Reuse, recyle, repurpose

Here's a lesson in how to repurpose good reporting. Santa Barbara Independent writer and editor Matt Kettman forwards these links to two distinct pieces for distinctly different publications, based on the same reporting on the tension surrounding the future of the Carrizo Plain National Monument just north of Santa Barbara County.

The first is a longform ode to the land from the Santa Barbara Independent that gives us a full-on sense of place: we roam the land and get to know it -- and the endangered species who call it home -- before we are hit with the current conflict that may compromise its pristine beauty.

The second is a straight-up news story for Time.com that focuses on the current battle over the land between the environmentalists who want to preserve it -- and the companies fighting to make use of the land as a massive solar power farm.

Note the difference in style, voice and focus. In the first piece, the current conflict is the newshook. In the second, it's the story. Note also the way Matt brought out the competing interests, and the difficulties in sorting out priorities, when it comes to land management -- and going green. bk