We are nearing the first week of experimenting with Need to Know, a new feature that aims to step up watchdog reporting at The Herald.

Need to Know is designed to provide readers with quick, clear access to largely unfiltered data and information about the community and its institutions. The presentations are planned to make better use of the interactivity and immediacy of the Web while still capitalizing on the myriad ways that print can be used to convey narrative.

We will update the Need to Know blog regularly, so it pays to check in often. We’ve also adopted a special publishing cycle for the most significant stories. Each Thursday we plan to present these offerings online. The print presentation will appear Sundays, on page A3.

Check out our first effort, Debra Smith’s reporting on Everett’s legal bills. The interactive graphic allows you to drill down into the data. The print treatment of this information, prepared by design news editor Chuck Taylor, offers another way to pore over what we found.

We asked for your ideas on subjects to explore on Need to Know. Thanks to those of you who shared thoughts. Please continue to send your ideas, your questions and comments to: needtoknow@herldnet.com