Sometimes, as I mentioned last week, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Some weeks, there aren’t enough pages in the paper!

Having too much “news” is actually a very good problem to have. Fortunately, for those stories that just can’t be squeezed in, there is WhidbeyCrosswind.com.

In the same vein as the Buggles’ 1979 song “Video Killed the Radio Star,” many have worried in the past few years that the Internet could be the death of newspaper.

However, as newspapers figure out how to use the Internet to supplement their day-to-day news coverage, it has revealed a great number of benefits. The Internet allows the posting of real-time story updates, which can be useful if the paper is only published weekly, for example. In my case, WhidbeyCrosswind.com acts as a good vehicle for those items the public needs to know but there wasn’t enough space for in print. I encourage you to check out our website. Running out of space doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

Another advantage to the internet is the ability of our readers to comment on stories. As of Thursday, Sound Publishing will introduce a new format for its online comments using Facebook.

The advantage of this move is that it eliminates the ability for people to post comments anonymously. If you have a Facebook page and are logged in, you’ll be able to share feedback on our stories. For those who are not plugged into today’s social media, an old-fashioned letter to the editor will still work as well.

You may wonder why we’ve found it necessary to eliminate anonymous commenting. Frankly, people will say things anonymously that they would never dream of saying to someone in person. In much the same way we ask reporters to put their name on their stories, those who want to post comments should be willing to share their identity.

-Kathy Reed, editor