Thanks Grits readers for a great first year

Today marks the one year anniversary of my first Grits for Breakfast post. (I didn't add the sitemeter counting visitors until a few weeks after.) I launched the site as a personal experiment, a way for me to take the "new media" out for a spin, as it were, to see how she corners.

What I didn't realize was that the blog would be so useful, allowing me to research and write about big subjects, piece by piece, without the overhead and publishing costs associated with print and broadcast forums. That's been invaluable on topics like drug task forces, snitches, and prison overcrowding. The old canard rhetorically asks, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer: "One bite at a time." Blogs are a terrific medium for taking on big subjects bite by bite. And so often the feedback really does contribute to my own understanding of these subjects, I've become a big believer in the benefits of the two-way nature of the medium.

One caveat I should give about everything written here: Many times I'm writing about subjects like jail overcrowding, bail or probation policy, where there has been little public debate and where solid information sources are scarce. As I come across new information on my chosen subjects, I blog it, and try to explain what it means in light of other evidence I've seen and/or blogged. I have my own opinions, but frequently when I write about a subject I'm exploring it myself, using the writing process to marshall and coordinate disparate thoughts into a coherent position on little-explored terrain. Sometimes I make it there, sometimes I don't. It's a journey. And I'm thankful to the 400 or so people every day who come along for the ride.

Thanks Grits readers, for a great first year!