Not with everyone, of course, as some that say they’re wired are really just posturing (or worse, don’t get it at all). And many have only barely stumbled their way into the new frontier, finally coming to realize that a blog is just their column without deadlines.

That said, the overall shift has definitely moved towards the Web, which is good. There will always be the ten-percenters that don’t budge an inch. This year, though, I watched many, many reporters fully immerse themselves in technology.

With the writing so clearly on the wall the last half of the year, many of the complaints and arguments I’ve heard over and over have gone out the window. Which is good.

As for an MBO program for 2009? I’d advance it by stretching the boundaries.

- Buy your own domain and hosting plan. Set up a blog.
- Build a Web page using only HTML and CSS.
- Learn lighting techniques for video*
- Photoshop a graphic**
- Ask for databases and spreadsheets while you’re reporting…and do more with them on the Web.
- Crowdsource a document
- Communicate with your editor through IM, from your phone, while you’re in the field.

*Tip: There’s an old, cheap documentary trick for producing dramatic lighting during interviews. Shut off all the lights in a room and light your subject’s face with a studio light. Turn on a single incandescent lamp in the background. (You’ll see it in nearly every documentary you watch now that I’ve pointed it out).

**Or use free software like GIMP.