Angling Mail Newspaper

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   my mom has been getting letters in the mail that are meant to try to scare her/or offend her...?
   my mom let me know tonight, that she has received 3 letters in the last year and a half, with the same thing in it every time.. It is mailed from las angles... my mom lives in California but not las angles ( and she doesn't know anyone who lives in LA) anyways... the letter has no return address, and all that is in the letter is a newspaper clipping of a picture of women with wrinkles and the person who sent it hand writes on it... " you should look into doing this ( with my mom name in it) , it could help" and then the sign it with one initial... the 3 letters she has received over the past year have this same thing in it... and the same handwritten note, and my mom said the handwriting differs a little on each letter she has received ( as if someone is trying to conceal their handwriting) she has kept the letters in safe keeping, but I AM FREAKING OUT. why on earth would someone be doing this? and does anyone have anyway of finding out who this could be?

   • ANSWER:
     she should contact the police and the post office even though its not threatening it is still harassment.

2. QUESTION:
   What are some articles a small-town paper might publish from a freelancer?
   I'm majoring in Journalism at university and although I haven't graduated yet, my bosses' husband is a reporter for the town newspaper and he said they may be willing to publish freelance articles with me occasionally. He said to just send in a portfolio of some of my work, and if they like it, they'll see what they can do.

   But the problem is, I don't know what to write about. We are a small town, population 60,000. Big events and politics are covered by Associated Press, and the important local stuff is covered by staff writers.

   I had an idea to do a piece about the large percent of teenagers in town that migrate to bigger cities after graduation--it's a widely held attitude that this is not a good town for young people as there's nothing to do. With college acceptance letters arriving in the mail and graduation looming, I thought it might be fitting to write about the percentage of our town's teenagers that leave because we have nothing to do here.

   But that is just one idea. I need at least three. Can anyone give me some angles that a small town paper would go for, or any ideas on what to write about? Thank you guys.

   • ANSWER:
     Pick a large issue and do something small/local on it. What are schools, churches and libraries doing for donations for Haiti? Does the paper have a roving reporter who asks a question of the week of random people?
     I am a freelance reporter and try to keep up on what's going on city-wide (like the mandatory call for carbon monoxide detectors in all homes as of February 22) and tune in to how it effects local people. There are many more ideas - but you have to keep up with local politics and even crime statistics - get in touch with the community affairs department at your local police precinct - do they have programs for youths to keep them out of gangs - just an example. Do some foot work on different programs that most people take advantage of and make it exciting. The job of a reporter is to be the avenue for information and there are plenty of chances if you look at the details in things.
     Good luck!