Crashes By coincidence, VeniVidiScripto is going to have an interesting comparison to make this month.
In the past three days, more than 10,000 people have read the stories concerning the problems in the Henry Hudson Regional School district where parents have complained about the decrease in apparent educational standards at the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School, some have said they want to tell more but are fearful of having their names attached to any criticism of what goes on in the district, and still others are patiently waiting to see whether the mayors meeting together will resolve the issue of whether the question of letting Sea Bright into the new regional district can be put on the ballot in November for the people to express their opinions.
That’s a lot of readers for a couple of articles on a comparatively small school district. It is an indication, psychologists will tell you, that people like to read the ‘bad’ stuff, the ‘controversial’ stuff, the “gossipy’ stuff.
People are not so interested in hearing the good news, the happy stories, the stories that could make them proud and put a bit of sunshine in their day.
In the next few days, VeniVidiScripto will have several stories about good things happening, great kids making achievements, unusual events and awards presented in local schools and churches, even mind blowing accomplishments that appear almost every day feats at MAST the vocational tech school at Sandy Hook.
There will be stories about an innovative thinker starting a new job at a care center and a volunteer who would get praise every day if everyone knew how much he and others like him do for their first aid squads and fire departments.
The stories are all about things that are going on on a regular basis, They are all true, and many are similar to other ‘great news’ stories that have appeared in VeniVidiScripto and newspapers throughout the years.
But will they get 10,000 readers like the “Bad News” stories get? DO people like to hear good things as much as they love bad things?
Time will tell. This VeniVidiScripto writer is an optimist and thinks yes, good news attracts readers, people who want to start or end their days felling good about something great that’s happened to someone else.
We’ll see. VeniVidiScripto will count numbers and report back on these page May 30.
