The old Atlanta Journal used to claim it covered the South like the dew, and a group of journalists and bloggers have started a free online newspaper titled “Like the Dew.”  Although I regularly read a variety of online news, this one caught my eye in a particular way.

It is refreshing.

It reads like a group of journalists who have been let loose from the strict bonds of objectivity and who are getting to exercise their literary muscles.

My research specialty is 19th century journalism.  During the 19th century journalists used colorful language and many of them hoped to become novelists once they no longer had to earn a living doing daily journalism.

Perhaps “Like the Dew” is an indicator that we’ve gotten too boring in our approach to journalistic writing.