COMMUNITY
Newspaper ignores politics, prints only good news
By Wendy Fisher
Emeiald Contributor
Wouldn't it bn nice to have a
newspaper with no religion or
politics that prints just good
news?
That idea popped into l.ucky
Colehour's mind three months
ago as he sat fishing on a river
bank.
Hut Colehour didn't stop
there. He started his own news
paper based on that idea and ti
tled it fust Good News.
The newspaper is printed bi
weekly. and its third free issue
will hit area businesses and the
University Dec. IS.
In a front-page article of the
second edition of lust Good
News. Colehour explained win
he created the newspaper.
"It’s time for the Pollyannas
to be heard, it's time for the
rose-colored glasses to tint the
world, it's time to return to the
optimism that made this coun
try what it is!" Colehour wrote.
"Our media should be report
ing the good things instead of
the sensationally bad.”
In the early i‘)80s. Colehour
ran a cable television program,
based in San Diego, called
Good News.
"We reported the news —
the good news, the uplifting,
inspiring items that never make
the front page, but should.” he
wrote. "I received hundreds of
beautiful letters from all over
the world, and I loved doing
that show."
Colehour later sold his por
tion of the program and moved
to Oregon to escape the pollu
tion and overcrowding of San
Diego.
‘Just Good News’ looks for upbeat story angles
Colehour defined a lust Good
.Yews story as anything uplift
ing with no sox. drugs, vio
lence, religion or politics Ho
said his message to readers is.
"Don't take anything too seri
ously."
The newspaper itself is rela
tively simple The second edi
tion was four pages long The
print in lust Good News is larg
er than most newspaper print,
and along the bottom of the pa
per is printed. "FOR KNTKR
TAINMKNT ONLY Please Pass
Me Along to a Friend and Make
The stories in the Lane Coun
ty edition ranged from intro
ducing the Grand Theatre in
Sutheriin. to a new family en
tertainment center in Roseburg.
to local Frisia^' golf organiza
tions.
journalism professor Carol
Smith said lust (!ood News is
not a new newspaper formula
It is a community newspaper,
which is the "lowest rung" of
journalism The papers have al
ways been around as bulletin
boards for little towns, Smith
said, adding that the only dif
ference is lust Good News has a
good-news spin.
A sentence taken from a
front-page story of the paper re
fleets that community style
"Vern and Phyllis own and op
erate the Mini-Mart Cookie
Thrift store on Stephens across
from John Deere ."
Smith said the newspaper "is
an interesting concept but not
well executed at present." and
that right now it has novelty
going for it. which will gel ad
vertisers. l>ul tlir editorial
It \ IS il.lfi
Hut. she <i(ldod. "you've got
to hand it to anybody who
starts their own paper It takes
guts."
Cuts and $11,000. that is
The cost of each edition of
lust (Unit! .Veits i osts Colehour
more than Sti.000 He sold
$<1,000 in advertising but ended
up losing $4,000 of his own
money in the venture
Colehour said he lost most of
his advertisers for the third is
sue and could not afford to
print it hv its Nov 15 deadline
lie expects to find enough ad
vertistng to pav part of the bill
by the I to 15 deadline
Colehour's technique lor
starting lust (,'ood .Veils was to
hire people who had the equip
men! he needed to run his
newspaper He hired a secretar
ial service to type the stories on
computers, paid $15 an hour to
have the newspaper typeset
and sent it to Springfield News
Publishing for printing
just Hood .Veiis stall in
eludes CIO freelance writers in
Line and Douglas c ounties and
three permanent staff members,
although Colehour said he
needs more writers to cover the
Kugene area
Colehour and a few others
distributed the first 20.000 is
sues throughout Lane and
Douglas counties The second
issue's c ire illation was 40.000.
and Colehour said he plans to
inc rease the third issue's emu
lation to HO.000. and eventually
RESERVIST^
Continued from Page 5
like th.it go and make these of
fenses. it’s si ary to think we
would appease him." Fuller
said "And while 1 don't agree
that America should lullv take
the burden. I think the po
tential for greater conflict is
there
Despite his misgivings Har
ris said lie will fulfill his ohii
gallon to the reserves.
"If I refuse to go. they would
just call up someone else who
wouldn’t otherwise be sent."
he said.
"Also, us a non-commis
sioned officer I feel some re
sponsibility to those under me,
to watch out for them and to
bring them back in one piece if
we are sent to the gulf
In addition to packing their
gear and saying good-byes.
Fuller and Harris h a v e
crammed finals and papers into
the last days before they leave
in hopes of earning some at a
demit i redit in a term that was
almost over In the time they
were called up
The University, in accord
ance with policies provided by
the state board of higher edut a
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copies
dolehour's goal is to open
Inst (UmhI iVew s m two or throe
new i ities a month He said he
plans to open the newspaper in
Dallas. Tex. and San Diego.
Calif next month (ailehour lie
lieves once the newspaper goes
national the advertising will
pay off
Colehour said he eventually
wants to match USA Today's
< in illation of more than one
million readers, but he said so
far money is an obstacle in
reai hmi; that goal
In his next issues, (ailehuur
plans to i hange Ins format to
itu hide news more spei itii to
lame Counts in the Line (anm
tv edition He said he also
w.Hits to stihsi rilie to the Asso
idated I’ress wire service, print
mg mils its good new s
(lolehour also plans to bring
in columnists on sstne. cook
ing. gardening, modern tei li
linings and inedii me and to
re introdm e Ins mi obituarv
(illive and well) set tint)
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