OM, it really is a throwback to days long gone, when newspapers really mattered.

My wife and I both look forward to each issue. We've had our scandals here, and I'm always amazed and proud to see how well Jann Clark covers them. I didn't really expect that in such a rural area.

This is a very conservative area, but most of the local newspapers around here are very unbiased. The "TCT" publishes Phyllis Schlafly's column, which is about as "Right" as you can get, but they'll publish some very left responses to her column too.

Some of the "Letters to the Editor" here are incredibly well informed and written and it's good to see people involved. Some of them are pretty uninformed, and you can feel like you're like you're really living back in time when you read them. The TCT will publish stuff that I doubt would ever make it in larger markets, but living here I know it provides the truth that a newspaper should strive to record. That paper is a real snapshot of the area it covers, and that's what makes it so fun to read every week.

In a way, Facebook is recording a snapshot in time for a given area too. I have a "FB" account and most of my "Friends" are locals, so I see a lot of very right wing Christian conservative stuff. I've wondered about what my FB page would read like if I were where you are, or LA, or New York/New Jersey.

I see pictures of young kids shooting rifles and handguns all the time here. I doubt you'd see that very often if you're living in the city. I see photos of deer and turkey and fish people have bagged and you know what's in season just by taking a look at your FB page. Right now people are posting their photos of the Morel mushrooms they're finding, and it's a big deal here.

The Taney County Times will have pictures of them too in this week's issue. It's what everyone is talking about. It's a good year for Morels (last year sucked) and that's big news here laugh

I've went to our local library a few times and read some old copies of the newspaper on microfiche. The style of writing has changed a lot over the years, and so has the integrity of the paper in how it has presented different concerns of the day, but there has always been those weekly columns written by and about the people living in the tiny towns way out in the sticks, and they haven't changed much at all. I love that stuff, and I love that you can find such worthwhile and longstanding tradition documented in good old fashion local newspapers.

It's pretty funny, but just an hour drive from here is Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and it's one of the most liberal small towns you'd find anywhere. Their local newspaper is a blast to read, especially the weekly "Police Beat". That reads something like "Woman called to report a very mean raccoon stealing her cat's food off the front porch. Officers arrived quickly but the perpetrator had fled the scene with the food and was assumed to be hiding out nearby. The cat was unharmed so they promised to issue a stern warning if they located the perp."
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