Proof that newspaper coverage helps teams win (and prob earns kids scholarships)

Another use for us: the coach of our area's best prep team always posts clips from all their upcoming opponent's games for the bulletin board.

 

Kids still care. Here's my example:

I'm in news now. Covered a major, major business business event — I'm talking about interviewing the president of this multi-billion-dollar company.

She's prepping for a live feed on a cable channel and I say "when you're done, can I have word with you, one-on-one?"

She smiles and says "yes."

Her daughter, who I guessed to be about eight or maybe 11 years old, whirls around and says to me, "are you from the Podunk Press?" I say, "yes" and she asks, "are you putting my mommy in the paper?" and I say, "yes."

The kid then says, "Wow! That is SOOOOO COOL!" She then turns to another kid beside her and says, "My mom's going to be in the paper!"

I kid you not, the kid didn't take a photo of her mom on TV. Didn't flinch when her mom was asked to be interviewed by TV. But the kid took a photo of me interviewing her mom.

 

Very much so, more than a lot of these computer-whiz editors pushing Web-only realize.

Yeah, yeah, you can print out a photo or story on a site and hang it up or mail it to Grandma. But it's not the same as picking up the newspaper and seeing your name or photo, and being able to take it with you.

I was in the hospital visiting a friend and the doctor dropped by. After introductions he said "You're the guy ... you put my son's picture in the paper!" He gushed for five minutes about his kid being happy, they mailed it to everyone and so on. Doctor was just effusive with his thanks for something relatively minor that happened a year earlier, but it mattered greatly to him and his family.

 

"I told him to visualize the cheezy video the local paper will produce of a play from earlier in the game, something that has nothing to do with the actual game-winning kick (probably a short pass or 4-yard off-tackle run), because the writer had to shoot video as well as keep stats and write his game story on deadline."