This is where I'm from.

[kellinator]

A reporter from my hometown newspaper called today to do a follow-up interview about Jeopardy. I had to spell "Marx" for her three times.

Comments

[kmeghan.livejournal.com]

when i was younger, i thought that to writer for a newspaper you had to be very smart, go to a great school, and wow people with your writing. the more and more I read of newspapers, I'm convinced that that is not the case.

[ariedana.livejournal.com]

Small-town papers (read: ones that publish 1-2 editions a week) can't afford an education. Their reporters often make slightly over minimum wage and write up to 20 articles for one edition of the paper. Therefore, they often rely a lot on rewritten press releases and "community gossip corners" to fill in the space.

Note: This does not mean all local papers are like this. maighdlin works for a local that is very professionally done. scarcrest used to also. And I've known people who have done news for small-town radio that's about as good as the stuff you hear in big markets. But as far as I've seen in my experience in four states, those are exceptions to the norm. However, most people in small towns seem to enjoy the "homey" aspect of their media, so I guess it's to each their own...

[kmeghan.livejournal.com]

i agree. I've read great papers, but my town newspaper is crap. I get tired of reading the same thing 4 times in one article.