Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the blog!

My name is Wendy Parker, and like many former print journalists I have embarked on a new career in the media professions. Unlike many of them, I had something of a choice in changing gears. In Sept. 2008 I accepted a buyout from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where I was a sportswriter and Web producer, editor and project manager for nearly 19 of the 25 years I worked in the newspaper industry.

While I will always love daily newspapers and occasionally have mourned their long, gradual decline, I haven’t looked back with regret. I miss many of my colleagues who are still trying to soldier on in very difficult circumstances. Their dedication is exemplary, and the camaraderie we shared was very special indeed.

But I’ve been re-energized by stepping out of a newsroom environment and taking on a number of online media projects, freelancing and blogging opportunities. I surprised myself by how easily and enthusiastically I came to embrace digital media late in my newspaper career. And no, it wasn’t a deathbed conversion. This blog is my attempt to help fellow journalists with a primarily print background to understand that if I can do this, so can you.

I’m interested in particular in helping bridge the occasional divide of misunderstanding — and sometimes resentment — between print and web journalists. By bringing the best of both of those worlds together, new and compelling possibilities exist to advance the profession. I detest the rigid absolutes that are too often lobbed into the opposite foxholes. This shouldn’t be about print curmudgeons vs. digital utopians, but quite often that’s how the loudest, most blustery voices in the journosphere seem to like it.

I remain bullish on the viability of doing the news on the Web, even though the likelihood remains that many of us — myself included — will not be able to afford to remain in journalism.

I’m also interested in exploring the social and cultural evolution of information, creativity and ideas in the digital age. Since many of us will be using our journalism skills in non-news endeavors, there’s so much to learn.

Oh, about the title of this blog. It’s a takeoff of the “Ink-Stained Wretch” moniker given to unrepentant print scribes. There will be times when I get a little bit sentimental and pine for the good old days of newspapers. And I still reserve the right to be occasionally cranky.

You can reach me via e-mail at wparker.idk@gmail.com and on the following social sites: Twitter, Delicious, Facebook, Wired Journalists, RJI News Collaboratory, Posterous and LinkedIn.