Let Bylines Be Bylines

There it is. On Page 116. In italics beneath an article about as long as a No. 2 pencil. My byline.
Last November, I drove to Mississippi and ran a sparsely-participated-in marathon at the Stennis Space Center.
I thought the fact that the race organizers even had the event after Hurricane Katrina galloped through three months earlier was a statement underscoring the enduring spirit of runners. I thought it would make a good story.
Before I went, I pitched the idea to Runner's World magazine, and to my surprise, an editor said the publication would be glad to take a brief from me and place it in the road-race section in the back. They said it might appear in the March issue.
I was elated.
Runner's World isn't a huge magazine - about 77,000 circulation monthly compared to The Beaumont Enterprise daily circulation of around 55,000. Nevertheless, copies can be found in book stores, groceries and airports nationwide. I have lots of runner friends everywhere who read it.
Bylines are a funny thing. I've had thousands of them during my 20-year career, including a few dozen in The Enterprise. For some stories, I've been mighty proud to have my byline atop them. For others, it was just common newspaper practice, showing readers who was responsible for what they were about to read. That sometimes leads to news tips.
I've often wondered whether readers actually look at bylines. If I'm reading another newspaper, I typically don't look. Sometimes, I look and see someone I know and wonder how they wound up there. Occasionally, I'll fire off an e-mail to a long-lost colleague and re-establish an acquaintance.
But do average readers really care?
I suppose so, if the story stirs them. Maybe they'll call to extend a kudo or butt kick. I get a lot of both for just having my name and phone number atop the Region page of our daily publication. I get a lot of circulation calls, too, which is like calling the Sears tire department to ask about lingerie, but I'm happy to guide the disgruntled subscribers to those who can help. After all, a content subscriber is a loyal subscriber.
As for news stories, getting a byline, particularly over a sox-knocking piece of work, is a kick that in a small way offsets the fact we, salarywise, don't fall into the same range as doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, realtors, engineers, accountants and maybe the guy who just put a new roof on your house. There is something cool about picking up Page 1A and seeing your name over an important story.
A boss long ago told me that a general goal of community newspapering should be to get every subscriber's name in the paper at least once a year, at least in sections of the publication outside the police blotter. I emphasize to starry-eyed reporters that a brief detailing a person's accomplishment is just as important as The Big Page 1A Story.
During my five years here, I've seen clipped-out Enterprise articles everywhere, from framed stories on business walls to tiny briefs hanging from refrigerator magnets in homes. Today, while conducting some realty exploration with my wife during my lunch hour, I noticed that a prospective seller had clipped out an Enterprise article about a job promotion years ago, framed it and stuck it prominently on a shelf, next to pictures of his five kids.
Whether buried at the bottom of a Page 11Z story or as a Page 1A byline, getting a name in the newspaper is a big deal, four syllables of fame in my case.
So getting a tiny byline at the bottom of a brief on Page 116 of the March issue of Runner's World, a magazine I've read subscribed to for a decade, means a lot to me, even if no one but my wife and I notices.

- Blog entry by Brian Pearson