what’s in a name? …

Add comment April 28th, 2008

… a lot of discussion, that’s for sure.

this project started out being called “how we got here” in very informal terms when a few members of the editorial board came up with the idea around the holidays. (i’ll let them write more about the genesis of the project themselves.)

for a while, the project was dubbed “save rockford,” playing off the “heroes” theme, but some staffers thought it was overly dramatic. i liked it, in part because our tv partner, wrex-13, airs the show, so it could have been a nice tie-in, albeit slight.

other names we proposed include “building a better rockford,” “pressing forward,” “root for rockford” and “making a good neighborhood.”

it’s hard for a dozen people to agree on anything — and characterize the large scope of what we’re trying to achieve in just a few words.

we ended up with “180 degrees: solutions for a better rockford” as a hybrid from a number of suggestions.

Getting ready to launch

Add comment April 24th, 2008

     We are working full-speed right now on a new project aimed at finding creative solutions to entrenched problems facing Rockford and the Rock River Valley.

We’re calling it a campaign because it will be bold, and go far beyond the usual  five-part series in the newspaper. We’re taking a hard look at crime, the schools, the local economy, government and sense of place. Where are we now? How did we get here? What will it take to move the community forward?

We want to answer those questions and more. We hope to break new ground and we want our readers to be with us every step of the way, hence this new blog.

Over the next few days, you’ll be hearing from the reporters, editors, photographers and designers who readying the project for launch. As they say, watch this space.