A reader stopped in this past week with a news article for me to read. The Warroad Pioneer in Northern Minnesota recently published their final edition. Last year an area newspaper published their final ever paper as well. Small town papers appear to be a thing of the past.
This is what I tell people who worry about the future of print media.
1. People are not any less interested in consuming news than prior generations. Today’s generations/kids just don’t consume media the same way.
2. I really wish I had more to say.
I’m not sure how small town papers will survive going into the future. All I can say is it’s very much reliant on advertisers and subscribers continuing to show interest and support in the paper.
Another reader came into the office this week and asked about purchasing a subscription for multiple years. And then quickly followed up by saying they weren’t sure if we would be around in three years.
I could write an entire column about my interactions with readers. I have a small handful I could tell this week. I’ll have to think of some sort of pun for “running of the words” but for interactions with readers.
I was talking with another reader about last week's Star Eagle. I won’t go into detail other than to say it was positive. It got me thinking and I want to share how I write/approach covering the New Richland City Council.
When I write about the council meetings, I listen back through a recording of the meeting prior to writing anything. I go through my notes on the meeting, which are really just notes to help me go through the recording.
If something is a focal point or something I consider very important, I will write down the entire dialogue between the council members and whomever is speaking with the council. I’ve tried other ways of shortening the process, and found this is the easiest way for me to report what happens accurately. Sometimes I will include an entire dialogue clipped out of those notes. If I include a back-and-forth between council members and directors, it is an actual back-and- forth that occurred.
Typically, I write in order of importance. Lately I’ve been bolding whatever topics are discussed and last week, I italicized,whenever action was taken by the council. I’m not sure if my way is the best style, but it gives me a template that I can follow each and every time I write about the city council.