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It isn't often that a smalltown community newspaper in flyover country gets ink from the Wall Street Journal, but that's what happened about two weeks ago to The Kentucky Standard. A headline from the newspaper's Commentary page caught the attention of James Taranto, editor of the WSJ's online editorial page and author of a daily column entitled The Best of the Web Today. Taranto's column highlights stories from across the world published online. He also takes time to mention headlines from newspaper web sites, ranging from silly to outlandish. Published with two other headlines under the heading "News You Can Use," Taranto highlighted this headline from the Kentucky Standard's July 16th issue above a column by staff writer Jenny Blandford: While the headline standing alone appears silly at first glance, what Taranto's column really missed was the story behind it. Anyone who's had a serious foot injury knows all too well how annoying they can be. But is a column about busting a toenail appropriate for the editorial page of a newspaper? While such a topic probably wouldn't pass muster at the Wall Street Journal, most small newspapers allow writers wide latitude in the topics they select for editorial page columns. Topics can range from toe injuries to your dog, from your niece to the next Harry Potter flick. Staff-written columns help give a newspaper personality and are generally well-read by the reading public -- though that's not a column's only role. Past editors and publishers of the Kentucky Standard have used their column space to also highlight issues and topics that need to be brought to the forefront. They have also used column space to address questions regarding the newspapers coverage of news, or even address rumors floating about the community. There generally are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to writing a column for the editorial page. And you would be surprised by the topics that generate the most feedback. The two columns I've penned that generated the most reader feedback had nothing to do with news. The first column was about my family's purchase and use of then-new green-colored tomato ketchup; the second column detailed my family's reactions to our new state-of-the-art microwave. While a foot injury might sound like a frivolous column topic, there are some days that getting anything written and published offers a true thrill of victory -- which incidentally, includes writing about the agony of de feet. -30- Post a comment in response: |
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