Can't interview Holmgren, Hawks yourself? Do the next best thing

One of the great things about the Internet -- or not great, if you're a politician -- is that it continues to break down barriers to information that non-journalists experienced in the past.

When I was in college studying journalism, we talked a lot about the responsibility that we as journalists had as the "gatekeepers" of information: Since newspapers and newsbroadcasts alike are finite -- both in space and man hours -- there is a ton of stuff that never makes it into the paper or onto your television each day.

The notion of a gatekeeper is becoming antiquated, thanks to guys like Mike Sando, the Seahawks beat writer for for The News Tribune who also maintains the "Seahawks Insider" blog (which I pumped up a couple of months ago here). Not only does he post breaking news and also a lot of the tidbits that never make it into the newspaper (for whatever reason), but he also posts complete audio of just about every interview he conducts. Now, he's making it easier than ever to get the audio with podcasts. How can you get it?

1. Long and cumbersome way: Go to the blog, look for his audio posts, and download each file manually.
   
2. Easy way: Get a podcast subscription using this link and whatever podcast software you desire: http://www.thenewstribune.com/static/podcasts/seahawks/rss.xml.
3. Easiest way: Use iTunes.
   

If you already have iTunes, all you need to do is go to the music store and search for "Seahawks Insider," then click "subscribe." It's that simple -- each time you open iTunes after that, it will automatically download any new additions to the podcast list. And if you have an iPod, you can get them "to go" to listen to in your car or wherever. (If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here; just pick your platform and follow downloading instructions.)

Since I don't interview a lot of people anymore, I absolutely love listening to these things. You just lose so much in translation (such as the context of the question) when quotes are taken out and put into stories. Plus, you get all the quotes, not just the ones the writer deemed important enough to write about. Very, very cool.