The committed journalist always has a tuned ear and at least a slip of paper and a pen at hand. Story ideas come at inopportune and unexpected times, but that comes with the territory. As they say, news does not wait; it happens.

Writers who came to the recent Southern Writers conference shared with all in earshot the nuggets they gather from casual conversations, family dinner tables and other venues where two or more people share experiences they have had or witnessed.

Settings, events and chance meetings are the building blocks for storytellers. The technique of sharing those encounters is the engagement of the reader with a writer.

Some of the best storytellers are found in barbershops and beauty salons. Hairstylists are notorious for being story starters, managing the heads of a cross-section of a community on any given day.

A hairstylist, one assumes, receives instructions on hair but also on the 10 ways to initiate a conversation when there is nothing in common with the

customer.

In a recent setting, a stylist began a conversation by asking whether her customer lived in the area or was merely dropping in for a quick trim before heading somewhere else.

A curious start, but it did break the ice as the respondent went to great lengths to explain his local connections, what he did, where he lived and that he did not want to be judged as “a foreigner.”

A wealth of information from a simple inquiry.

The conversation moved to a weightier matter: the weather.

Stating the obvious — for example, the sun is out (when you walked in the shop with sunglasses on) — puts the seated customer in a position of feeling in charge of the conversation.

(A great lesson for the newspaper to embrace: The reader knows best.)

The stylist did not miss a clip.

She shared that the local newspaper is better to read on certain days than on others.

Being involved in what appears in print, her customer saw this as a door to insights.

Her points, however, did not refer to design, layout, headlines, frequently misspelled words or the occasional grammatical faux pas.

Simply stated: “I wish that we did not have to read about people losing their jobs.”

Yet she wanted information on real people and real experiences in the newspaper.

“I know you are doing your job. You have to tell that. I just wish it was better news,” she said. “But at least we know what is going on.”

The newspaper captures the people who are the community even though many are faceless. They are her customers or friends and relatives of her customers. Her earlier inquiry about residency now made sense; if you are from here, you understand the fabric of the community.

The events that occur on Wall Street, in the halls of Congress or some spot around the globe are felt by people at home.

Those stories unfold daily in a paper product that some term a diary of the day wherever you live. Some call the diary old and stale, but for others it is a connection.

A newspaper, thrown on a doorstep or bought single copy or shared online, continues to touch people’s lives.

The hairstylist is one of many who connect to the community through the images brought to life with words, pictures, sound.

While some prefer a computer, a mobile phone or another device as a platform to access the news, there are those who scour the printed word.

That is a consumer choice.

Hopefully, those of us in the business of disseminating news will allow the consumer to still be able to make that choice.

To reach Tom Griscom, call (423) 757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com.