Milford chronicle., 1931-01-23
Long Lire The Rural
Press!
4 "IIick" Town May Be The Place
Where Sunday Paper Can BE Lift
ed With One Iiand-But 1t Still
Shines JOurnalistically.

The repainting Of a neighbor's
red barn, the Thursday postponed
meeting Of the Tuesday Afternoon
Ladies' SOdality and the glad tidings
that fellow tOwnsman is recuper-
! ating from his recent illness-what
important events these are in the
life of the average small American
| community! The cities can have
their picked over news and society
stuDidities but the rural press con-
tinues to flourish on local chYoni-
clings of genuine interest.
lust as the country is the bahA-
bone of the nation, so is the riiral
press a guiding light in American
journalism. Indeed, it is today more
of beacon than ever
The country is no longer "hick."
Good roads, radios, movies and,
particularly, the progressive local
papers have brought to it Il new day.
On the other hand, unfortunately,
there has been developed in our cit .
les new type Of citizen painfully
more dense than the much maliened
"hayseed" was ever played up to be-
He has been properly termed the
metropolis backwOOdsman." His is
a metropolitan complex. His know
ledge, his experience in life, all his
horizons are limited to the narrow
streets Of the city in which he
dwells.
The rural resident on his part, by
reason of his new contacts with the
outside world, has shaken off most ia
of the ideas and views invited by his
former isolation and is now, in
many respects, more worldly wise
and better informed than is his city
cousin. And the community newspa-
per has bee2 largely instrumental in .
this about u
1t is true that the great city GAIL
es and the national magazines are
low prOcurable at the corner drug
store or elsewhere in any represen-
atiye small American community,
,ut that does not mean that the To-
al press has lost its grip. Quite the 4f
contrary, ii is more firmly cntreneh-
ID than before. That is why we find
" our questionnaires many rural
esidents subscribing to as many as
even to 10 state, county and local
The modern country
IAN may take city papers and biag
zines for general news, agricul-
lral advice and other reading, but
c still depends on home periodicals
u local news.
The town or community with an
dependent and fearless local or
an need not worry about being die
ted to and having its opinions for
ed for it by outsiders often sway r'
by selfish interests. Today if we
ere TO. seek another Greeley or 4e
ana or IA Bennett we would first '.rt
arch forihim in the country. There
probably in some dingy editorial
lice and press room combined, we
Ould find him sweating under ~5
Ortgages, taxes and other burdens
1t continuing to give ali the local
,ws that's fit to print while still
lding time to hammer out editor a
Is dictated by his own conscience.
II in this day of more or less
metropolitan press,
features and chain tab
IDS, it is really the rural press
lich offers the best evidence of in
,idual journalism in thought as
IL as in community service.
Country papers have been i'm
,asurably helped by the better
)e of advertising that has of late
an coming their way and, appre-
ting that their readers are ever
crested in their community and
happenings, have been filing To-
needs to a highly satisfactory de-
e-The Pathfinder