OPINION — Editorial

Extra! Extra!

Lede with this, or maybe this

Copy boy! (Wait, that's too 1950.) Copy person! There's news breaking every second! The wires are burning up! (Wait, that's too 1990.) The magic Internet Wi-Fi thingy that sends news stories to our computer is burning up!

Take this to the paste-up shop. Or, these days, to the computer designers. First, lede with this:

The University of Arkansas has a new director of athletics! It's about time. It's been hours and hours since the firing of the last guy. And you somehow knew the next AD of all things piggy would be another guy. The letters we've read, the radio we've heard, the whispers we've strained to overhear... . You'd think that a woman AD, even an interim one, went against Holy Writ. For the record, it certainly does not. The lady in (temporary) charge of athletics in Fayetteville over the last week seemed confident, assertive, authoritative and self-possessed. In short, exactly what they taught us at officer school in the U.S. military. It's called leadership. As our captain used to say, when nobody is in charge, take charge. Which she did. And was promptly criticized for it. Not by the administration, thankfully, but by so many others that it made some of us wince. Is there something wrong with a strong woman in charge? Hmmm?

Wait, copy person, now Arkansas has a new football coach! Let's lede with that instead! He's out of Texas, which might be the best thing on his resume. Yes, of course, let's put a wall around the state border and keep the best recruits for our own selves, for all sports and at all Arkansas schools. But if you're going to compete with the big boys and girls on a national stage, you have to reach out beyond a state with 3 million citizens.

Wait, copy person! Turns out recruiting season for future football players is now, now, now! Get that on the front page too! And the basketball team at UA-F is back in top form! And what's going on at Harding? How many more games till the championship?

Copy person! Forget that. There's more breaking news:

A crowd of Arkies went to Washington, D.C., this past week to push for reforms of the immigration laws. Which sorely need reforming. Right now the policy of most of Washington is to either ignore the problem or make it worse by rounding up young people who were brought here as even younger people. How's a 5-year-old supposed to stop from crossing the border when he's holding his mother's hand? And then these young people get jobs, an education, start moving up in life, only to be told they're not wanted? Aren't these young, educated, ambitious types exactly what this country needs?

Copy person! Never mind. Sub-out that story for this:

Arkansas finally got the person from Auburn we need. And it has nothing to do with the power spread. More like sowing and reaping. Dispatches from the wires say Dr. Deacue Fields III, a longtime Auburn professor, will now take over the UofA's agriculture college. In Arkansas, agriculture--that is, food--may not be as important to some people as sports, but it comes a close second.

Copy boy, er, person ... Hey kid!

Take the next few days off. And have a merry Christmas.

Editorial on 12/09/2017

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