The first week of October is National Newspaper Week and the Journal-Tribune always recognizes our youth carriers with a front page photograph. Monday we published a photo of those who have been a carrier for two years or more with very few or no complaints and qualified for carrier of the year.
We do this because for many of them it’s their first job where they learn the value of providing a service to the customer and being responsible with the money they earn. Some even told us they are using the route to make enough so some day they can buy their first car.
There are many others successful leaders and business people, like T. Boone Pickens, who got their start as a newspaper carrier. Pickens, an oil tycoon who recently passed away, talked about how is paper route allowed him to figure out mergers and acquisitions.
When asked about his start, Pickens would reference the fact that when routes around him opened up he would acquire them. He said that he eventually carried five routes at a time as a youngster to increase his paycheck. Pickens linked his carrier job to his start in business where he eventually amassed a fortune buying companies and ultimately creating a hedge fund BP Capital.
Another successful businessman who got his start as a carrier was Warren Buffett. Buffett, who owns the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, also highlights his beginnings as a newspaper carrier when asked about his start in the stock market.
A few years ago, Buffett took his appreciation one step further and started buying clusters of newspapers. When asked why he was buying newspapers, he referenced their value to him as a kid growing up and to the communities they serve. He also mentioned the fact that he relies on local newspapers when looking to buy a company because it gives him a pulse of the community and an idea of the local business climate.
We applaud the celebration of National Newspaper Week and maintain the thought that maybe someday one or more of our carriers here at The Journal-Tribune will be referencing their start at the newspaper when interviewed about accomplishments during their career.