Part of the reason I love working in the newspaper business is because of the people I get to meet.
Some of the people are also part of the reason I hate the business, but that is a column for another time.
What many readers don’t know is that The Rockdale Reporter is a depository (not suppository as one caller suggested) for all things.
When I say all, I mean it. When the public dials 512-446-5838 our phone number, it is akin to punching in 4-1-1, when I was a teenager.
For those under the age of 40, 4-1-1 used to be the number people dialed to reach an operator for directory assistance.
As a teenager in El Paso, whenever I needed the number to Shakey’s Pizza down the block, I’d pick up the phone and punch in 4-1-1.
If I happened to be out of the city limits, I’d have to dial the area code then 555-1212 to get the same kind of help.
The Internet has taken on the role of directory assistance for some but here at the newspaper we still get plenty of callers asking for different types of information, and we always try to give an answer, phone number or get them connected to someone who can help.
Many times people in Rockdale want those who answer the phone at the newspaper to be psychic.
When they call they might ask: Who was in that wreck on such-and-such street? Did anyone die? Were they drunk?
Others merely want us to be geographical historians and ask questions like, “Back in 1945, there was a yellow house where the bank used to be, do you all remember who lived in it?”
This isn’t unique to The Reporter.
At the Port Aransas Jetty their staff has fielded calls from the public asking, “What time is the space shuttle going to launch in Florida? What are the rules for bulky trash pick up? What is the route for the bus route around town? Who is a good fishing guide that you would recommend? I want to move to Port Aransas — what kind of a business should I start?”
At the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post the public will walk in carrying packages thinking it’s a post office because of the word post in the title.
They also call in and ask the staff about postal rates or if they would play their favorite song, mistakenly thinking the newspaper is a radio because of its name.
To the northeast of us in Hearne, The Robertson County News has fielded calls from people asking, “What time do the trains run through Hearne? I saw a food truck; is it going to be here next week? Where is the local notary?”
Like librarians, we’re trained in accessing information.
Many a caller has given us tips that we’ve written stories about, after first checking facts and validating sources.
Some that come to mind are Bitmain and Gameplan Studios coming to town.
My first full-time job was answering phones for The El Paso Times as a teenager.
I loved every minute of it, because I had to look up a lot of information like phone numbers to legislators’ offices, schools, divorce lawyers, battered women shelters, and the list went on-and-on.
I never tired of hearing from or helping the public. We’ll never tire of hearing from readers and the general public at The Reporter.
Unless you’re a truck driver from out-of-town who calls into the newspaper to ask if someone knows whose armadillo pet it was that he saw crossing the street.
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