In a land where newspapers are brushed aside and readership is low, The Mycenaean staff grudgingly posts their articles online, rather than distributing the printed paper each month. This website is rarely visited by Leesville students and parents, and the staff’s articles scarcely receive comments. Newspaper support has grown so dismal that even the parents of the staff fail to read the online articles.
“I think my mom visited the website once… and the only article she read was Will’s Day in the Life… It stung,” said Brendan Marks, a neglected sophomore staff writer.
The newspaper staff posts a plethora of articles each week, averaging 19 a week. One would think that these 19 fountains of information would receive billions of comments each week, but no–the website receives an average of 3 comments a week.
This lack of readership would force most high school newspapers to give up completely, but The Mycenaean has one secret weapon. This secret weapon provides the staff with that much needed boost of confidence, giving them just enough courage to keep the newspaper alive. What is this secret weapon? Reed. Annie Reed.
Annie Reed has consistently read the paper since her daughter, Virginia Reed, joined the newspaper staff in 2009. “My mom always talks about newspaper and how creative our articles are. She knew some of the staff when they were in middle school, so I think she feels connected to them,” said Virginia Reed of her mother, Annie Reed. “There’s some writers that she reads religiously, such as Will Bennett and Alex Stewart.”
Reed always shows her love to The Mycenaean staff through her daughter Virginia. In one e-mail sent to Virginia, Reed writes, “Tell newspaper I said hello. Maybe, at the end of the year, I should send in cupcakes or something to them. They are my faves… Now write your article; I want to read it!” Cupcakes may be the only thing that the staff loves more than comments.
She frequently fuels the students’ confidence with friendly comments on their articles. On Alex Stewart’s “Senioritis: Month Two” article she supplied the following comment: “I am absolutely loving this column – howling with laughter as the months go by… I only hope you can keep up this level of commitment as spring approaches!”
Will Bennett, senior and one of Reed’s favorite writers, was quick to show his appreciation for Mrs. Reed. “Virginia’s mom is my light, my inspiration and my reason for waking up every morning. Without Mrs. Reed, I couldn’t put forth the effort to get out of bed and write articles.”
This seemingly superfluous article has a point. And that point is to say thank you. Thank you Mrs. Reed– for reading our articles, fueling our egos and always believing in us despite our lack of popularity. You and a few other dedicated readers (Thanks Mrs. Amerson!) are the ones that keep us alive.
Katy has been on staff since her sophomore year, starting as a staff writer. With hard work and diligence, she earned a junior editor position and ultimately became Editor-in-Chief her senior year. She will pursue a degree in journalism in college.
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