By John Pierce
Jerry Seinfeld observed: “It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.”
Yep, and you never know what some crazy editor will include or exclude. And while electronic media frees up word counts, there are still decisions to be made according to relevance, accuracy and interest. Different stories attract the interests of different readers.
Sometimes those interests change. Recently I have paid closer attention to stories about the University of Georgia (since my daughter is a student there now) in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
So far, my increased knowledge has included the news that a large incoming freshman class has taxed dorm space, that someone else will have to carry the ball this fall after tailback Caleb King didn’t make the grades, that AJC columnist Cynthia Tucker will teach journalism classes soon and that former football coach Jim Donnan has settled a lawsuit claiming he helped orchestrate a big Ponzi scheme.
Like most schools that form the Southeastern Conference, football is often in the news coming out of UGA. But I was surprised that the story from Athens, Ga., yesterday was about scooters.
The issue is that many football players ride scooters around the massive campus. This mode of transportation works rather well, they say. However, there have been some injuries.
It must be somewhat embarrassing to report that you survived grueling practices and the brutal onfield combat at the highest level of college sports to be sidelined by a scooter mishap. But the players insist the convenience is worth the risk.
Without his scooter, one player said he’d have to use the crowded campus bus system (like those other students who live in normal dorms, eat in normal dining halls and do their own homework). “[It’s] more convenient to hop on a scooter,” he said.
Coach Mark Richt is now blessing the use of scooters even though he’s a little concerned about the injuries. At least Georgia law requires the use of helmets — but not facemasks, I believe.
Just helping keep readers informed. That’s what we crazy editors try to do.
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.
