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Profile of Jonathan Lindquist

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Jonathan Lindquist

Age: 30

Address: Janesville

Title: Online services manager. Coordinates the Gazette’s online services, including the newsroom’s Web site.

“I was hoping to get this job. The key to a good Web site is content. With a newspaper company, you can’t get any better content. That I got to build the Web site from scratch—that was great, too.

“It’s not so much a job. If I was jobless right now, I’d be at home creating a Web site, doing something in front of the computer.”

The new Web site will launch the day the first paper rolls off the new press. What is next year’s goal? A Web site that interacts with the community.

“We’re really trying to establish a social network of Janesville people. We want to keep news relative.”

Has it been challenging? “Yes. I’ve never had any news experience. As soon as I started here, I had to start running.”

How have you found working in a newsroom? Jon assumed all media are biased, but …

“You need to see them (journalists and editors) write and talk about stories. There is a strong sense of not being influenced by advertisers … They really are looking out for the users, delivering the news they think users really want.

“It makes me feel better about the news, that it isn’t biased. Although money runs it all, it’s not so heavily influenced as I thought.”

Story: Graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and project management. Moved here from Houston, Texas, when he got the job a year ago.

He loves Janesville. In Houston, his commute was sometimes 1½ hours—one way. Now, his parents live close by in Illinois.

He lives in a duplex with a basement—there are no basements in Houston—which made his dream home theater possible. He has a 126-inch screen with a high-definition projector. His hobbies are gaming, theater, computers and cars.

At lunch, it’s less than 10 minutes home to plug in “Guitar Hero II” and play virtual guitar along with rock stars. It’s his energy backup.

“My living room is completely barren. There are no pictures, curtains, nothing. I just don’t use the upstairs except for the bedroom and kitchen. My office is (downstairs), too.”

Jonathan is obviously single.