Although the Internet may ultimately put newspapers out of business, it is helping reporters in one way. There are now listservs for reporters looking for sources and authors hoping to be sources. I followed another writer’s advice and got on a few of these lists with the hope that some national magazine writer would be needing a Quaker to talk about discernment or wisdom. Although that hasn’t happened yet, I’m finding these daily lists to be revealing and sometimes amusing. Whether it accurately reflects the concerns of most Americans I’m not sure, but there are some patterns in the interests of the media.

First, there are lots of stories about stuff. “10 Best Hotel Toiletries,” “Holiday Gifts Under $75,” and “Mommy Must-haves,” are a few recent topics. Even among the growing number of “green” articles there is a tendency to want to promote green products, rather than encourage people to buy less—an angle that would surely be unpopular with advertisers, but would actually be better for the earth.  Most of these stories have titles like “Eco-Green Gifts for Holiday Campaign” and “Eco-friendly, natural or organic products for athletes.” Even a spiritual magazine is looking for spiritual products to promote, though unfortunately not books.

Then there are all the stories about sex: “Allergies and Effects on Sex,” “David Letterman and Sex with Subordinates,” and “Questions around Your Sex Life” (for a national television show—can’t imagine volunteering for that). Articles indirectly related to sex deal with questions like, “Do you want younger looking skin?” and a host of topics related to weight loss. Then there are the celebrity requests. For example, there are still reporters looking for people who knew Michael Jackson—haven’t they all been on TV already?

Of course, there are many articles on the economy. One reporter is looking for “Corporate HR Professionals Who Watch THE OFFICE to talk about Compensation and Promotion,” which is pretty funny if you’ve ever watched The Office, a blueprint on how not to manage people. Dealing with the recession is a hot topic: “Recession fashion,”  “The Food Stamp Diet,” and “Moved to a smaller home?” are recent topics. For months there have been pleas for success stories, people who changed careers or started a business or had something terrific happen because of the recession. I hope and trust those stories are out there. 

Some of my favorites queries are the random and unpredictable, like “Men who knit” or “Vegetarians/vegans who feed their dog meat or fish.” I’m still waiting to see a request for “Person who thought the war in Afghanistan was a bad idea from the beginning,” but my phone’s not ringing for that yet.  Perhaps if I want to get into one of these magazines, I should become a vegetarian and give my share of our family’s meat to the dog.