I have an on-again, off-again, love-hate relationship with my former employer The Vindicator. I am loyal to the core to all the newspapers who ever hired me, as well as to all things Youngstown, but now that I’m just another reader of that paper, I find myself being – well, just like another reader of the paper.
“Why don’t you put something good in the paper. All you ever put in is the bad news. What about all the good news? Why don’t you report on that?”
Since the first cave man etched the weather report into the common area cave wall, reporters have been hearing that. I alone heard it at least 10,000 times. It was getting so bad, I was starting to loathe coming across a teenager who was doing something worthy, because I knew I would hear: “See? We’re always reading about the bad things teenagers are doing. What about these kids? You never read about these kids.” Hey, happy teens, isn’t there something you need to go sniff?
It’s been years (and years and years) since I’ve been on the receiving end of those harping comments. Now, although I’m not a subscriber, I read Vindy.com every morning when I sign onto my computer, and I follow the Tweets.
And this is where things start to get dicey.
The Vindicator Tweets are kind of a downer.
Big splinter pierces Md. boys abdomen on slide
Concert Sunday to benefit boy with no legs
Paraplegic roughed up by cops gets probation fine in alcohol case
Mailman admits stashing 12000 pieces of mail
Family sues trade school over sons death
Police: Boyfriend set up home-invasion
Painter find human remains under Pittsburgh b
Stocks edge lower as investors pocket profits
Browns fall to Ravens 24-17
You get the picture.
My Twitter page is like Sybil: I’ve got Jim Gaffigan cracking me up with bacon jokes and then The Vindicator bringing me down with its giant splinters and human remains; Surplus Satire brings me back up with posts things like this: Make-A-Wish Foundation Bankrupted After Cute Little Guy Makes Wish For More Wishes, and then some humorless political nut brings me back down to reality with this: But, know this: this system is destroying the middle class and snatching the very breath and life from the poor.
I found myself thinking, Why are they putting all this depressing stuff in here? Isn’t there anything more upbeat? Why is it always bad news? Why don’t you ever put any good news in the Twitter?
Gah. I’m that lady.