Nobody Pays Attention Anymore

Yesterday there was a small article in the Portland Press Herald, the local city paper most folks around here read, about a program being offered by my son's non-profit organization called Rewild Maine. Zack was interviewed on the phone by a reporter about the details. Not only is his name visible in many places online, where I assume the reporter got some of her info like date, time and place, but Zack gave his name as "Zack with a K, Rouda -- like Gouda cheese but with an R."

So the article identified him as "Zach Rudin." I learned of this when a friend texted me asking, "This guy seems to be doing the same thing as your son. Is it him?"

There are a couple of lessons inherent in this anecdote. The first is to never assume what you read in the paper is accurate, or even true. Sure, it may have sat next to the truth in grade school, but often it's just plain wrong. The second lesson is if you live in Portland you should not waste your money on the Portland Press Herald and instead read a real newspaper. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe all will have errors as well, but of a much higher caliber.