Writing Local

Sometimes people ask if I've ever thought about syndicating my column.  I'm flattered, of course, but here's the reality.  Columnists like me are a dime a dozen.  Papers all over the country have people who do what I do, so it's not like I have anything unique to offer.  I don't say this out of false modesty.  It just happens to be the truth.  Also.  It's much harder to get something syndicated than one might expect.  You have to have the right kind of machinery behind you.

But here's the real reason I'd never really want to be syndicated:  I like writing about where I live, i.e. the Wasatch Front.  I like to mention familiar places and specific events.   When I left the D-News, my friend Todd Curtis who still worked there said, "But if you stay with us, people in Australia will read you."  Which is true, actually.  Because of the Mormon church, the D-News has historically had a larger online readership--something I assume is still true.  But what I said to Todd was this:  I like to write for my neighbors.

I like to write local.