That Ibargüen is advocating for an online future is ironic, given his newspaper pedigree. He is well aware that the importance of fact-based, verified reporting may be imperiled by the advent of online journalism. But Ibargüen keeps a foot in the camps of both traditional print journalism and the new forms of digital news delivery. Earlier this year, Ibargüen was named board chairman of the Newseum, a Washington-based interactive museum which will invite people to think about current issues of free speech and free press when it opens in mid-February. Emphasis will be on broadcast media and the Internet as the emerging news medium.

“As a democrat with a small ‘d,’ he says, “you can’t help but be thrilled about the accessibility and transparency of online, and the opportunity for more people to have a role in sharing their views. I think that’s fantastic… But, at the same time, there’s a major difference between verification journalism and the practices of the vast majority of bloggers. Verification journalism, as practiced at the best newspapers, is about finding credible sources. It’s about editors looking over your shoulder and saying, ‘How do you know that?’ That kind of stuff doesn’t generally happen on blogs. It’ll take time to sort all this out.”