“WHAT WE CALL PROGRESS
IS THE EXCHANGE OF ONE
NUISANCE FOR ANOTHER
NUISANCE”
Havelock Ellis
When stopping for our Sunday edition of the Eagle we were in for a shock. Seems that, once again, the paper will scale back it’s coverage and we will no longer be able to go down after church for a copy.
Now of course this irritated me to no end. Kansas has the distinction of at one time having the most newspapers in the country. It has been a long tradition that the news be put out at a regular pace and many places had competing papers that lead a spirited battle with each other.
Many papers in the country used to relish the shared copies of several Kansas newspapers because of the unique insights and coverage of events. The roots of the Eagle can be seen in Old Cowtown museum at the recreated offices of the WICHITA CITY EAGLE. The Eagle has been a part of the development of Kansas since the 1870’s.
When Marshal Murdock was recruited to come to Wichita in it’s early days it was a booster that helped the fledgling town grow and prosper. The mark of the Murdock’s can be found in numerous places both around Wichita and the state.
The town of Murdock in Kingman County, Murdock Avenue in Wichita, the town of Marshal (now gone) in Sedgwick County and many other things bear the name of the publisher and family that owned the paper for three generations.
Since the sale of the paper and subsequent resale’s there has been many changes over the years. The change in the newspaper business has been overwhelming for every paper. It is an instant information age and many names have simple gone away from the list of papers. The era of corporations owning multiple papers all over the country has delayed the inevitable demise of many but also the local investment in the communities they serve.
Some newspapers and publications do a better job of serving their readers than others such is the state of doing business. This never changes. It was a disappointment when the Eagle pulled back from statewide coverage and distribution several years ago. This latest pull back from distribution is also a disappointment.
One thing that is constant is change. We all hope that the change is for the better and that everything is being done for positive change rather than negative change. The blessing of youth is that change is not noticeable for a while, until some time passes and they have the reference to look back and decide if what is change is for the better.
So for now I can be irritated that I will not have my Sunday Eagle but I will have to get along.
