Thanks so much for linking to my piece on Poynter and for continuing the discussion on this site.

A few things in donnacha's post warrant response:

1.) He referred to my "WordPress-using competitor." The Bangor-Daily News and the Concord Monitor aren't competitors. We operate in different states and different markets.

2.) He said, "This is why local newspapers are dying, not because technology was inevitably going to wipe them out but because journalists are so used to superficially skimming the details and coming to trite conclusions rather than bothering to actually understand things – decades of poor journalism echoed in bad business decisions."

Actually, this is precisely why we decided to build on an open-source platform. We wanted a laboratory in which to push the boundaries of digital storytelling and local news presentation, one that allowed us the flexibility to make real -- as opposed to 'superficial' -- changes in the way we publish news. WordPress might have been an equally appropriate choice, but we happened to already have some Drupal expertise in house.

3.) "I don’t have access to the backend of The Concord Monitor but, seriously, I could whip up something more stylish, easier to maintain and with a better publishing work-flow in one day."

I'd be happy to show you around the back end of the Monitor's site and hear your feedback.

4.) "there’s usually some lazy IT guy in the background, worried that his cover will be blown, persuading them that they need to pay fifty grand for a “professional solution”"

Say whatever you want about me, my newspaper's site or journalism in general. I will, however, vehemently defend my colleagues in IT and web development. They are some of the smartest, hardest working (and nicest) people I know... and I couldn't do my job without them.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and comment on my piece.

Meg