The Hyperlocal: The Lake Forester

My town's local newspaper, the Lake Forester, is still widely read by Lake Forest residents. The most interesting news that it covered however was always who was on the honor roll and who was in the blotter. To be in the blotter was the cardinal sin of Lake Forest. Once someone turned 18, his or her name could be printed along with the offense and due to the overzealous nature of Lake Forest's finest, anyone was at risk. Even the curfew breakers were subject to humiliation.

My first memory of our town's newspaper was when a photographer came to interview my grade about Pioneer Days (a fairly self-explanatory week during which third graders had to live life as if they were pioneers). Looking back on it, it was very exciting for us to be in the newspaper, but who really read this article other than our parents? And couldn't our parents have been easily informed about the event by the school through a newsletter as my high school did? The answer is that the Lake Forester's article on Pioneer Days gave our school positive publicity. A family moving to the area could look to local newspapers in deciding where to settle on the North Shore. This means that the hyperlocal's newspaper's primary responsibility is the town's reputation, not reporting the truth.

Furthermore, now that the Lake Forester has an online platform, anyone looking for information about the town is likely to look at the site instead of buying the newspaper. This goes for the Classified section as well.