In the early 70’s, Clyde Lear and Derry Brownfield founded the company I work for. It’s really a pretty cool story. In a recent blog post, Clyde demonstrates that he understands the seismic changes going on in the media world, and how they apply to our company.

“Affiliate radio stations are an important part of the mix. But farmers and other ag interests have so many ways to receive the message: print, podcasts, computers, etc. What remains is the message. It is the reporting and story-telling of … smart, discerning reporters who can effectively communicate. That is the message–not the media!”

I’m of the opinion that all established media companies must reinvent themselves to a greater or lesser degree. Some won’t make it. I’d like to think we will. And it’s a good sign that the top guy is clued.

Down the food chain a link or two, a couple of our reporters asked me to set up blogs for them this past week. They’re both veteran radio reporters (and writers). Bill Scott has been covering Wisconsin sports for a loooonnng time. Kay Henderson is one of the most respected political reporters in Iowa and has been at since the late 80’s.

Here’s the exciting part: read a couple of Bill’s stories here and Kay’s stories here. Now, read the first couple of posts on Bill’s blog…and Kay’s blog. I’m not suggesting that one is better than the other, just different. And, for me, one is much more interesting to read. I’ll let others argue about what is –and isn’t– journalism.

If Bill and Kay stick with the blogging thing, I predict that in a year, they will have far more readers of their blogs than of their “real” news and sports stories. And, for what it’s worth, they’ll be having more fun doing it.

Last month we set up a blog for company news (new hires, expansion, etc.). An experiment as much as anything. And our CEO said he might post from time to time. His latest deals with doing the right thing. At one level it’s shop talk but he’s basically saying that in the early days of our company we did something that wasn’t in the best interest of our customers (affiliates and advertisers). He uses the example to illustrate a core value of our company. Do the right thing, even if it costs you some money.

In previous posts, I’ve expressed some doubts about whether corporations can blog. It’s just hard to find someone with the courage to speak with the honesty and openess that characterizes blogs. Okay, it’s a little easier to say what you think if you own the company. But I believe this post says a lot about our company and the people leading it.

You could take all of our brochures and news releases and stack them to the ceiling…and they don’t say as much about who we are and what we believe as Clyde’s simple blog post. Our employees can read that. Our business partners can read it. Our customers can read it. The world can read it. And they will “hear” the honesty and sincerety in Clyde’s words. This is corporate blogging at its best.