GATHERING THE NEWS

Tom McMahon is one of seven reporters gathering news and information for the Council Bluffs newspaper, The Daily Non-Pareil. McMahon explained that he and Nicole Weis seek news stories within a 10 county area of southwestern Iowa served by the newspaper. He concentrates on counties north and east of Pottawattamie. McMahon noted there are also Non-Pareil reporters for business, education, law enforcement and courts, health and social services, and politics. The Non-Pareil was established in 1857 by the Republican Party, a common practice then to get political views publicized. Today, McMahon noted, there are many communication modes and the papers are generally more balanced in political news. McMahon has been a news reporter for about three years after a career in social work. He said he is especially interested in rural community development. The Non-Pareil is an afternoon paper, so McMahon said his story deadline is 9 a.m. and he is usually working on three to five stories each day.