Thaw on Fountain Street?

The Providence Journal has long been reluctant to offer up its journalists for appearances on radio and television. The unofficial policy was flawed from the start. Better to spread your brand and get the public familiar with your star reporters and columnists. But the ProJo, so dominant in the local market, could afford to be overly proprietary.

Now, in a hyper-linked world, the approach seems hopelessly out of date. Especially since the ProJo is not the invulnerable pillar it once was. Getting people excited about the paper has never been so important. It is, perhaps, a matter of survival.

And there are some signs of a thaw. Bill Reynolds, the ProJo's estimable sports columnist, appeared on the local NPR station, WRNI, this morning to talk about the baseball playoffs. It was the latest in a small string of media appearances by ProJo personalities, most by sports writers. Newsroom sources say there is no clear shift in policy - the decisions seem to be made on a case-by-case basis. But there is hope among the rank-and-file, long frustrated by the old approach, that the paper will continue to spread its tentacles.