Once upon a time in lands far, far, away, newspapers were just 4 pages long. Newspapers were born with the printing press (circa 1440). Even after its invention, type setting was hard, time-consuming labor. The solution was to limit the length.
With only 4 pages, hard choices had to be made about what to cover. Back in the day, it generally came down to national and international news – more of the former less of the latter. Folksy stuff, obituaries, sports, and the winners of the pie contest at the county fair were left on the cutting room floor. So, it went for more than 400 years.
In 1886, Otto Mergenthaler invented the “line casting” machine. Linotype was a hot metal typesetting system that cast lines of type. It was used primarily for newspapers, magazines, and ads. The New York Times takes credit for using it first, and the size of that newspaper grew immediately. Old habits die hard, though, and just like TV news today, national news took over everything else. Local news was covered only in case of fire, mass murder, and extreme weather events.
Enter Marcus Rogers. In 1864, right here in Berkshire County, Marcus Rogers discovered the key to a successful newspaper: local news. He was in his twenties when, with his mother’s cheese press, his father’s tool chest, and a picture of Benjamin Franklin’s printing press, Marcus Rogers started a newspaper. He placed reverse letters on a raised surface, inked them, and pressed them onto a sheet of paper. Rogers needed paper, ink, a printing press, and type. He had type – a gift from a cousin. The type was meant to be thrown away, but instead it was given to Rogers, and it determined the course of his life.
He set about collecting the other items. He collected used paper with at least one side still clean, found some ink, and converted his mother’s cheese press into a printing press. In that way he started his village newspaper. He named the paper The Rising Sun. The content was for and about Mill River, Massachusetts. When the print was dried on his newspapers, he folded and delivered them door to door. Rogers was careful to have something in The Sun for every family member, old and young. Rogers was careful to mention as many residents as possible. In the tiny village of Mill River, the circulation grew to 200 subscribers. The (comparatively) meteoric rise of The Sun was attributed to something quite new: a realization that local news was what the people wanted. Rogers remained in the news business, grew rich and satisfied. Other, much bigger newspapers took notice.
Local news builds community and spreads information so folks can get involved. We are blessed with so many in South Berkshire: the Sandisfield Times, Stockbridge Updates, the Egremont News, New Marlborough 5-Town News, the Otis Observer, the West Stockbridge Local Yokel, and more. These small-town newspapers run like a backbone through our South County towns supplying news and information that brings us together.
Those of us who bring you the local news, love our communities and the residents – there’s no money in it – doing it for love is the only option – so love them right back.
Carole Owens
Executive Editor
