In Praise of the Newspaper Feature

I snapped this photo of one of the iconic buildings in Cheyenne, more than a year ago. The Boot Barn lives there now.

I was interviewed twice in the last two weeks about my book, creative life and real life. That’s a lot of talking! But before I get into that, I want to pay respect to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

I used to be a features reporter. This was in the golden age of news, when paper profit margins were healthy and local news was strong. Since then, local newspapers have gone into what seems like a free-fall; nearly 40 percent of them have closed since 2005. In those that remain, features are often a low priority.

So when I discovered that my hometown paper (thriving, by the looks of it) still wrote about the local arts and charity and lifestyle scene, I gave a little cheer for Cheyenne, Wyoming. I get it, features never were top priority for news outlets. For many journalists and editors, features were fluff, the stuff of back pages. Their place has largely been replaced with social media influencers and bloggers (yeah, I know, I’m a blogger, too).

But to me, the loss of feature stories is another symptom of a harsher and more polarized world. Features were not written by influencers talking about products or themselves. They were about a local art show, or the equine masseuse who kept cutter racing horses in good shape, or the guy down the street who fixed all his neighbors’ lawnmowers free of charge, or the community coming together to support a neighbor with cancer. These stories helped neighborhoods and towns understand more about who they were, what their quiet stars were doing to make the world a better place. I would argue the local feature story—illustrated with photos of real people doing real things—is a lot more needed than the angry punditry that has too often replaced it.

So I would like to thank Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Reporter Taylor Staples for keeping the tradition alive, and for paying attention to a used-to-be-local writer.

PS: If anyone I have interviewed is reading this, please know I understand now, better than ever before, why you were nervous.

This week’s media tour

Latter-Day Lights Podcast

Latter-Day Lights deserves a huge shout-out for making a long conversation feel friendly and supportive (on camera, no less!). We talked about the twists and turns of a creative life, put on hold by real life. This interview touched on some spiritual things, and I loved having a forum where I could do that. So often, writers with a spiritual side feel discouraged from talking openly about it. I’ve had a harder and harder time pretending that this big part of my life doesn’t exist. So Scott and Darla, thank you! 

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Story and Podcast

The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle did a print story and a podcast on how my Wyoming roots influenced my book. Taylor was great, it didn’t hurt at all!