Former Wolf Point Herald-News Editor Publishes Book On Journalism
Former Herald-News editor Greg Little has released a new book titled -30- Why Small Town American Print Journalism Is Anything But Dead.
Little spoke to the Northern Plains Independent about the book’s inspiration and Wolf Point connections.
The 352-page work is both a chronicle of the author’s experience as a small-town journalist and a deep dive into the essential nature of local level reporting.
Little, who served in the editor’s seat in Wolf Point for five years, said the city plays a prominent role in his story.
“Wolf Point was one of the highlights of my career,” little said. He described a two-year effort in the 1990s to bring an episode of Court TV to the Fort Peck Reservation to cover jurisdictional challenges in policing and the courts.
“This was before the internet,” said Little. He said the effort was all phone calls, letter writing and personal visits.
Little described Wolf Point publisher Darla Downs’ successful struggle to break free from corporate ownership in 2019 as one of his inspirations for a keeping a positive attitude about independent newspapers in America today. He speculated that the answer to the downsizing and cannibalization of American newspapers lies in struggles like those exemplified by Downs.
“I’m proud of what she did up there,” said Little. “The answer is independent newspapers.”
Little moved on to fill the editor’s role at the Lewistown News-Argus after Wolf Point, as well as a string of jobs in the industry. He would eventually purchase the Mariposa Gazette in Mariposa, Calif., with wife Nicole, who serves as the Gazette’s publisher. According to Little, the Gazette is the oldest continually published newspaper in the state of California.
He said the move was prompted by the loss of his job at a corporate publication. “It was the only chance I thought I had,” he said.
Little is editor of the Mariposa Gazette and can be reached at greg@mariposagazette. com. The book is available at www.amazon.com/- /e/B09BDFXXQP.
