Small Town Newspaper's "Then and Now" Feature Struggles to Find Evidence of Progress
Clay City, IN - The "Then and Now" feature in the Clay City Observer is struggling to find examples of progress, according to Features Editor Amanda Grimes.
"It's hard," says Grimes. "It's supposed to show how much the town has progressed over the years. But not much happens around here. I covered when the bank got their new sign that shows the date and temperature last spring. That was big. But since then things have quieted down."
Grimes: "I'm running out of ideas."
Despite Grimes's struggles, Observer publisher Charlie Klug has no plans to drop the feature.
"Oh, heaven's no! I think we've made a lot of progress. We just have to be more creative," says Klug, who is also a member of the town council. "Let me give you a few examples."
"Look - this was when they opened the Wal-Mart over in Spencer! I guess technically that wasn't here in Clay City, but it was exciting for us to have it so close by. Or here-- look at how much more parking there is downtown, now that the highway bypasses us," say Klug.
"I find some things I could show but they aren't-- how shall I put it? Not appropriate, not uplifting," says Grimes. "For instance, I could show how the Police Station no longer has the signs saying "Colored" and "White" next to the drinking fountains. Or how the graffiti on the water tower changes each year."
Grimes said she is considering changing the feature to "Then and Now: Then and Now," showing how the feature itself has changed over the last 20 years.
"I'm running out of ideas," she says.
"It's hard," says Grimes. "It's supposed to show how much the town has progressed over the years. But not much happens around here. I covered when the bank got their new sign that shows the date and temperature last spring. That was big. But since then things have quieted down."
Grimes: "I'm running out of ideas."
Despite Grimes's struggles, Observer publisher Charlie Klug has no plans to drop the feature.
"Oh, heaven's no! I think we've made a lot of progress. We just have to be more creative," says Klug, who is also a member of the town council. "Let me give you a few examples."
"Look - this was when they opened the Wal-Mart over in Spencer! I guess technically that wasn't here in Clay City, but it was exciting for us to have it so close by. Or here-- look at how much more parking there is downtown, now that the highway bypasses us," say Klug.
"I find some things I could show but they aren't-- how shall I put it? Not appropriate, not uplifting," says Grimes. "For instance, I could show how the Police Station no longer has the signs saying "Colored" and "White" next to the drinking fountains. Or how the graffiti on the water tower changes each year."
Grimes said she is considering changing the feature to "Then and Now: Then and Now," showing how the feature itself has changed over the last 20 years.
"I'm running out of ideas," she says.
posted by Ish at 4:18 PM
2 Comments:
how about Ish reads the headlines a bit more: Ashlee Simpson collapses, Nick n Jessica Divorce, Bush's speech - so much to mock!
Guilty as charged anon. I've been falling down on the job lately, and it certinaly isn't for a lack of fodder in the news.
Let me see what I can do...
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