Morning News The Newspaper Way
By Margery McCurdy Plummer

I’m not angry with the Tennessean newspaper for its problems with its publication. I think that most of them are caused by the sinking economy. I knew the change was coming, but it slipped upon me.

Its readers had been questioned about what features they wouldn’t mind being cut or which ones they wouldn’t want to do without. I thought they were referring to articles and features, but as I sat in my reading chair trying to spread the paper wide to read, I realized no content had been reduced, but also very noticeably the width.

I measure pretty well with my eyes, and I said to my husband, “This paper is no more than a foot in width.” He didn’t agree, so I found a ruler and measured it. Sure enough, it was twelve inches wide and felt very thin.

I thought of our old high school monthly newspaper, The Keyhole. It was full of news. The significance of the name didn’t occur to me until recently. Maybe one person could peep through the Keyhole and see (read) the news. I think some pretty sharp person thought of the name.

There was a large number of staff members who produced this paper. It contained class reports, a music report, society news reporting parties at which people had “grand” and “swell” times. There were famous sayings of students, Who’s Who, and of course the Gossip column and news that “The Junior class will entertain the Senior class with a trip to Dunbar Cave May 10th. Don’t tell anyone because it’s a surprise for the seniors.” There was news of sports and club news, a newsworthy little paper for which the students were happy to shell out 10 cents per month. Advertisements for the paper came at the end of each issue.

The paper was published in an unusual way. The material was typed on manual typewriters, then ran off on a duplicating machine. Sound primitive? It worked.

Reading a newspaper every day may not be a necessity for me, but I enjoy it. It’s become something of a ritual, like having my coffee. I like spreading the paper, hearing it rattle, and reading it instead of hearing it. I watch TV news, but for first time news, I like the newspaper, and I think there’ll always be one.