The Four-Letter Word The World-Herald Avoids

It's beginning to become almost comical how the Omaha World-Herald rarely takes advantage its online component (read: "website") affords to produce timely updates as an event is in progress (read: "blog").

We won't fault business reporter Joe Ruff for the ridiculous headline, "Berkshire Live: Updates from Q&A session," Saturday on Omaha.com. After all, he was only responsible for the content. However, exactly a year after the newspaper first trumpeted the concept of blog updates - without using the word "blog" and about five years after everyone else became familiar with the term - the World-Herald continues to resist use of the word "blog."

You would have thought the decision-makers on the seventh floor of the former Qwest building would have learned from their mistake during the trial of Christopher Edwards. Then, reporters Lynn Safranek and Todd Cooper filed a number of "live" reports (read: "blogging") from outside the courtroom, which were subsequently posted under the heading of "trial briefs."

The style of those entries - far removed from the staunch, matter-of-fact writing by reporters that is found daily in the news section of the newspaper - almost made an otherwise life-or-death matter seem comical at times.