Fear and Loathing in...Henderson?

I learned a very important leson while covering the Burning Man festival in 2002. The woman in charge of the media center told me not to sit back and watch. As she changed into her birthday suit, she said, "If you really want to know what Burning Man is about, you have to join in. You have to get in there and do it." Participation, not observation.
I'd heard something like this before. Getting into the story, doing what you have to do to truly understand what is going on. This is a small part of "The New Journalism." Not simply being a fly on the wall, unaffected, uninvolved. "New Journalism" also includes many of the precepts of "Gonzo Journalism." "Gonzo," as espoused by the Father, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, is not just about participating instead of observing. It includes a style of writing about what you did and what you saw that blends truth and fiction into its own prose/poetry assault on all the senses.
Why am I writing this today? I've made a decision that some will not like. I have decided that, from this point, my newspaper work will reflect the ideals of "New Journalsim" in general and "Gonzo Journalism" in particluar. I'm going back to how much fun I had writing my Burning Man piece. I had a shortened deadline, numerous non-writing responsibilities, and the absolute joy of writing a NON-FICTION piece that I was a part of, but wasn't about me.
That is just it, isn't it? It isn't about me, but I'm still a part of it. The standards of journalism require reporters to take themselves out of the story. Numerous times while editing my first issue, I had to tell a writer to remember to take him/herself out of the story. I hated doing it every time. I may have to do that again. But here is how it will go down: Each story will be evaluated on its own. If it is a straight news story, then it should read like a straight news story. If it is something else, then something else is required. Depending on the writer, I might want more reporter involvement. This honor(?) will be reserved for only the best of my crop of writers.
And me. I don't have the time to be just as observer anymore. I'm going to live and write what I live.
If you don't like it...well...no one is making you read it.