Who Says Small Town Life Has to Be Dull?

[IrishAyes]

15. There's an old saying in journalism,

Last edited Sat Jan 24, 2015, 11:48 PM - Edit history (1)

my other major, about the best way for a paper (especially in a small town) to ensure its survival: make sure everyone in town sees their own name in the paper at least once a year. People read the LTEs as much to be sure no one's gossiping about them as for any other reason. People here submit 'articles' to the regular news pages about their shopping trips to the nearest town of any size 60 miles away; their guests who came for coffee; and various little mishaps of great import to world peace and prosperity. When I worked on a weekly decades ago, they actually printed a story about a fellow hitting his thumb with a hammer. At least I didn't have to put my byline on it!

In 'our' local regional weekly, there's a thimbleful of actual news at best, nothing from over a hundred miles away. But loads of advertising, legal notices, baby pictures, hunter trophy stories, recipes, religious columns, coffee klatches, obits, etc. - and of course everyone's favorite, LTE. Most people are teabaggers and most of the remainder are afraid of them. One time I got a lavish thankyou/congratulations card for something I wrote, and it was unsigned. No return address either. Mailed from a town 85 miles away, probably by somebody from here on a shopping trip.