I also love the personal feel of the forums, and wish that would extend to the front page a bit more. I don't want NWR to be like Joystiq or other video game blogs where each story is accompanied by a cheesy 5-minute Photoshop job, but as it stands NWR is very much like a press room site. The news is delivered but the heart is sometimes missing.
I would love to see a return of the staff comments. Kairon's 'quickcast' idea is nice too. They should complement the main news articles (not all of them, mind you) and allow staff to offer up their thoughts. Actual news should remain in text. The great thing about audio is that while informal text seems unprofessional, informal speaking just sounds fun/inviting. More editorials would be welcome, too.