Wire stories about the flooding in Cedar Rapids and elsewhere abound. As always, national media fly into afflicted areas to cover the latest, hottest news story.
But at home, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Gazette has shown how hometown journalism can, in the end, be the best journalism. Their extraordinary front-page layouts, with full-spread photos, and their frequent online updates have shown just how very good the combination of traditional, print journalism and online media can be.
For a look at an ordinary hometown paper rising to extraordinary achievement under extraordinary and dangerous circumstances, browse the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
Not only does this work stand as a testament to how outstanding American journalism can be, it's also more instructive than a year's worth of college courses. Because, in the end, it's always about: can you present the story quickly, accurately, honestly, and well, no matter what the circumstances?
The Gazette said "yes," resoundingly so. Those who have proclaimed that traditional and hometown journalism are ancient dinosaurs of the past might have something old to learn anew.
For videos of the floods, check out The Pep Report.
