Welcome To On The Record

I'm Ann Harrison and I started this blog because I got tired of the limitations of journalism. I write what I call "news haiku" for several newspapers and web sites. This process usually involves gathering lots of information that gets squeezed down into a limited number of words and column inches. I have no problem with brevity and no intention of wasting the reader's time. But in this torturous process many stories are left untold and important facts are often omitted.

I will post to this blog my articles as they are published - and then tell the story behind the story. I've been a technology reporter for many years, but other types of stories will appear here. I cover the medical cannabis movement, the sex industry, grey market economies and a range of civil liberties issues. "On The Record" refers to the fact that I will not publish off the record quotes or information that I cannot verify. That might be strange for a blog, but hey, those are my own rules of engagement.

I will also post other people's stories here that I especially like and my own random observations. I welcome your comments, tip offs, rants, complaints, condolences and suggestions for cool stuff to post. About a hundred years ago, writer Finley Peter Dunne said "The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." I think he got it right. Out here in the blogosphere, we can pick up where the newspapers leave off.

Feel free to e-mail me - ah at well.com.