Like most papers with an online presence, the National Post has begun to incorporate blogs. Full Comment is an in-house blog to which all the columnists and editors contribute. The major columnists all have their own blogs. The National Post has not been shy about using stories developed on blogs, and giving blogs credit.
But other papers have done these things. The National Post has done something else, something unique, that I think puts it one step forward. You see it on the main sidebar navigation panel:
Columnists are listed above news. Check any other major news site tied to a newspaper, and "News" is still listed first. But I think the National Post has realized something. Though it is an important site for news, savvy internet users know that there are hundreds of channels for gathering news. What makes the National Post different as a news channel? Nothing, when you think about it. But what makes the National Post different is its take on the news. The columnists and editors who analyze the news are the value-add for the site. So it only makes sense to list that most valuable contribution first.
But isn't that what most blogging is about?
Maybe I'm reading too much into it. It's just a navigation bar, after all. But I think it says something about how the National Post sees itself.
