If one were interested in publishing a web site that had a mix of
static (feature stories) and dynamic (discussion boards and a
blog-like news feed) content, what free or low-cost tools should he
look into? Key considerations would be configurability (i.e., to what
extent the design and organization of the site can be customized),
features (e.g. searchability, discussion boards, security, etc.),
effort required, and, of course, price.
 
I'm thinking of using MovableType, UserLand Radio, or another sort of
turn-key publishing tool, but I want to make sure that I'll be getting
all the features I need before I spend the money.

For an answer, I will accept either a detailed answer to my specific
questions, including recommendations, or a list of links to
sites/articles that compare the various web publishing tools.

Please do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Greetings, k_s_anderson!

This is just a suggestion, but if this is your first leap into web
publishing, regardless of whatever software you end up using, I would
highly recommend learning the basics of HTML (HyperText Markup
Language).

While there are several WYSIWYG ("What You See Is What You Get") web
editing and blog publishing packages out there that require little to
no knowledge of HTML, you will quickly find that they typically have
severe limitations. (You end up not *quite* being able to do something
you want and should be able to do, especially if you have lots of
specific nit-picky details already in mind.)

That being said, for the mix of static and dynamic features you want
to include, there may not be an easy, "one-size-fits-all" solution.
The things you can do has as much to do with the web host you use as
anything else. I am guessing that at some point you may need a decent
stand alone web host and what will probably end up being a
custom-built solution. Many web hosting providers offer some of the
features you mention as options with basic hosting (specifically:
message boards, built-in search capability, security, etc.) Static web
content is relatively easy to produce and publish, but the constant
maintenance required to make changes / updates can be an issue. For
dynamic, database-driven content, the cost / complexity of setting up
and maintaining a database can potentially be an issue.

If you haven't already, you might play a little with Blogger, the free
weblog creation tool from Google (or any one of the other free blog
publishing services: MyBlogSite, etc.) just to get your feet wet and
see what kinds of things you like and do not like about it. Services
like Blogger typically come with a limited number of free design
templates available, but if you know HTML, you can create your own
design from the bottom up.  Because it is free, however, some of the
features you want may not be included.

In terms of web design software (HTML editing, database connectivity)
I like the Macromedia line of products:  Dreamweaver MX, ColdFusion
MX, etc.  They are pricy, however. You should definitely try out a
trial version of whatever software packages you may be interested in
and see if they are going to fit your  needs.  A totally free HTML
editor I highly recommend is TSW Web Coder: http://www.tsware.net/. 
It is not WYSIWYG, but is great way to play around with and learn HTML
and the price is right.

Good luck!

Lauridsd,

Thanks for your comment. I am proficient in manual HTML coding and am
very comfortable with both FrontPage and Dreamweaver, but I have
extremely limited exposure to Perl, Javascript, and other CGI
programming tools.

My primary concern is to find an affordable hosted software solution
that will resolve most (if not all) of the content management issues
associated with dynamic content. My site will feature both blog-like
news updates and community-generated content (discussion forums), and
I need to find a solution that will streamline both the design and
maintenance of these areas of the site.

Since first posting the original question, I have identified a few
sites that identify and review many such solutions. The best resource
I've found so far is http://www.cmsmatrix.com.

Thanks again!