We in the media business love to hear from our audience. The trouble is that by the time the audience reads what we have written, and then finds time to respond, the subject is either irrelevant or such old news that no one would recall the original story.
The Internet is changing that a little. Last Wednesday, April 1, former Arkansas governor — and Republican Presidential contender — Mike Huckabee spoke and signed books at Rider University. The event was noted in advance in our print edition and in our events database online.
The online listing caught the attention of a writer with a rider.edu E-mail address who immediately posted a comment regarding Huckabee’s imminent appearance:
“Rider faculty and students are dismayed at the upcoming visit of Mike Huckabee. Faculty and students fail to see how the former governor can contribute to intellectual life of the university and are angry that someone who is anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-science, and who consistently distorts history could be considered worth the cost to faculty and students.”
The writer then summarized Huckabee’s positions. Anyone browsing our website and considering visiting the Rider event could have armed themselves with plenty of questions thanks to this posted comment.
On the Internet even old news gains some currency. Long before the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts rose in downtown Princeton, our Richard K. Rein wrote a column on the dearth of historical information in town on its native son, Robeson (October 15, 2003).
A few days ago our website received a posting from an online reader:
“An interpretive exhibition focused on Paul Robeson will not be of any value unless it is approached with an honesty not usually attained in matters of race. Will it deal with why he only lived in Princeton until he was 9? What really happened on the occasions when he returned to Princeton?”
Good questions. Perhaps a reader of this print edition can offer some insight.
To the Editor: SCORE Fair Scores
Thanks for all U.S. 1 did to help make our fair a smashing success. On Saturday, April 4, we had more than 500 small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs attend the fair. Attendance far exceeded our most optimistic projections, and the excellent article by Karen Miller, as well as the outstanding folks at your table made it all happen.
We are very proud to have had U.S. 1 Newspaper and your website, www.princetoninfo.com, be an exhibitor at our Fair. With our mission focused on small businesses and people who want to start a new business, our organization strongly supports the Einstein Alley concept, and I look forward to additional collaborations with you in the months and years ahead.
Lou DeLauro
DeLauro is chapter chair and president of the Greater Princeton Area SCORE. www.scoreprinceton.org.
