Every newspaper needs a Hank A STORY WORTH TELLING
“All I know is what I read in the papers.”
— Will Rogers
I still read several newspapers for what I want to know.
That’s where I saw the article about Hank’s retirement. While I never met Hank, Albert Thompson, my longtime friend and former newspaper associate when we worked for Jim Chionsini, told me about him.
Albert once owned the Ripley, Mississippi, newspaper where Hank worked.
This how Albert told
the tale: “Hank worked for us 21 years, and another four with new owners before semi-retiring.
Retired Marine, black belt and wealthy from an inheritance, he drove a new customized pickup one day, a new car the next day and his Harley another, weather permitting.
“I would love to have a picture of him delivering rack papers on his Harley. He would strap them on, and off he went.
“Few mayors liked him, but all respected him for obvious reasons. He worked because he liked what he was accomplishing, not for the money.
“I remember him telling me one night as I walked through the newsroom, ‘Boss, a bus wreck is all we need for a perfect front page.’ He already had murders, drug busts, scandals and politicians going to jail—yet joked about needing a bus wreck. It was all in fun to get a laugh out of the crew.
“Every newspaper needs a Hank,” Albert concluded I also read a newspaper piece Hank wrote defining news, titled, “They say only bad news sells newspapers.”
The piece read: “They joke that bankruptcy courts are jammed with obituaries of newspapers that died because they only printed what’s right with the world. They’re wrong.
“Good news sells newspapers, too. At least on the community journalism turf.
Goodness sells more papers more often than badness.
“Take this test.
Pick up the community newspaper of your choice and see how much of it is bad news.
Whatever went wrong that day – deaths, crashes, robberies, disasters both large and small, the dog bite, the bee sting.
“Then look at what’s left. A lot.
“Readers will get madder faster about good news being left out than bad news being omitted. A newspaper will get more calls for leaving out the school honor roll or a community correspondent’s column than for omitting a car crash or a mugging.
“To prove how well good news sells, try ignoring it the next time you buy a newspaper. Scan the headlines and read only what’s wrong with the world.”
I’m paraphrasing the rest of Hank’s piece for brevity, but you’ll get the point. Tongue in cheek, he proposed ignoring honor rolls because no one wants to read about the best and the brightest, right?
Then, he suggested disregarding school activities such as band and sports, arguing “anyone trying to better themselves or earn a scholarship is probably a kid who says grace before dinner and goes to church on Wednesday nights.”
What about omitting engagements, weddings, family reunions and wedding anniversaries, because who wants to read about people settling down and starting families?
Armed services promotions and honors. Who cares about people serving their country? Church news.
Who cares about dogooders? Civic clubs, associations or volunteer groups. Just chumming around together to get out of the house.
Local businesses.
Advertisements. None of that self-serving stuff.
Fairs, Christmas parades and all that foolishness. Agriculture stories. Who cares what’s happening on the farm?
Special sections.
Why recognize local people, businesses and industries?
Then he concludes with, “Now … get to the bad news. See who got arrested, indicted, convicted, injured or killed. Bet you can’t do it … without peeking at some of the good news. You’d be too curious. And curiosity is why good news sells newspapers.
“If someone printed an issue containing only bad news, you probably wouldn’t buy it. You’d have to hold it tightly. Otherwise, you might breathe on the single page and accidentally blow it out of
your hands.” Hank’s logic aligns with recent reports on newspapers revealing that despite challenges facing the industry, emerging trends offer optimism for the future.
Data says readers are weary of digital overload and are seeking credible, local, indepth journalism—and finding it in established local newspapers.
Hank was right.
And so is Albert. Every newspaper needs a Hank.
Contact Aldridge at leonaldridge@gmail. com. Other Aldridge columns are archived at leonaldridge.com.
