TOM WEIGHS IN

I see we haven't gotten much response so far to your proposal, Rebekah. So let me jump in anyway and see if it prompts any more:

The technology:
As I said in my earlier e-mail, the Smart Decision comparison isn't appropriate in this case, because totally different players are involved. I have contracted with an outside company, Bright Tree, to do the shells programming. These are consultants who do nothing but this kind of work.
It may be true that creating something within the Missourian content management system takes more time -- too much time. If that's the case, we'll put something up anyway.

Resources:
I trust from your note that it didn't go well with the editors. I'll hook up with them in the next couple of the days. In the meantime, if you have specific reporting you need help with, send the requests to me and I'll see if I can help.

To that point, I am canceling a trip to Ft. Myers planned for next week. I'll be physically in the office Wednesday morning.

On innovation: Saying we have to do "something innovative" freezes you from doing anything innovative. Enlightened trial and error beats lone genius every time (not my words, but I wish they were.)
So don't worry about it. You're doing work you haven't done before -- even those of you in the convergence sequence. To date you all have operated in the safe confines of a beat or a class assignment or an internship. You haven't had to deal with the hardest assignment of all -- freedom.
This project has already seen one great leap, in the way you all came up with ideas and talked about them and imagined them. It has shown how much really smart students can do -- you've organized yourselves to make this happen.

I'm OK if the group wants to boil it to one. Or keep three.

I'm putting in an assignment on the blackboard for everyone to vote by 3 pm Friday.

Tom