Wednesday: McKinley tells Rotarians “coal needs to remain a major part of America’s energy mix”

That’s the breaking news. The front page article also includes the following:

To the Wheeling Rotary Club on Tuesday, McKinley said his No. 1 concern, overall, is jobs.

“We’re talking about taking care of people. I am supportive of wind and solar, but coal is more reliable and needed,” McKinley said.

I think that sums up the article. The only thing missing was a picture of McKinley talking to a veteran which I thought was a requirement of front page McKinley stories.

Tuesday: Johnson tells Union Local students that “being a leader, especially one in government, isn't easy.”

Who knew? This front-page article is another instalment in Ogden’s long-running series of meaningless coverage of local Ohio representative Bill Johnson’s advice to students. (Here’s my personal favorite.) This one, “U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson Encourages Next Generation Of Leaders,” had the usual clichés:

The students listened to Johnson speak about the importance of standing up and being a leader in school, their community and the nation as a whole. The congressman told the students everyone is already a leader of some kind, but the trick is to figure out if they are a positive leader or a negative one.

I’ll bet no one pinned him down on healthcare or how he has changed positions on trade policy. (Maybe that’s why he talks to students in a controlled environment rather than holding a town hall for his constituents.) And as with the McKinley article, there is nothing new or significant – it’s just an excuse to give a local favorite some free publicity.