Deep breath...you can do this Chris...it's just a blog...

An interesting piece I found on Poynter's Romanesko blog is that of the future metamorphosis of the Dallas Morning News from a paper with national clout to a hyper-local presence. The DMN recently bought out the contracts of 111 members of their newsroom, including that of sports columnist and ESPN Around The Horn regular Kevin Blackistone. To editor Robert Mong, the buyouts represent the first step in shifting the focus of arguably the Southwest's most storied paper: "Our competitive advantage rests in doing what even the newest of new media are struggling to figure out - creating local news and information that readers and viewers can't find anywhere else," he said in an editorial last Sunday. "A more local focus does not mean less sophistication or ambitiousness. We will do what it takes to get to the bottom of important local issues - online and in the paper." Feel free to read Mong's manifesto here.

New media has created a lot of opportunities for papers to expand their stories from mere text to aural and visual creations using podcasting, multimedia presentations, and other tricks. Of course, new media has also been a pain in the neck for the traditional newspaper as it has mighty print outlets on the ropes while giving them all an ultimatum: Submit or die.

It is a strange thing to witness. In most cases, corporation-controlled newspapers (the DMN is owned by Belo Corporation) in big markets often evolve into papers with a national and international scope once they become appendages of big groups. One only has to look at the Boston Globe over the past few years as an arm of The New York Times Co. to see such evolution. What the Dallas Morning News is doing flies in the face of that philosophy. It is now willing to sacrifice that aforementioned scope in order to hit new media where it hurts.

It is a major gamble and print enthusiasts may shudder to see the eventual result. The DMN is one of the top-ten largest papers in this country and as such, it's practically obliged to provide a national and international section with stories from their own writers that can stand up with its local news. Will this paper become a local magazine boosted by wire stories from AP, Reuters and the rest of the bunch?

Sadly, I'm afraid that may be the case. It would be a shame if new media - a collection of ideas that can help the current press - drove such a major paper into the bubble of the Metroplex, never to go beyond it again. It is always good to bolster local presence, but when you're a Dallas Morning News or a New York Times, it's a trickier game to play when there's bigger stories involved. Many print readers still value the showing of worldwide news stories through the eyes of a local.

What Mong is doing is a survival tactic and should be seen and commended as such. But if he is willing to take out multiple legs from his 'table,' his plan may very well backfire. I'll be keeping an eye on this.