Could a small water park be in Victoria's future?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

The city of Victoria's is studying the future of its municipal pool. The news took me back to a family vacation a few years ago to Nebraska of all places. While visiting relatives in Omaha in 2008, I blogged about ...

What was the top news story of 2012?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Veronique Pozner, left, embraces a young girl as she arrives at B'nai Israel Cemetery for burial services for her 6-year-old son Noah Pozner in Monroe, Conn. Noah was killed when Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary ...

Can I get a job collecting headlines for Jay Leno?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I'd like to go behind the scenes at Jay Leno's research department to see who scours the nation's newspapers looking for material for his popular "Headlines" segment. Reading all of those papers sounds like great fun to me, but I'm ...

What are you thankful for in 2012?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Awakened from 30 minutes of sleep Friday night, I stumbled into the newsroom shortly after midnight. Our computer system had suffered a catastrophic failure. I expected to find a newsroom full of people cussing like drunken sailors. Instead, I found ...

We'll be here all night reporting on the elections

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I fist-pumped this morning when a co-worker asked me if I was excited it's Election Day. Yes, all journalists love big news days. That excitement combines with the overwhelming sense of relief all of us feel about having a long ...

How accurate is polling in 21st century?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I don't know anyone who answers telephone polls in the age of caller ID and cell phones. If that's the case, how accurate are all of the political poll results being tossed around? Polling experts tell us they can create ...

Are you blogging less than you used to?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I still enjoy blogging, but I find other social media have consumed more of my time. When blogging first came to newspapers, I was among the first editors to do so daily. I found the conversation with readers to be ...

What would you wear for a good cause?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Plastic surgeon Paul Mondolfi gets into the spirit of the event. For a moment, I thought I was back watching "Magic Mike" on Thursday night at the Spring Creek Events Center. Men writhing on stage. Women hooting and holllering. Channing ...

When, if ever, should reporters express opinions?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

We encourage all staffers to blog and use social media in a variety of ways. We see this as an excellent way to engage our audience in a conversation and create additional content for our website. We recognize this can ...

How do journalists cope with covering tragedy?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

I was pleasantly surprised to bump into friend and former colleague Kevin Vaughan at last week's Associated Press Media Editors conference in Nashville. He served on a panel titled "Lessons from Aurora, Colo." Sadly, Vaughan has much expertise on the ...