Make a mistake, hear from readers

When I was growing up, my parents published a weekly newspaper in Missouri. After my marriage, I worked in radio broadcasting with my husband. Eventually, we started the Newsgram in Alva while also owning KALV. Later we sold the radio station and a few years later bought the Alva Review-Courier.

During all those years, both newspaper and radio, I learned the fastest way to determine if you have readers or listeners was to make a mistake. The feedback is instantaneous. My gaffe last week was thinking the sales tax vote in Alfalfa County was in addition to the current county sales tax. Instead,...