Spreading the News
Jack W. Pacheco, 35, of Chowchilla, Calif., was upset when his small-town newspaper reported he had been arrested on drug charges. He insists the drugs weren’t his, but when the newspaper wouldn’t pull the story he tried to buy every one of the 700 copies of The Chowchilla News that were printed, and estimates he got as many as 600 of them. “I have a whole garage full of newspapers,” he says. There were only three things wrong with his plan: first, the paper also prints 550 copies for subscribers, which weren’t intercepted; second, after Pacheco bought up the remaining newsstand copies the newspaper had 500 more printed, and third, Pacheco’s tactic was reported on by other area papers — and the report was picked up and spread internationally by newswire services. (Merced Sun-Star) ...“Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.” —attributed to Mark Twain (1835–1910), American writer and social commentator.
Available in This is True: Book Collection Vol. 11