WEBVTT - Subscribe to your local newspaper 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to subscribe to your local newspaper or

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<v Speaker 1>a local magazine. This is a great way to stay

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<v Speaker 1>up to date on what's going on in your area

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<v Speaker 1>and to support a community resource whose absence is a loss.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of communities will really mourn. So you may

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<v Speaker 1>be thinking that the reign of print journalism is behind us,

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<v Speaker 1>and that may be true. And yes, you can learn

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about what's happening in your community through social media,

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<v Speaker 1>but social media is inevitably going to be less measured

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<v Speaker 1>than what's put out by organizations that have at least

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<v Speaker 1>some lag time between the thought and the publication, and

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<v Speaker 1>local newspapers and magazines have some major upsides that social

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<v Speaker 1>media can't quite match. For starters, social media tends to

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<v Speaker 1>be focused on groups that you have chosen to join,

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<v Speaker 1>and what you see is based on algorithms that are

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<v Speaker 1>tailored to your known interests. A local newspaper or magazine

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<v Speaker 1>will let you know about opportunities that you wouldn't have

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily sought out. Maybe you don't have a high school child,

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<v Speaker 1>but You may learn that a local high school basketball

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<v Speaker 1>team is having an amazing season, and so you decide

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<v Speaker 1>to go to some games. You see a developer quoted

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<v Speaker 1>about a new retail location, and you realize that this

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<v Speaker 1>might be a neighborhood to learn a little more about.

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<v Speaker 1>You might hear about a request for proposals for re

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<v Speaker 1>envisioning a museum space that's closing, and you have an

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<v Speaker 1>idea you'd like to pitch. There is an element of

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<v Speaker 1>serendipity to print that is hard to replicate online. Local

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<v Speaker 1>news can be a source of local stories that make

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<v Speaker 1>for great conversations and can help you connect to your

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<v Speaker 1>community in deeper ways. You can pass along the tip

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<v Speaker 1>that that new Malaysian restaurant is getting rave reviews. You

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<v Speaker 1>can be in the know that a local park is

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<v Speaker 1>getting a long do makeover, which is helpful to pass along.

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<v Speaker 1>At play groups. You can see that a young person

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<v Speaker 1>whose name you recognize from church started a program to

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<v Speaker 1>mobilize voters in his neighborhood, so you can send a

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<v Speaker 1>note to that young man and his parents congratulating them.

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<v Speaker 1>There are feel good stories on national media and social

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<v Speaker 1>media too, of course, but you don't know those people

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<v Speaker 1>it's just a different game. Of course, local news can

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<v Speaker 1>also be bad news, and here it's good to know

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<v Speaker 1>about local problems, partly because you may be able to

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<v Speaker 1>help address them rather than rely on rumor. You see

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<v Speaker 1>that a series of vandalism problems have happened in an

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<v Speaker 1>area with a large abandoned building, you and your neighbors

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<v Speaker 1>may be able to do something about getting new lights. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know that plenty of local news is not exactly

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<v Speaker 1>produced by the Woodwards and Bernstein's of the world, and

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<v Speaker 1>many papers have already been hollowed out to running little

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<v Speaker 1>more than wire service pieces. Newspapers can also have their

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<v Speaker 1>own access to grind, but you could decide to say,

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<v Speaker 1>skip the editorial pages if you want, and if you're

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<v Speaker 1>really busy, you can even just decide to read one

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<v Speaker 1>article a day that catches your eye. But in a

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<v Speaker 1>world where many people are working from home and read

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<v Speaker 1>social media and online articles perfectly tailored to our clicking history,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be hard to encounter serendipity or unexpected ideas

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<v Speaker 1>of what to do on a Saturday. A local newspaper

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<v Speaker 1>or magazine can solve that problem, and well, if your

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<v Speaker 1>mayor is insufferable isn't it better to have somebody with

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<v Speaker 1>some institutional authority watching out for that? So if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't subscribe to your local paper or local magazine, pick

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<v Speaker 1>up a copy and try it out. Chances are you'll

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<v Speaker 1>be able to get a good deal. For the first

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks or months of a subscrip option. Get in

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<v Speaker 1>the habit of reading at least a few articles a week,

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<v Speaker 1>you will probably decide that the whole enterprise is worth

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<v Speaker 1>the time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.