Babblin' Brooks: Remembering why we do what we do

I couldn’t help but smile. Although the comment was not directed toward me, it still made me feel good about the long and odd hours I spend doing this job every week.  

A few weeks ago I was dropping off newspapers at a local convenience store. I had just put them in the rack when a woman walked in the store, grabbed one and began looking at it.

“There she is,” she exclaimed to the clerk. “I love living in a small town, my kid is always in the newspaper.”

I started to think about how no matter how technologically advanced we become, there is nothing quite like seeing your name and picture in print. Subscribers tell me often they prefer to hold a newspaper in their hand rather than read it online. 

There is something different about reading about exploits on the field of play from old, yellowed newspaper clippings than reading about them from a Google search. There is a sense of permanence. There is a sense of validity, a sense of this really happened.

Another feel-good moment happened last week. I had received a request for a bundle of newspapers to be used as props by the student section during last week’s high school basketball game. They were going to act like they were reading the newspaper during the introduction of the opposing team, an old-school joke that dates back to at least my era. It made my middle-aged heart proud.

I noticed something, though, before the introductions were made, students were reading the newspaper. They may have picked them up as props, but something caught their attention. 

In this day of smartphones when media distributors have just one or two seconds to catch someone’s attention as they scroll through feeds, newspapers stand out.

Every week on our website we have at least one person representing 45 states (we sometimes get readers from all 50) click articles or flip through the digital newspaper to read about a town of 1,300 people in rural Oklahoma. We have a social media presence. They are tools we use but not the main product.

Several years ago I had a city official tell me about a phone call he had received from a resident complaining about something new the city was doing.

“It was in the paper last week,” he told the customer.

“I don’t get the paper,” the customer replied.

Well, therein lies the problem that has an easy solution.

If you are one to make New Year’s resolutions, how about resolving to stay informed? I think we are the best deal in town at $30 for a yearly subscription. And yes, we also have digital-only subscriptions.

Depending on when you get this, I hope everyone has had or will have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Until then, we will be right here doing what we can to keep you informed.