1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to subscribe to your local newspaper or 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: a local magazine. This is a great way to stay 5 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: up to date on what's going on in your area 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: and to support a community resource whose absence is a loss. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: A lot of communities will really mourn. So you may 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: be thinking that the reign of print journalism is behind us, 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,919 Speaker 1: and that may be true. And yes, you can learn 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: a lot about what's happening in your community through social media, 11 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: but social media is inevitably going to be less measured 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: than what's put out by organizations that have at least 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: some lag time between the thought and the publication, and 14 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: local newspapers and magazines have some major upsides that social 15 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: media can't quite match. For starters, social media tends to 16 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: be focused on groups that you have chosen to join, 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: and what you see is based on algorithms that are 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: tailored to your known interests. A local newspaper or magazine 19 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: will let you know about opportunities that you wouldn't have 20 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: necessarily sought out. Maybe you don't have a high school child, 21 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: but You may learn that a local high school basketball 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: team is having an amazing season, and so you decide 23 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: to go to some games. You see a developer quoted 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: about a new retail location, and you realize that this 25 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,279 Speaker 1: might be a neighborhood to learn a little more about. 26 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 1: You might hear about a request for proposals for re 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 1: envisioning a museum space that's closing, and you have an 28 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: idea you'd like to pitch. There is an element of 29 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: serendipity to print that is hard to replicate online. Local 30 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: news can be a source of local stories that make 31 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: for great conversations and can help you connect to your 32 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: community in deeper ways. You can pass along the tip 33 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: that that new Malaysian restaurant is getting rave reviews. You 34 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: can be in the know that a local park is 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: getting a long do makeover, which is helpful to pass along. 36 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: At play groups. You can see that a young person 37 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: whose name you recognize from church started a program to 38 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: mobilize voters in his neighborhood, so you can send a 39 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: note to that young man and his parents congratulating them. 40 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: There are feel good stories on national media and social 41 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: media too, of course, but you don't know those people 42 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: it's just a different game. Of course, local news can 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: also be bad news, and here it's good to know 44 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: about local problems, partly because you may be able to 45 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: help address them rather than rely on rumor. You see 46 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: that a series of vandalism problems have happened in an 47 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: area with a large abandoned building, you and your neighbors 48 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: may be able to do something about getting new lights. Now, 49 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: I know that plenty of local news is not exactly 50 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: produced by the Woodwards and Bernstein's of the world, and 51 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: many papers have already been hollowed out to running little 52 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: more than wire service pieces. Newspapers can also have their 53 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: own access to grind, but you could decide to say, 54 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: skip the editorial pages if you want, and if you're 55 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: really busy, you can even just decide to read one 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: article a day that catches your eye. But in a 57 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: world where many people are working from home and read 58 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: social media and online articles perfectly tailored to our clicking history, 59 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: it can be hard to encounter serendipity or unexpected ideas 60 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: of what to do on a Saturday. A local newspaper 61 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: or magazine can solve that problem, and well, if your 62 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: mayor is insufferable isn't it better to have somebody with 63 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: some institutional authority watching out for that? So if you 64 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: don't subscribe to your local paper or local magazine, pick 65 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: up a copy and try it out. Chances are you'll 66 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: be able to get a good deal. For the first 67 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: few weeks or months of a subscrip option. Get in 68 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: the habit of reading at least a few articles a week, 69 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: you will probably decide that the whole enterprise is worth 70 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: the time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, 71 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 72 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 73 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 74 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. 75 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: That's b the number four then Breakfast p o D. 76 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 77 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast 78 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 79 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 80 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from 81 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 82 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.