introducing: that girl from the Chronicle

And so begins my first blog.

Actually, this is but one in a long line of blogs I have begun - and abandoned - over the last few years. Like many millions of others out there, I have previously been drawn in by the novelty of seeing my ramblings published online, only to lose interest after the third or fourth post. Why? Laziness, most probably. Or simply not enough to say.

I realise this confession will not instill much faith in my readers. But this blog, I feel, will be different. Working at the Matamata Chronicle means I spend much of my day chasing news, interviewing people, taking photographs and writing stories. Newspaper writing calls for certain rules and a certain kind of style; which, depending on the content, can be fairly strict. Personal opinion is a definite no-no.

Blogging, on the other hand, is (quite literally) another story. No rules, no guidelines, no expectations. Just whatever you feel like writing about. For a journalist - however big or small a fish they are in the media world - that can be almost cathartic.

My reasons for creating "In Katie's Words" are far from selfish, though. Over the past year, we at the Matamata Chronicle have worked hard to get closer to our readers. Through our Facebook site, we have discovered a whole new way of connecting with our community. And now, through this blog, I want to step that up.

"In Katie's Words" will be my own online column: the thoughts, musings and observations of a born-and-bred Matamata lass. I promise to keep it light; after all, the less time I have to spend in front of a computer, the better.

So. Here's to my latest venture into Matamata's online community - and to introducing you to the other side of "that girl from the Chronicle."