7 October 2023
“Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first word news.”
Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
DULUTH I love that quote from Sulzberger, who was publisher of the New York Times from 1992 to 2018.
It’s always been about news. Breaking news, hard news, sports news, feature news, entertainment news. We’re all about Duluth news (and news from its surrounding communities).
I’ve been thinking about Sulzberger’s quote during National Newspaper Week (Oct. 1-7). For me, every week is newspaper week, but I embrace the idea of setting aside a week each year to highlight, promote and enlighten others about the importance of NEWSpapers.
Of course, news is consumed on any number of platforms these days desktop computers, cellphones, tablets and, yes, paper. But the inverted pyramid still spins on this fine point: The process of gathering news and providing it to readers essentially remains the same.
The five Ws and one H are as critical to every news story in 2023 as they were when this editor was starting journalism school decades ago Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Heck, that essential storytelling framework hasn’t changed since the days of cave drawings and Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Which is all to say that we at the Duluth News Tribune, Superior Telegram and Cloquet Pine Journal want to thank you for your support of NEWSpapers over the years and in the future. We strive every day to gather the most relevant, in-depth, informative and vital local news that we can, however you choose to read it.
After all, it’s always been about the first word in NEWSpapers.
I hope you have a great weekend and have a little time to consume some NEWS.
Here are some DNT highlights from the past week:
Blatnik Bridge blotter
Like many of you, I spend a lot of time driving the John A. Blatnik bridge every week … traveling back and forth between Duluth and Superior. Superior and Duluth.
So, I’ve kept a close eye on the next major road construction project in the Twin Ports replacing the aging Blatnik.
Superior Telegram reporter Shelley Nelson has closely followed the planning, too, and gave our readers an interesting update this week.
Among the tidbits: The brand-new Blatnik will no longer land on Hammond Avenue and it will displace some businesses. For the latest, you can check out Nelson’s report here.
Duluth rescues Christmas
You still have plenty of shopping days until Christmas, but the next Duluth-themed holiday movie can be unwrapped a few weeks early.
As DNT arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler reports, you will soon be able to catch Rachael Leigh Cook and Sam Page do Merv Griffin proud in our fair “Christmas City.”
“Rescuing Christmas” is slated for release Dec. 7 on Hallmark Movies Now. More details from Gabler here.
Running down a dream
This past week, DNT sports reporter Jamey Malcomb introduced readers to Proctor High School’s Mason Archibald, who doesn’t let his severely impaired vision keep him from competing in track and field or cross country.
With the help of a running partner, Archibald hits the winding and bumpy cross country trails despite being legally blind.
Learn more about this amazing young man here. This is a subscriber-only story, but worth every penny.
Catch a wave
Here are a few more stories from the past week to check out:
Fuzzy future: Will proposed downtown Duluth high-rise ever be built? Long-lasting legacy: St. Louis County Jail honors ‘Library Lady’ What’s the first rule of Fight Workshop?: Fight workshop blends Superior, Duluth theater communities (Subscribers only) Northlandia: How Ashland became the historic mural capital of Wisconsin Vexillologists rejoice: Have an idea for Minnesota’s new flag? A panel is now accepting designs
Editor’s note: Weekly Wave is a newsletter that I publish every Friday morning. Please consider subscribing it’s free and hits your inbox just once a week. You can sign up here.
]]>