Sometimes, it's the little things that make a big difference

GREENSBORO, NC -- It may seem unremarkable, a story on the News & Record website that begins with:

A Walkertown man won $177,680 playing the Carolina Cash 5, according to a state lottery press release.

Yet, this wording and the rest of the brief story mark a subtle but important improvement in how the N&R reports lottery winners. Previously, the N&R had taken to simply cutting and pasting from the lottery's press releases, including the positive spin of the lottery's promotional language. Now, they are avoiding any confusion that their staff was involved in compiling this information and they are avoiding the promotional language. It is an improvement that they now make it clear that these "announcements" are void of any balance the paper's reporters might otherwise try for with their reporting and declining to serve as a promotional mouthpiece. Three cheers!