[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SMALL TOWN NEWSPAPERS

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                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 1998

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome our friends from the 
National Newspaper Association, who are in Washington this week to 
discuss ``Critical Issues Facing America's Communities'' as part of 
their annual Government Affairs Conference. Small town newspapers have 
been the cornerstone of our democracy since the first community 
newspaper was founded by Benjamin Harris in Boston in 1690. Clearly, 
they are deserving of our gratitude and recognition.
  This year's president of the National Newspaper Association is my 
good friend Dalton Wright of Lebanon, Missouri. Dalton is the most 
recent example of a long line of notable journalists from the state of 
Missouri including Joseph Pulitzer, who started his career at the 
Westliche Post in St. Louis, and Walter Williams, who helped establish 
the nation's first school of journalism at the University of Missouri.
  Small town newspapers, like the Strafford News Express in my hometown 
of Strafford, Missouri, are the ties that bind our communities 
together. Local residents look to their newspaper for school lunch 
menus, local weather forecasts, and information about upcoming 
community events. And, of course, most members of Congress use 
community newspapers to keep them informed of events back home so that 
we are better able to represent our constituents in Washington.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing the men and 
women of the National Newspaper Association for their service to our 
communities.

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