With the advent of the Internet and social media, newspapers are struggling to adapt – some more successfully than others. But this is not the first time.
When I grew up in Indianapolis, there were two daily newspapers – one delivered in the morning and the other in the afternoon. And as was the case in many large cities, one was considered conservative and the other liberal – well, as liberal as Indiana could be. It was the newspaper equivalent to FoxNews and CNN.
But with the increasing popularity of television’s evening news shows, the evening newspaper gradually lost circulation and eventually ceased operations.
Today there are even greater challenges. On October 17that 11:00, RaeLynn Ricarte and Mark Gibson, the Ying and the Yang of The Dalles Chronicle, will speak about the challenges and opportunities local papers face and answer your questions about how the Chronicle is learning to adapt.
Community based local newspapers will adapt and survive. Where else can you find local news vetted following high journalistic standards – and the obituaries!?
Have you experienced “The Talk” where your children sit you down and talk about what they think your future should be? But how about this for an idea. Before they have a chance, let’s reverse it and sit them down and have “The Talk” explaining what we expect from them as our all-to-caring adult children. In other words, telling them to “Stop bugging me and telling me what I should do!”
The joys and challenges of the parent and adult child relationship will be the focus of our next “Let’s Talk: Conversations about Things that Matter” on Friday, October 12th from 11:00 – 12:00.
We all have our struggles and many times as we get older it feels like we have more than our fair share. But without struggle there isn’t growth. Wasn’t that what we were told when we were children? “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.” But in the midst of our struggles and challenges, we can still find happiness.
As I have mentioned, October is Gorge Happiness month, encouraging everyone to incorporate in their daily routine the three habits that can make us happier and healthier: 3 Gratitudes, an Act of Kindness and a Moment of Silence.
And to prime the pump, a specific task is suggested for each day in October including the following for the next seven days:
11th – Complete one small irritating task;
12th – Leave a kind note in an unlikely place;
13th – Take a nap (that’s any easy one!);
14th – Reach out to someone you haven’t seen in a long time;
15th – Stop and count the number of things you hear right now (with and without your hearing aids);
16th – Do someone else’s chores;
17th – Listen to music.
11th – Complete one small irritating task;
12th – Leave a kind note in an unlikely place;
13th – Take a nap (that’s any easy one!);
14th – Reach out to someone you haven’t seen in a long time;
15th – Stop and count the number of things you hear right now (with and without your hearing aids);
16th – Do someone else’s chores;
17th – Listen to music.
If you didn’t follow the suggestion from last week to talk to someone at a Farmer’s Market, your last chance is this coming Saturday between 9:00 and 1:00. After the 13th the Farmer’s Market will be shutting down until next June.
The pitcher who cemented his place in baseball history in the 1965 World Series when he pitched two shutouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers to compliment his twenty-six wins during the regular season was not Don Drysdale or Don Larson but Sandy Koufax. (I received correct answers from Sandy Haechrel, Sharon Hull, Jerry Betts and Lee Kaseberg this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.)
TV westerns were popular in the 50’s and 60’s: Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide for example. But I don’t remember watching this show back when it aired on NBC from 1957 through 1962 before it moved to the new ABC. For this week’s “Remember When” question what was the name of the most watched television show in 1962, starring Ward Bond and Robert Horton and recounted the adventures of a group of settlers as they made their way from St. Joseph Missouri across the Mid-Western plains and the Rocky Mountains to California? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or send your answer with the 1960 episode directed by the legendary director John Ford.
Well it’s been another week trying to decide should I or shouldn’t I. Until we meet again as Anton Chekhov once pointed out “Any idiot can face a crisis. It’s the day to day living that wears you out”.
“A newspaper is the center of a community, it’s one of the tent poles of the community, and that’s not going to be replaced by Web sites and blogs.” Michael Connelly
