Thursday, May 20, 2010

PSA- Read Your Local Newspaper!




Since I am a former journalist myself, I thought I would dedicate today's PSA to inform folks that many local newspapers around the country have lost readership, and they need your support (although I guess there a handful which don't actually deserve it!).

Even though I worked for their rival newspaper "The Salem Times-Register" in Salem, Va., (from 1997-98) I am going to focus on today's "Roanoke Times," the local daily newspaper which serves Roanoke, Va., and nearby communities like Blacksburg, Boones Mill and Buchanan as well as a good portion of southwest and southside Virginia.

Here are some of today's headlines, the asterisk denotes local stories:

"5 teens arrested in sexting incidents*" (This happened at Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, Va.)

"Wal-Mart pulls Miley Cyrus jewelry."

"Taliban attacks carry symbolic weight."

"Man sentenced to 9 months in cross burning." (This happened near Bedford, Va."

"Roanoke's lacrosse season ends in overtime"* (This pertains to Roanoke College's loss to Stevenson in Owing Mills, Md., in the NCAA Div. 3 tournament)

There were also some right-wing letters to the editors, which included: "Day of Prayer is not a political endorsement," "The Bible has a clear message" and "America will become the next Greece." But, I do agree with a reader from Christiansburg, Va., who said: "Let's put Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court."

I would write more, but I need to check on my Twitter account.

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