One idea for weekly newspapers
With an attempt at idealism
Big Bend Sentinel is going back to an old idea: News. That is interesting information that you hadn’t learned before, brought to you by observant reporters who stick to what they see and hear.
With a staff of six, there is not a lot of time to add “spin,” anyway. Let’s leave that to the “influencers” on YouTube channels, TikTok threads, or wherever.
For opinion, Sentinel has another old idea: Letters. And there is an occasional essay or rant from a contributor, but no Editorials.
Plain reporting, as the new journalists of the 60s showed us, can miss some of the big stories. And as readers (users?) have been switching from seeking facts to looking for entertainment or even emotion, Sentinel is trying a new idea: Magic. The inspiration comes from Gabriel Garcia Marquez who, some 20 years ago, assembled a group of reporters, writers, and artists to study how magical realism could be applied to journalism. He envisioned el Periódico Ideal. The ideal newspaper.
Gabo wanted to try the idea in “la ciudad mítica de Cartagena.” He didn’t live long enough to make that happen, but this week you can see an effort in that direction in the semi-mythical town of Marfa.
On the front page there is straight news. Sam Karas, a great reporter, brings the story about concertina wire on the border. Straightforward, but not flatly written, with good quotes from the mayor of the border town, Ojinaga, 60 miles south of Marfa. “Hey,” he said. “We know how to cross the river the right way.”
A strong piece, augmented by selfie video by Sam on Instagram.
Short and simple, but try doing that while paddling a kayak!
The frontpage centerpiece is a profile of Romain Froquet, the artist working on a big installation at an historic church in Ruidosa, Texas, 50 miles west of Marfa.
If you want straight news, there is a news item on the city council hiring a police dog.
Turn over the 10-page black-and-white standard-size part, and you see amazing Day of the Dead figure by the Arizona border artist, Jose Guadalupe Posadas. The accompanying piece on the customs of the holiday is by contributor Anita Snow, part of the Puente News Collaborative in El Paso. Spearheaded by the investigative journalist, Alfredo Corchado, Puente is a content partner of the Sentinel.
So, these are interesting features on culture, but where is the magic? Well turn back to the previous spread.
“I wonder what rich women talk about in space”
Here Sam Karas shows the ideal talent: She sets an event celebrating James Magee, the unique West Texas artist who died a year ago. Magee, like Donald Judd, produced monumental sculptural installations in the desert. But Magee worked largely outside of the established art world, achieving recognition late in his life. Sam had written a lengthy obit for the paper a year ago, and this time she wanted to show her feelings about Magee’s epochal work, The Hill.
On the trip, she took a lot of pictures. (More on the website.) And then she wrote two poems.
If this is the route to the ideal newspaper, we are on it!