And That’s News Because…..?

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About a week ago, our local paper (which I refuse to pay for because it’s trash, but read for free in the school library) featured a story on the front page about Disney World.  Now, this is a local paper, but tries to be hard-hitting with their news stories.  It’s not one of those cutsie small-town papers that features columns listing that Mr. And Mrs. Albert Brown went out for dinner at the Golden Egg with Elsie Ticklemeyer after church last Sunday (yes, there are papers like that).  Our paper loves to cover the front page with local school board scandals, meth house busts, and pictures of accused criminals flipping the bird to the camera as they walk into the county courthouse for their hearings.

This story was none of those things.  Instead, it was an account of a trip to Disney World from a dad/reporter that 1) had never been there before and 2) didn’t want to go there in the first place.  In the end, he decided it wasn’t that bad. No, he didn’t win the trip.  No, none of his children had leukemia and had been given a trip by the Children’s miracle network.  Nope, instead some guy went on vacation with his kids and didn’t hate it.  That’s some front-page worthy news for you.

Perhaps a better, more useful and less insipid article could have been written by a dad whose family travels to Disney all the time and knows how to do it on a budget; or perhaps a mom who knows all the secrets of where the best hidden Disney World treasures can be found.   It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I love Disney World and I have been there several times throughout my life.  Maybe this skewed my perspective.

If I actually paid for the paper, I’d be more annoyed.   Maybe the next time I go to the beach, I can write an article for the paper about how there is sand there and sometimes I buy water ice, even though it’s overpriced.  Or maybe I’ll just write about it here and save everyone the trouble of actually reading it.