking news stories as they occur—shorter takes than in print, meant mainly to spur a reader dialogue.

I’ll also post a question from time to time to launch a discussion about a key industry development or trend. In addition, I’ll call attention to major stories appearing on our Web news service or in our newsmagazine, inviting readers to comment on what we’ve published, while encouraging ideas for subsequent articles.

In this way, the blog will complement my print column, not replace it, while providing readers with more opportunities to make their voices heard. Don’t be shy. I’m eager to get your feedback and insights.