Whenever we travel, I love reading the local newspapers. Each town and region has its own points of pride and subjects of division and derision from which a visitor or new resident can learn a great deal. Note the organization, relative coverage and topics featured repeatedly in its newspapers. Such news can help to entrench or eclipse assumptions about the place. Clearly, Alaska thinks of itself as different from the rest of the US, as reference to “Outside” and “the Lower 48” indicate. In several ways, this is very true.
What do the Alaska newspapers reveal about
life up here? To me, the primary
impression from the Anchorage Daily News is one of a fully embraced outdoor
lifestyle. By way of example, consider
this: the “Outdoors” section of the on-line
version (www.adn.com) includes the following
permanent sections: Bears, Excursions,
Fishing, Iditarod, Mushing, Skiing, Snowmachining, and Wildlife.
Readers are invited to submit photographs and there are whole galleries
devoted to cabins, the aurora borealis, and “around Alaska.” By contrast, the
Houston (Texas) Chronicle (www.chron.com) doesn’t
even have an Outdoors section. The only
regular outdoor activity addressed is gardening).
Two years
ago, somebody or other surveyed Anchorigians regarding their satisfaction in
living there. Over 90% said that the
setting contributed to their satisfaction.
Aside from the obvious fact that Anchorage’s setting, between the
Chugach Mountains and the Cook Inlet, is one of the most visually stunning in
America, the paper makes clear that residents enjoy its terrain, resources, and
weather. Everyone I meet in Alaska is
happy to be here. (By contrast, what
might the percentage be in many other places?
Most people I know in Houston, TX, for example, say they live there “for
the job” and plan to leave. Complaining
about some aspect of the city is a ‘warm up topic” at just about any gathering.) I must say, it is nice to get away from the
whiners!