Dome 2.0

After two years of political blogging, O-No! had a changing of the guard this weekend with the departure of Ryan Teague Beckwith. He left to take a new job in DC, shifting "Under the Dome" fully in the direction of a group blog. According to Beckwith, Rob Christensen, Lynn Bonner, Mark Johnson, Ben Niolet, Jane Stancill and Bill Krueger will take over responsibilities for feeding the machine.

Beckwith did a decent job, in my opinion, under difficult circumstances. McClatchy Inc., laboring under debt from a mountain of questionable business decisions, has been in a constant state of turmoil and cost-cutting, gradually blurring the lines between the Charlotte Observer and the News and Observer (O-No!). Niolet and Kreuger have been the most regular contributors. Today, however, Mark Johnson, most closely associated with the Charlotte paper, has taken the lead with the first four posts of the new regime.

I'll be trying to set up an interview or live-blog with Mark to see what we might expect from the transition and the reshuffled team.

PS If you haven't been following the N&O series on Executive Privilege, spearheaded by Andrew Curliss, you should take a look. It's a great example of extended investigative reporting, and an eye-opening view of the nasty knot of politics, higher education, and the arrogance of power.