Newspaper
by
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'Extra! Extra! Read all about it.' Paul was setting in his comfortable chair watching the television, trying to unwind after a very busy and stressful day at the newspaper. His mind had been wandering, thinking of events of the day, and he had only been listening to the television 'with one ear.' When he heard the boy shout these words, his mind came to attention. It was actually a commercial for a truck, but they were using a paperboy hawking the old line of bygone days. In those days it was used to call the public's attention to some special news item that had caused the paper to run a special or 'extra' edition. As he watched the boy 'selling' a news flash of truck sales, Paul's mind was taken back to his childhood. It was actually this expression of 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it,' that had caused him to decide to enter the newspaper business so long ago. Paul was eleven years old at the time. Earlier that year, while he was still ten, Paul's fifth grade class had gone on a school outing to tour a major newspaper. Like most children, Paul looked forward to any type of outing or activity that got him out of school. Paul remembered how he had thought it would be a very boring trip. After all, who wanted to look at a dumb old newspaper company anyway? Once they arrived at the newspaper however, it was very interesting. The tour guide was very friendly and she took them through each department, explaining its function in detail. Paul found the engraving department interesting. Here they made up the format of the paper. Paul stood for a long time watching the linotype machine. At that time, this was a very modern and 'fancy' piece of equipment. This machine had a keyboard somewhat like a typewriter. The operator, by striking keys, would send bars of lead pieces with collected letters and/or numbers down a slot where they collected together to make up the words and graphics for the pages of the paper. This was and is called typesetting. These lead bars were then assembled onto plates, from which a tin looking plate was formed with the page imprinted in it. In another place, Paul watched hot lead being melted in a furnace and poured into special molds. The hot lead would form against the special tin plate and the letters would form as the lead cooled against this plate. This crescent shaped lead plate could then be put onto the huge printing press. The printing press was Paul's favorite place. In those days these big presses made a very loud noise as they printed. Thousands of feet of blank newsprint paper from huge rolls were threaded through many rollers. As the presses turned, these sheets of paper were passed through different sections with various lead plates. These lead plates were automatically inked and they printed words over and over on the long sheets of blank paper as they turned. Another section of the press cut these sheets into page size, assembled them in order, and folded them into a finished newspaper. A special conveyer belt carried these finished papers to the mailroom.
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About the Book
As the title of this book indicates, this novel is set against the background of the newspaper industry. The main character is Paul Howard. The lives of a number of people are followed through their association with the newspaper industry and with Paul. This book will follow their lives as well as the daily operations and internal politics of some major newspapers. This book provides the reader with an inside look at the newspaper industry, at some of its strengths and some of its weaknesses. The newspapers mentioned are fictitious, except one, as no attempt is made to reflect or describe any one newspaper. Almost everyone in the United States has read a newspaper in his or her lifetime, and most people read at least part of one frequently. In spite of all the electronic forms of communication, a newspaper is still a major and enduring source of information on a very wide range of topics. Yet, for all its popularity, most people, including some newspaper employees, have little idea of what goes on behind the scenes in a major newspaper. They are not aware of how very complex, expensive, and delicate an operation newspaper publishing is. This book is a work of fiction that takes a realistic look at the newspaper industry, but it also looks at life and its possibilities. It is a book about commitment, about dreams and broken dreams, about mistakes and corrected mistakes, about joy and sorrow, about integrity and deception, about strength and temptations, about hope and fulfillment. It is a book about life. The reader will be encouraged and informed, while also being entertained.
About the Author
Dr. Flacy is a former newspaper man, Deputy Sheriff, and minister. He is currently a family therapist and teaches in a college. He lives with his wife in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of three other books with 1stBooks (Take Courage, America, The Light, And In The Name Of God). His next book with 1stBooks will be The Door.