Babs Young, Cub Reporter

Is the camera safe, you mean? Ah yes, I would think so. Norton is pretty ingenious. Also he loves Torch Lake and would take care to keep it from being littered with executed bodies.

I would say that the New York Times is something of a national newspaper, although westerners would probably disagree with me. USA Today is national, but I wouldn’t call it a newspaper. Our tradition has been to have a daily paper in every self-respecting center of commerce and culture, even in rural areas. Thus the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which is 150 years old this year. These usually do a good job of covering their hometowns, and rely on wire services for stories of statewide or national interest. (In that regard you might almost say that the Associated Press is a national newspaper, but it’s absolutely not don’t get me started.)

Every big city had at least one daily, and often two (a morning paper and an evening paper). These had long, detailed news stories about events of real importance to the whole region. Their Sunday editions were fat with a color feature magazine, whole sections on books and business and cultural matters, and of course “the funnies” – color comics. The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News were able competitors for half my lifetime, posting their own reporters in Africa and Europe and Asia and South America as well as covering regional news thoroughly. They are but shadows of their former selves, run as one business operation.

Smaller places have always had weekly papers that cover local school doings, especially sports, local government, local businesses, local characters, local births and deaths. The joke is that we buy the weeklies to read what we already know.

And all of these are disappearing, swallowed up by alternative media, including the internet, and by, in my opinion, an obsession with “entertainment value” rather than “news value.” (This from a woman who blogs about her dogs and the weather.)

So no, we don’t have national newspapers. We barely have newspapers at all. I think that’s unfortunate. I think, too, that it may change as people discover what they have lost. There is a big difference between the mindless blather all over the radio and a responsibly edited, carefully written newspaper with a publisher who gives a damn about the community.

Aren’t you glad you asked? Ah well – where can a person go on a rant if not on her own blog?

Actually, Babs, I think of you as a lion cub who is growing up to be a Literary Lion.

I have to write 1000 words to approach the effectiveness of one of your photos. This is why we make a good team.

You would win that bet. More to come.