By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Well, it isn’t usually about me, anyway.
There are a lot of things that go into making a newspaper, and anyone who tells you they enjoy every single one of those things is not being completely honest with themselves or anyone else. But, like any other job, you do the things you don’t particularly enjoy because those things are as necessary as the things you do actually enjoy, and once they are all put together you have a good product to present to the readers.
That is the goal at the end of the day, of course. It doesn’t really matter if I have a personal interest in each topic I write about because I am not writing the story for me to read. I already have the information, so writing to inform me would quite honestly be self-indulgent at best and a waste of time at worst. No, the whole purpose of writing the story is to inform the reader who may not have that information or needs more of it.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, I do have a very broad range of interests, though. I can with complete honesty say that I like both cars and comic books, I enjoy music (sort of stuck on ‘70s Rock and Country) and movies, and I am a huge fan of food and really strong coffee.
Honestly, whether I like something or not, there aren’t many things that I truly dislike … except perhaps deadlines, as my editor can tell you, because I often come screaming into the end of the week sideways like a battered pickup truck with four bald tires and nothing but an emergency brake.
I have been doing this for some time now and have discovered something that sort of goes along with the like, tolerate, dislike thing. Somehow along the way I discovered that there seems to be something that I do enjoy about every story even if it is only the satisfaction that I tried to be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem or simply a bystander. And there are perks in the most surprising places. I don’t particularly enjoy sitting for hours at public meetings, but I do enjoy talking to the people themselves.
And sometimes (see paragraph four) these public meetings have food and coffee. Not only that, but sometimes a wonderful councilwoman makes probably the best cornbread I have ever eaten. I tried to convince them to pass an ordinance funding that cornbread, but sadly my “motion” never went to a vote. Perhaps next time, and in the interest of public enrichment, I will revisit my “motion.”
The point is I don’t have to actively “like” something to write a story about it. Someone, somewhere, does actually “like” that topic and would enjoy hearing more about it. And who knows, once I start gathering information I might discover that there are things about that topic that are of personal interest to me. It has happened before and no doubt will happen again. At least I hope so. One of the perks of the job; along with cornbread, of course.
So, I have to say, if you like or are interested in something then I am too. It is my job, for one thing. News isn’t just facts and figures, laws and events, or even road maintenance and new businesses. Those things are extremely important, but sometimes you need a good cup of coffee to wash all that down. It isn’t just headlines and bylines; sometimes it’s about something our kids are doing to make their community better. Sometimes it’s about what local organizations are doing to help those same kids become better adults.
Whether we realize it or not, there is always something going on in our community that is of value and worthy of a story. Local churches are feeding people who are hungry, other organizations are clothing people who might struggle just to afford a pair of shoes. We just have to open our eyes (and the newspaper) to see what those people are doing. And maybe along the way help out a little ourselves. We are all in this together, after all. It would be much more lonely if we weren’t.
If there is something you “like,” then please do me the courtesy of dropping me an email so I can see if I “like” it too. My email is in the byline, or you can try to catch me when I go see my editor once a week at The Nook & Cranny Coffee Shop. I will no doubt be drinking coffee (and eating the occasional sandwich or pastry) and annoying customers. You might not want to make eye contact, though, because I talk a lot. About everything. And I might even know what I’m talking about sometimes.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
