We live in a world today where technology, trade, and travel bring the world to our front doors. But, most of us are still more interested in what's going on in our back yards. That idea is what has made Shaw Newspapers so successful.

For 158 years the Shaw family has been reporting the news of the day in small communities like Dixon, Illinois and Osceola, Iowa. Those papers carry national wire stories about the effort in Washington to pass health care legislation. But, they also carry stories about local festivals, city council meetings, and local crime.

The Shaws have a keen sense of the communities they serve and what their readers crave. Tom Shaw runs the family firm out of a converted home in Dixon, Illinois. It's not far from the offices of the Dixon Evening Telegraph which his great-great grandfather bought in 1851. Shaw frequently visits his numerous publications. His staff knows him, and he knows his staff.

Shaw Newspapers doesn't try to "franchise" local news. I asked Shaw if his papers shared stories and he says they rarely do. Each publication focuses its reporting on the community it serves. Shaw looks at larger newspapers as examples of what he doesn't want his properties to become. He thinks much of the news he reads in larger papers has been commoditized.

In a sense, Shaw speaks about a larger trend going on in America. The local hardware store has been replaced with Home Depot. The local cafe is now a Starbucks. And, the local barber has been eased out by a Fantastic Sam's.

We crave the familiar. The Shaws know that, and it could keep Shaw Newspapers successful for another 158 years.