Saturday, February 1, 2025
Time: 9:30 A.M.
Song: Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
Artist: The Gaslight Anthem
Mode of Consumption: Downloaded Songs in iTunes while editing a story for a contest.
Link to story: https://open.spotify.com/track/2FxnvkyxWLFXFANYWzcQhQ?si=0ff18a9a8ee549f9
I consider the story I am writing to be small and quiet. It’s not a summer blockbuster filled with explosions and A-List stars. This is the small independent film where the acting teacher at the community college is hired to play the lead. It’s about people wearing blue jeans and t-shirts.
It’s a tribute to my time at the newspaper and some of the people I worked with. Ironically, it never mentions sports or the sports department. It’s about the role of a newspaper in a small community and how that newspaper is put together by people living within that community. It’s about how the perception has been warped to some degree by the people that own the media in order to move forward political ideologies.
I don’t know if I am doing a great job of conveying all of that in the story. It’s a little too subtle. I don’t know. I like parts of the story, but I am not confident this story will be well received in this contest.
Oh, well. I’d like to advance in the contest, but I enter these things because they force me to write and it’s a way to curate ideas that I have had bouncing around my head.
Here’s a short excerpt from the story:
“Well, this stays here,” Elmore began, “but it appears Maxwell Media will be purchasing the newspapers in Lincoln and Sheldon.”
“I thought there wasn’t enough money to fill the reporter we lost last spring, how can they afford two more papers?” Kate asked.
Elmore shuffled more paper, and Geoff removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes.
“Yes, well, the company’s budget and this paper’s budget are two different things, two different veins of money. There is money in the acquisitions budget, but we’ll be looking to streamline across the board to make this purchase more palpable.”
“Streamline!” Kate exclaimed.
“Kate, don’t.” Jeff started.
“Ah, yes, the famous code words. Streamline. Synergy. Efficiency. That means cut staff to a bone to maximize profits and minimize cost. To hell with the quality of the product. To hell with good journalism.”
Geoff moaned. Elmore waited.
“Now more than ever small communities like Jordan need newspapers staffed with real people.”
“Yes, well.”
That was all Elmore Maxwell said.
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