Nothing’s wrong with the water
My summertime reading includes a history of The Charlotte Observer (up to its 100th anniversary, in 1986). Reading about the changes that the Observer has gone through puts the changes newspapers nationally are going through into perspective. (And also presents a pattern of newspapers continually refusing to change with the times.)
The book is full of inside stories and gems such as this one:
In October 1915, Coffin got a letter from William Henry Jones of Yanceyville, a recent graduate of UNC, asking for help in getting a newspaper job, preferably on the Observer. … He wrote Jones:
If you really want to start newspapering, don’t be surprised if you have to wear the same suit of clothes for two years. … Still, you’ll be mighty welcome. Come on in – there’s nothing the matter with the water except all the sewers empty into it.
