For those of us over the age of 30 or so, a newspaper used to be about nothing more than words and pictures.

If we wanted audio, we listened to the radio. If we wanted video, we turned on the television. If we wanted more information on a story, we went to the library or found other way to do our own research.

Not to sound like too much of an old timer, but, boy, how times have changed. The Internet has turned newspapers loose to do whatever is technologically possible to report the news.

The simplest way to add to coverage is to provide links to additional information, sparing the reader much of the effort of doing that additional research. During the recent scandal involving soon-to-be-former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, DailyGazette.com was able to post the entire criminal affidavit that included the details of "Client No. 9" and his tryst with a high-priced prostitute in a Washington, D.C., hotel, so you could see for yourself what prosecutors say Spitzer did.

Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Newspapers are turning more and more to multimedia presentations to turn their Web sites into sort of a media supermarket. Again, looking back to the Spitzer scandal, DailyGazette.com offered readers access to live webcasts of both Spitzer's resignation announcement and the first news conference by his replacement, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, as well as other video reports on the scandal.

Again, however, this is just the tip of the online iceberg. There are several newspaper Web sites that have dived full-bore into "television" news, offering TV-style reports and even full-length newscasts on their Web sites. If you want to see what I mean, check out Studio 55, the so-called vodcast portion of the Web site of the Naples Daily News. You can find morning and afternoon newscasts and other video reports throughout the day.

As a fledgling Web site, DailyGazette.com is far from that level of service, but we are taking our initial steps into the multimedia pool. I invite you to check out Jeff Wilkin's piece on the Albany Set Dancers when it appears on the Web site Sunday morning. In addition to Jeff's words, you can also view a brief video of one of the group's dances.

It may pale by comparison to a Studio 55 morning news update, but that one minute of video is another way for us to tell the stories you look for. And look for more of the same as we keep using technology to let you know - in words, pictures and a whole lot more - what's going on in the Capital Region.