This will be my last column as editor of The Bee, but don't worry: I don't plan to lapse into nostalgic farewells.

I'm not saying goodbye to journalism, yet after 30 years in newspapers I'm changing direction, as we announced early last week. Publisher Cheryl Dell has named Joyce Terhaar, a 23-year veteran of The Bee, to be executive editor.

I'm headed for a six-month appointment as executive in residence at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

There, I'll do reporting, research, writing and work with students and faculty on questions that have motivated me as an editor: What can journalists and journalism do most effectively to serve the public interest in an age of media fragmentation? How can we report news, tell stories and convey information in ways that connect with more people?

In a profession driven by deadlines that used to be daily and now are hourly, this work with USC Annenberg offers me a rare chance to step back from the fray and focus on broader questions.

Many experiments are under way across the country and the digital landscape aiming to engage people in public affairs and public life, some involving traditional or new media and some launched by other kinds of communicators.

At USC, I plan to explore what's working and identify models that hold promise for involving more Californians in discussing and deciding local and state issues. I'm interested not just in how information and stories are being gathered and shared, but also in which new approaches are making connections.

This work also touches on one of my core beliefs about what journalism can do for citizens. For me, it's a transfer of power – knowledge is power, after all – that can occur when journalism provides a path to being better informed.

In public speeches, I've often posed this question: If there are two groups of people in a community, and one group reads and keeps up with news and information diligently and the other does not, which has more power in that community?

That's not a difficult question to answer. Yet as traditional media habits shift, there are both opportunities and threats to the idea of a well-informed populace.

From my view, the threats get too much attention and the opportunities not enough. One of the greatest areas of promise, I think, is the ability of journalists to communicate more directly with people in exchanging information and promoting knowledge.

Those who understand how decisions work often hold the power to gain from them. In our times, when problems such as health care costs, post-recession economic policy and pension reform seem mind-numbingly difficult, many people are simply checking out of the discussion.

That's why I'm interested in new ways journalists are carrying out traditional aims of informing and guiding people.

Some of these ideas have infused our work at The Bee over my 3 1/2 years as editor. We've worked to build direct connections through blogs such as the State Worker, an issues-and-dialogue feature called The Conversation in California Forum and a host of online features.

I launched this weekly column in early 2008 to invite readers into Bee coverage, and have learned greatly from the thousands who reached out, some of whom became regular correspondents.

Our staff has added dozens of other connection points. We've begun or expanded collaborative efforts with other news organizations, for-profit and nonprofit, and worked as a company to take part in numerous community discussions.

We built a community network, Sacramento Connect, that has taken root and blossomed into a colorful, wonderful collection of voices and viewpoints about this place.

We've wrestled less successfully with the online commenting system, which connects some readers to coverage yet alienates others because of anonymous attacks and insults. That's a work in progress.

Most of all, The Bee has focused on covering news from all over with an eye on the interests, needs, character and people in our part of the world.

It's not "the view from nowhere," an oft-repeated criticism of journalistic objectivity. It's the view from here.

There's no other publication in the Sacramento region, broadcast or digital, that provides the kind of community connection this 154-year-old news organization provides. In my opinion, The Bee's future rests on continuing and strengthening that connection.

Even as media habits shift, the print newspaper reaches more people each week than any other news outlet, and Bee subscriber numbers have even been growing lately, especially on Sunday. Through sacbee.com's Web and mobile channels, the number of readers has expanded rapidly, yet we're only beginning to understand how to employ new tools effectively.

I feel fortunate, and that is an understatement, to have been part of this staff for a few years and part of this company, at excellent newspapers here and in North Carolina, for nearly three decades. I've built on the legacies of fine journalists before me and worked alongside countless people who stand out for character and commitment.

Terhaar, who has been managing editor since 1998 and steps in next as executive editor, has strong ties and deep attachment to this place, her adopted home. I wish her well, and have already let her know that readers will be among her best guides and critics. That's where connection can help on both sides.

Thanks to all of you who have helped me.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Reach The Bee's editor, Melanie Sill, at (916) 321-1002 through Friday.

• Read more articles by Melanie Sill