You might have noticed that a couple of weeks ago that many newspapers, CNN and Good Morning America ran a rather peculiar story. Most of them cited the World Health Organization as reporting that within a couple of hundred years, there would be no more natural blondes.

According to Bill Hoffmann’s story in the New York Post, a German research laboratory believed that the gene for naturally blonde hair would become extinct by the year 2202. Supposedly two things were bringing about the demise of the blonde gene. For one, it’s a recessive gene anyway, and for another, men are supposedly more attracted to fake blondes than real ones so they’re not reproducing as much as they used to.

Well, the word over the wire services is that the World Health Organization never issued such a report, never did such research and doesn’t know where the story came from.

According to Lawrence Altman at the New York Times, CNN got it from Good Morning America, ABC anchors heard it from an ABC producer in London, who saw it in a British newspaper.

These guys obviously forgot three basic rules of journalism.

First; "Get it first, but first get it right"

Second, which is one way you make sure you get it right; "Confirm information with at least three independent sources."

Third; "Use reliable sources"

In this day and age of 24 hour news, the internet, cable and satellite TV, too many reporters are quoting each other instead of returning to the original source of the information. Or maybe Charles Gibson just wanted to know whether or not Diane Sawyer dyes her hair.

I bring it up because I don’t think we appreciate our small, local newspapers enough. It’s not easy to put one of these things together every week and get things done right and get them done on time.

Sure, a few weird people like me thing it’s fun, but a lot of really hard working farmers think that planting and bailing and harvesting is fun, that doesn’t make it easy. Those folks who’s names are in that box on the bottom left corner of page two go through a lot of stress for ten or twelve hours every Monday and Tuesday. From writing, checking, rechecking, pasting up and correcting to folding and stuffing, labeling and delivering they’re working hard to put it together. And they’re not becoming millionaires doing it.

And don’t think that having a Mapleton company own the Charter Oak & Ute paper is anything like the Chicago Tribune Company owning the Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s not even comparable to the Omaha World Herald buying out the Council Bluffs Nonpareil. The Herald is owned by the Ganett Corporation, by the way, who publish USA Today. Mapleton are our neighbors, part of rural western Iowa.

One of the best things about the small, local press is that you get to be part of it. You send in your story ideas, you hold us accountable when we get a fact wrong or a name mispelled (miss-spelled?) (sic).

Heck, you can actually write the stories or take the pictures! I for one have really appreciated the things that people like Lynn Hoffman, JoAnne Seufert, Ken Lally and Mary Ellen Keating contribute. And if you enjoy this column at all, don’t just tell me, tell Mike & Barb Lyon. Better yet, tell your friends and relatives and try to convince them to buy a copy or even better, subscribe.

But you know what we’d really appreciate? Letters to the editor. It’s easy to mail it, or give it to Jackie, or email it. My email address is under my byline, or you could send it straight to the office at mpress@pionet.net.