NPR Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin reviews his network's new blog: "NPR has a well-deserved but perhaps overstated reputation for reporting the news with great seriousness, so the initial impressions one gets from reading 'Mixed Signals' are: 1) Why didn't NPR do this sooner? and 2) Who knew that the news organization with a reputation of earnestness could be so whimsical?" Dvorkin also reveals that he declined a request to turn his column into a blog.

IT Conversations is auctioning a month-long sponsorship of the podcast of Tech Nation, a show that also airs on public radio stations. Bidding opens today at $12,000. (Via Technology360.)