We have undergone big changes at the Banner-News recently, and there are some things we need customers to understand. Mainly that — and this is a universal truth — big changes aren’t always easy.
It was painful for us to see our beloved Office Outfitters and its staff — our friends — go away after so many years next door. We take calls daily from confused and upset folks about that, even though it was a separate business.
The upside to that part is that Gracie, the 17-year-old feline who has lived at Outfitters since she was a tiny kitten, still has her job guarding that side of the building for now. But she’s mighty confused herself.
Since our paper will be printed in Little Rock as of Thursday — not in El Dorado as it has been for years — our deadline for getting everything laid out in the paper is earlier than it was. This means that we have to have it almost entirely ready the evening before it goes to print. A little tweaking first thing in the morning is all we have time for the day we upload it for the Little Rock pressroom. Learning the upload process has been an adventure, believe me.
The upside to that part is that our photographs and ads will be sharper than before, and we can have more color pages when we need them.
A subscriber claimed recently that we “cut and paste from the Democrat-Gazette.” If that kind subscriber looked at the El Dorado News-Times, the Camden News, the Texarkana Gazette, or any newspaper really, kind subscriber would see that some of our pieces are the same. Other than local news — it’s always our goal to have mostly that if possible — our main source for news (for all newspapers) is the Associated Press website. We do sometimes pull stories we think would be of interest from Arkansas Online because they are posted throughout the day, but we have no idea which AP stories the Democrat-Gazette has chosen to run at the time we put our pages together.
In January 2017, political cartoonists got a new target: President Donald Trump. For the eight years prior, they skewered President Barack Obama; the eight years prior to that, President George W. Bush. See how that works? Those upset by political cartoons we run that are “mean to Mr. Trump” are displaying symptoms of selective amnesia. It is the sole raison d’être of political cartoonists and satirists to skewer the one residing in the mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.
On a different note …
Good advice is good advice, no matter how old or new it is.
Suggestions in the Columbia Banner (precursor to the Banner-News) from the 1880s — keep in mind the timeframe — encouraged area residents to do certain things to bolster Magnolia among themselves and to outsiders. To paraphrase and slightly modernize a few:
• Sell your building lots for reasonable prices; if you can afford to do so, donate land for large building enterprises.
• Induce businesses to locate in Magnolia, then patronize them and encourage others to do so.
• Add up your expenses — including gas money, restaurant/motel receipts — when you visit places out of town to buy goods. How does the total compare to what you might have spent if you had stayed to eat and shop in Magnolia?
• Speak well of worthy public enterprises in Magnolia. If any business may be of benefit to Magnolia, don’t speak ill of it to others because of personal prejudice.
• Speak positively to strangers about Magnolia and its people (its businesses, its churches, etc.).
• Rather than investing in far off speculations, invest in Magnolia by establishing a profitable venture if you have surplus money.
What’s surplus money? Asking for a friend.
These suggestions are as timely today as they were 130 years ago. Maybe more so. Magnolia needs new industry, new businesses, new restaurants, and new entertainment venues in order to grow and prosper.
Businesses that have been in the city for decades have closed in recent years or are closing soon because of retirement of their owners, changes in buying habits, and other inevitable transitions. As times change, everyone must adapt. And that can be uncomfortable.
One thing everyone in Magnolia can do to create an enticing environment for new businesses is to speak well of the town, the people, and the businesses we already have. Positive word of mouth can go a long way.
Unfortunately, negative word of mouth goes farther. And at twice the speed. As various wise folks have been quoted as saying in many similar ways, “A lie will travel halfway around the world while the truth is getting on its boots.”
That doesn’t change.