One Savvy Guy

• Share

(2 of 2)

Newspapers, mostly town and regional ones, were attracted by the straightforward Q&A format, and they liked the price too. At $3 to $5 a week, even small local papers like the Walnut (Ill.) Leader (circ. 5,000) could afford it. An editor who recently changed jobs took "Savvy Senior" with him. "One of the first things I did was to call Jim and say, 'Hey, I want to get this in our paper too,'" says Wayne Frazer, general manager of the Spencer County Journal Democrat in Rockport, Ind. "People feel like they're getting their information from a friend, as opposed to getting it from a faceless entity." When a reader recently wrote to lament her husband's hearing loss, Miller's reply began, "WHAT DID YOU SAY???"

Two-thirds of Miller's questions come in via e-mail, and the rest arrive the old-fashioned way. He responds to them all, selecting a question each week to feature in his column. "It's nice to be able to let people know that I'm hearing what they're saying," says Miller. "I'm just a regular guy," he hastens to add. "I'm not a Samaritan." But there's no question that this accidental expert is doing good. Not only does his column give seniors help when they need it most, but it has also given Miller an entree into a world he lost when his parents passed away.