Emus Loose in Egnar: Big Stories from Small Towns

One newspaper owner mentioned in here is a friend, so we can now toss right out the window all hopes of this being an impartial review! But, really, though, the book does shed light on what running a news business is - it is life, real life, up, down, dark, light, life, death - real things in the real world to real people. And in small towns the news business is as much the humanity business as it is an information business. Things matter. Happenings matter. People matter. What we are. What we have. Where we are from. Where we want to go. What we gain. What we lose. Who we hate. Who we love. It all matters: if not everything to everyone, and it would be unrealistic to expect everything to matter to everyone, then some large or small portion of any given bit of it will matter to someone, somewhere, in some large or small way relative to their life and times.Think it pretty safe to say publishing small town news is something you do because you have to or you would deny your own soul: it sure as hell ain't gonna be because you are going to live plush and easy and get rich quick! It does display that if you are going to be serious in the small town news business you would do well to have brass balls, a titanium backbone, a wise old soul, and a compassionate heart.

Judy Muller's fine book is a witty and colorful reminder of my own family's history of producing local weekly newspapers. It is with great interest for me to learn how vibrant and useful local newspapers remain and, more important, thrive. Muller's delightful yarns play against the smugly adopted concept that traditional journalism is on the ropes. Telling people the news will never be out of fashion, nor will it be supplanted by personal blogs and opinions tossed off on a whim. Muller has not only detailed the struggles and triumphs of an extraordinary bunch of journalists, but she has, in the process, reminded us of what journalism is all about--why it matters to real people, and why it will be supported over the long run. People want to know what's going on. And journalists, whether reporting for a big newspaper, or working late at night to cover a story for the local paper, seem by all measures to be driven by an impulse that benefits us all. This is a great and heartwarming read.

Full of curious, serious, and less-than-serious examples of small town newspapers and the service they offer their communities. Some are funny. Some are deadly serious where publishers risk their lives for the truth. All in all an enjoyable read, especially if you work in the field.

After the first couple of chapters I wanted to run out and buy a small town paper. (Thank goodness that passed.) Great reading even if like me you aren't in the journalism biz. Sort of restored my faith in humanity plus great storytelling.

I used to publish a weekly newspaper. I loved all the stories in this book. That's what really goes on. The future for printed newspapers is right here. The big papers may be folding, but small town news is exciting and alive.

This is a good look at some of the thriving small comity newspapers out there where print survives and thrives.

boring, verbose, not entertaining

What's going on in your life? You may not have noticed, but your local newspaper is telling you. Need groceries, check it out there. Going to the movies, check it out there.Judy Muller scans the local scene, nationally really, and tells you why the local press is still alive and well, all in crisp and fun story telling.