For Mom and Dad

In the newspaper business there is a story referred to as the "hometowner" -- this is a story about a person that is geared towards their hometown newspaper. For instance, The Bridgewater (NJ) Courier-News did a story about Management Professor James Smither receiving the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching because Smither lives in the paper's circulation area. His "hometown" is part of the paper's coverage. By far, the most hometowners we do are for students. Oh, and let me state for the record, these are mid-sized city, suburban, rural or weekly newspapers; many have regular columns for school/students news. Big city papers, like the Inquirer, will do a story on a student if they receive a patent or find a cure for a disease. It has to be really extraordinary. But for a hometowner about students, the story has to be interesting, or tells about an accomplishment. La Salle has an honor society, the Alpha Epsiolon Society, which recognizes high scholarship with community service. The following newspaper printed items about student who were inductedinto this society:

The Reading (PA) Eagle; the Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer; the Harrisburg Patriot-News; the Warwick (NY) Advertiser; the Pottstown Mercury; the (South Jersey) Courier-Post; the South Philadelphia Review; the Modesto (CA) Bee; the West Chester Daily Local News; the Tewksbury (MA) Advocate; Catonsville (MD) Times; the Chestnut Hill Local; the Ridgefield Press; the Rocky Hill (CT) Post; the Northeast (Philadelphia) Times; the Bucks County Herald, the Glenside (PA) News; the Jenkintown (PA) Chronicle; and web pages of the Hartford Courant; the Rockville (NY) Centre-Herald; and the Wilmington News-Journal.

So why do paper publish items on students being selected to an honor socieity: because they know mom and dad will buy extra copies of the paper!