The Boston Globe is currently running a 7-part series, “Ted Kennedy,” chronicling the history of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D, MA).

The special on Ted Kennedy demonstrates the unparalleled resources of a major newspaper. The institutional history and the access it took to produce the series remain the province of the Fourth Estate, something that must not go unnoticed in this time of “the great print struggles.” More so, the piece shows how, with carefully allocated time and resources, the Globe and other newspapers can take full advantage of the platform of the web.

The videos are excellently produced, and the links to archive photos, headlines, and related documentation serve the goals of the story admirably. A community discussion forum would have brought the piece full circle and made for a resounding win, but I still see the piece as a triumphant display that the newspapers do “get it.” It’s a matter of bringing the financial models in line with a new approach to doing news, os that features like this appear with greater frequency.

I am not, in any way, trying to diminish the importance of citizen journalism. Its contributions to the way we understand our world cannot–and should not–be dismissed as in some way ‘limited,’ or as wobbly in its journalistic commitment or ethics. It is simply a different, equally significant process. Putting it into ‘competition’ with traditional media does neither form justice. I think at times it is easy to embrace citizen journalism as the underdog, and to champion it, at times, to the detriment of the respect for traditional press. The Boston Globe’s Ted Kennedy series, however, reminds us how very important traditional news outlets are to our history, and that, when given the appropriate resources, they can get it right. Ultimately the series demonstrates the rich potential for the news to unite its unique (reputation-based) level of access and traditional models of reporting with new media tools to educate and preserve in a way that, quite simply, no other institution can.