Ask the editor: It’s that time to ‘Bear’ it all

Stepping up our training camp coverage

Caleb Benoit, Sports Editor

As perhaps the area’s biggest sporting event approaches, we are getting all hands — and reporters’ notebooks — on deck.

The National Football League’s Chicago Bears will hold their first training camp practice of the summer on Friday, July 31, at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, and The Daily Journal will be there for all three weeks of their stay.

I think we say this every year, but I believe it to be true —this year’s training camp coverage will be the best it has ever been. Here’s what you can expect:

• In our newspaper, there will be 15 editions of Bears Extra, the coverage we provide during the Bears’ stay in Bourbonnais. Bears Extra will included stories, photos, updated rosters, stats, news from around the league and a full-page-sized Bears photo keepsake — each day there is a practice in Bourbonnais.

• News@Noon, The Daily Journal’s daily news videocast, will be shot on location at training camp as many time as logistically possible. Host Mike Frey and his co-anchor — often yours truly — may show up at the concession stand, the 50-yard line, or next to you in a lawn chair.

• A revamped BearsCamp.org has been launched. The site has been completely redesigned and features the training camp schedule, directions to camp and all the stories that can be seen in Bears Extra — even a page where you can share your own photos. You can also comment on the site by logging in with your Facebook account, allowing you to share your comments, stories and photos with your Facebook friends. Just click “Connect with Facebook” on the left side of the page.

• BearsCamp.org will also be the place where you can check out The Daily Journal’s video reports and analyses and Twitter updates by Bears players.

In addition to these features, if you have any suggestions or story ideas, we’d be glad to hear them. And, as always, if you have any questions about training camp (or our coverage in general), you can contact me at cbenoit@daily-journal.com or 815-937-3391.