Bleys W. Rose
Cutbacks in all the news media will force newspapers like the Press Democrat to do with less. What can you do to stay informed? What should you be watching for in Congressional, state legislative, city council and county supervisorial contests? How your supervisor, Valerie Brown , nearly lost her re-election bid in 2008, and what impact it had on this year's races. Why the race of World Wrestling entertainment mogul Linda McMahon for Christopher Dodd's seat in Connecticut is worth watching at the national level. Why nothing will change at the state level. Why winners will be determined by how well they use new media, such as Twitter. Why old media, like your daily newspaper, will have a tough time keeping up.
Bleys Rose has been a reporter at the Press Democrat for 20 years, covering government, elections and general assignment. Before that he was a bureau chief for the Hartford (Ct.) Courant for three years and a reporter for the Kansas City (Mo.) Star for 11 years. He covers County government and regional politics and has been a lead reporter on health care as well as other issues. Last year he was sent to Washington to cover President Obama's inauguration.
He has been involved in some of the PD's biggest stories including the Polly Klass kidnapping and the arrest and trial of her killer, Richard Allen Davis. He was the lead writer on the PD team that received the San Francisco Press Club award for the 1989 Alaska oil spill and lead reporter on the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. An avid chess player, Bleys has covered grandmaster Garry Kasparov in international tournaments in Seville. He lives in Sebastopol with his wife, Miriam, and son, Nick.