if no news is good news why should we care newspapers are dying?
The San Francisco Chronicle is rumored to shortly cease publication. They blame the Internet. Bloggers. Craigslist for sucking all the ad money away. So this little neighborhood weekly newspaper called “The Richmond Review” has been on my mind. It’s pretty boring, very little investigative journalism happening there. The precinct cheif writes a little article about crime prevention. An interesting resident talks about their work. An old photograph of a building or streetcorner is given the “then and now” treatment. Yet, I really want to write for them. I want to be a part of a dying breed. Newspaper columnist. It’s so Mark Twain. And laugh, but the Richmond Review will outlast the Chronicle, the cities only daily.
I’ve been kicking around ideas with friends and came up with this angle – a metal detectors perspective of my neighborhood. For those of you that don’t know, the Richmond is boring. Old people live out here. Families and shit. Russian Orthodox priests. Dim Sum enthusiasts. How do I write for that mixed audience? It’ll be the biggest challenge of my writing career. It’s a four page paper. They fill neighbors in on library events. Free cardiovascular screenings for seniors at the Y. I want to be a part of something hyper local. In a part of the city many residents don’t even know exists. Me and my metal detector.
you could sweep your neighbors’ yards under the guise of investigative journalism.
Comment by Lyle_S — April 4, 2009 @ 4:37 am
I live in possibly the worst metal detecting spot in America. My neighborhood wasn’t settled until basically the 1950′s because it was a giant shifting sand dune until then. So there is very little old stuff here, most of the place is cement and concrete now anyway, power lines everywhere affect the machine, the native Indians weren’t metalsmiths, it’s illegal to hunt in the Presidio National Park down the street, my feet hurt and battery life is so short. That being said, it’s a good excuse to go wander around.
Comment by Rolston — April 4, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
dying breeds:
drunks, pigs at a bacon factory, newspapers, people who can read, people with manners, virgins and the middle & working class.
Comment by n.d.p. — April 5, 2009 @ 12:40 am