Tom Schmitt is Chief Business Office and Editor of the Council Bluffs newspaper, ‘The Nonpareil.’ Schmitt spoke to Club members about the newspaper business and its unique relationship to its readers and community. There are three things that a newspaper does, Schmitt noted, 1) it reports news, 2) it mirrors the community, and 3) it reports history. The readership and community don’t always think of the newspaper with these purposes. Schmitt noted that readers often complain that there is too much ‘bad’ news and not enough ‘good’ news. However, he noted that there is a lot of good news in the papers, but it is not discussed as much nor remembered. Schmitt noted that the internet has had more impact on the newspaper industry that radio, television, and cable TV. Nearly 40% of The Nonpareil readership is actually over the internet. Schmitt noted that The Nonpareil is 80% owned by the Omaha World Herald and during the five years he has been the news director there has been more local news printed.