Subtitle: The graying content of local news
As a Gen-X digital journalist, I grew up reading the local newspaper, which at the time was the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, even as a high school senior, I wrote a few Letters to the Editor.
Having relocated to Uvalde, Texas area in 2006, I worked for 11 years at the Uvalde Leader-News selling retail display advertising to local businesses. I left the newspaper for many reasons, but mainly because there seemed to be no upward advancement opportunities, and the customer base was shrinking, and the industry was changing.
Upon putting in my notice to leave, I knew there was no future for me there. I was tired of them, and they were tired of me. Uvalde was the smallest market I ever had worked in and looking back I don't know how I was able to stay there for as long as I did. At the beginning of 2018, I hit a dead end in my current career path.
After taking a break and taking a stepping stone job as the Director's Assistant at the Herby Ham Activity Center I wasn't clear what I should do next.
Four years later on February 14th, 2022, I started the online news magazine called the Uvalde Hesperian.
The local newspaper is still around. I do pick it up every Sunday, to see what news they are reporting,
Something that I noticed not only with the local Uvalde newspaper but also the Temple Daily Telegram which I read when I visited my wife's parents who live in Temple. Texas is where most of the news is written for and about people over 60 years old.
I suspect this trend of geriatric journalism, like arthritis, is seeping into the reporter's keyboards and news budgets.
For example, the local paper loves to write "remember when": articles reminiscing the quaint bucolic perspectives of a seemingly similar time.
The publisher of the local paper reveals his age when bringing up the Watergate Scandal and a number of other lived through periods of history that only a person in his/her 70's would remember clearly.
As far as the news goes, on the Front Page of today's Sunday, November 24th Thanksgiving Issue about a 100-year-old local great grandmother standing in front of a fireplace hearth with many pictures of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,
Other news pictures are feature the newsmakers nearly all over 50 years old,
The ads that I do see are mainly institutional ads from local banks, the Uvalde Memorial Hospital and
funeral homes to name a few. There are few "sale" ads and ads for small businesses.
As someone who is 2 years shy of 6, I know myself that I have one foot in the news-age quicksand.
I do think being aware of the problem is half of the solution. I combat that gray news trap by staying involved in the community and surrounding myself with younger adults and listening to their perspectives and problems and inviting others to submit articles
I also am embracing the new technology and digital news. The Uvalde Hesperian even has an App.
While I know I can't help getting older, I can try to keep my mind young and provide a platform for younger generations to publish their news.
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