A funny thing happened this morning. I was reading the local daily paper's Op/Ed section and I found an interesting piece by Garrison Keillor about the politics in (of all places) London. Keillor discusses the recent resignation of Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons and places the "credit" of this action squarely on the shoulders of the local press.
In spite of all the electronic sources of news, the newspaper that has broken the story of corruption in Parliament has seen circulation increase by 10 percent since the story became public. The reality is that people will buy newspapers when they are the source of stories they want to read. As journalists and teachers of future journalists, we must remember that no matter how important the story is to us and no matter how much of our heart we pour into our writing, if it isn't a story that appeals to our readers, then our papers will continue to be viewed as relics of days gone by. We have to encourage our young writers to write in a way that will make readers want to soak in every word--the content drives circulation.
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Great points, Trampus. I remember the single-sales spikes that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. When people craved clear information amid the din, they went to newspapers. There are plenty of examples of strong journalism driving circulation, including AP reporter Pauline Arrillaga's three-part narrative on a horrifically burned Phoenix police officer and his journey back. The Arizona Daily Star said its single-copy sales rose each day of the series. That package is a good one to show your classes how strong writing flows from thorough reporting and a focused angle. I don't think there's a sentence longer than 18 words, and you have to look hard for adjectives.
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