‘News you can use’ can appear in unexpected ways
“News you can use” is something of a marketing cliche related to newspapers, but the phrase, like most cliches, has some basis in fact. In addition to stories about politics, crime, sports and such, good newspapers also provide practical information on everything from what movies you may want to watch to how to make a special Mother’s Day dinner to where to register and vote.
But it’s also true that the practical applications of the information you get from the daily newspaper can come in some unexpected forms.
For example, the specific appeal of Susan Sarkauskas’s Wednesday story on suburban students who have been offered substantial sums of scholarship money to study art in colleges and universities may appear to be a somewhat familiar community news story recognizing the accomplishments of local students, but what makes it front-page news is something more than that.
Who knew, after all, that artistic talents could attract the kind of university interest normally associated with elite athletes? True, the figures Sarkauskas reported weren’t the level of competitive full-ride lures frequently seen in sports, but when parents find out that their non-athletic children could accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship options, there is a lesson there that is directly personal. It may help reassure parents and students faced with imposing tuition costs that advanced study in college is not out of reach.
And, not just in art. Hopefully, it also reminds parents and students of the potential for building scholarship portfolios that guidance counselors and other resources can steer them toward from a wide variety of fields, including architecture, engineering, environmental science and many more.
On perhaps the other end of the career spectrum, Rick West told readers last Sunday about 56-year-old Kristina Lancaster, who was honored with a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Lancaster’s commitment to her Big Hollow Elementary School students was enough on its own to merit coverage of the award, but the “news you can use” element had little to do with teaching. Lancaster began her teaching career at the age of 47 — after working in public relations and as an attorney.
Anyone feeling stifled in his or her work — or simply curious about the road not taken — but uneasy about making a mid-career leap of faith could surely take heart in Lancaster’s story.
“You’re never too old to do what you want to do,” Lancaster says at the end of West’s story. “They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Yes, you can. Yes, you can.”
Usefulness found form in a variety of other stories over the past week, too.
Dealing with seasonal insects appeared in at least two stories. On Tuesday, Mick Zawislak described the increased incidence of tick bites this spring and summer and described the importance of prevention. On Monday, Matt Brady offered a preview of the as-yet-uncertain mosquito season ahead, with tips on how to avoid the pests whenever they arrive.
And, Marni Pyke provided useful insights in various transportation forms, including a description in her Monday “In Transit” column of the special attention electric vehicles need during cold spells and a separate story on Tuesday on preparing for Memorial Day holiday weekend travel.
It could be said, I suppose, that just being informed about what’s happening in our communities, state, nation and world has a utilitarian function. We cannot play much of a role as citizens of a democracy if we don’t know what’s going on. But it’s also worth noting how much we learn from knowledgeable sources and other people’s experiences that we can use in our own daily lives.
• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on X at @JimSlusher. His book “To Nudge The World” has been named a Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association and is available at eckhartzpress.com.