Author: Diane Eastabrook, Chicago Bureau Chief

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.

Last month 263,000 more Americans lost their jobs. Hopefully, most of those people have already started job hunting. In this economy the longer you wait to find a job, the harder it will be to find one. It's a theme I've been hearing over and over as I've interviewed companies, recruiters, and even the jobless the last couple of months.

Many who have been pink slipped have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. But, recruiters and job experts tell me some employers don't look favorably on a potential candidate who's been out of work longer than six months. So, if your search is extending that long, think about taking a class or perhaps getting certified in a special area. Recruiter Demetri Georgiadis says job candidates need to prove they've been improving their skills while on furlough.

If you live in Chicago, you know the Smithe Brothers. Well, maybe you don't know them, but you are certainly familiar with them. Walter III, Tim, and Mark have been appearing in t.v. ads for their family's furniture store chain for nearly a decade. The ads are creative, hilarious, and slickly produced.

The Smithes, who are profiled in my latest "All in the Family" story, follow a long tradition of families who have attached their faces to their businesses. There's Dave Thomas of Wendy's, Frank & Jim Purdue of Purdue Chicken, and let's not forget Col. Harlan Sanders of KFC. So, is this sort of thing a good idea for every family-owned firm? Yes and no.

A couple of months ago NBR assignment editor, Kira Rockell, approached me about doing a slice-of-life piece on unemployment. The idea was to look at life from a jobless person's perspective. I was a little dubious about the assignment. Being without work and struggling to make ends meet are not topics most folks like to discuss, especially on television. But, I cast out my net to contacts, hoping we would find someone.

I was overwhelmed by the response. I received calls and emails from more than a dozen people who were eager to share their stories with me. Talking to me, even over the phone and via the internet, seemed to be cathartic. Everyone's story was compelling, so it was hard to select one. That's why we decided to tell three stories in my series "Once Upon a Job." Some of the people we didn't profile will appear in a panel discussion on our Labor Day special

Mark Darren Walker hasn't owned an American vehicle since his '86 Ford Mustang. He's never owned a GM product. Lauren Weiner's parents owned GM cars, but she never has. She's preferred BMW, Honda, and Land Rover. These are the kinds of consumers GM desperately needs to attract and they could.

Both Walker and Weiner were among the 100 consumers who test drove vehicles this week at GM's Milford Proving Grounds. Walker was a tough sell. He had test driven a Chevy Tahoe in Los Angeles and didn't like it. So, he fired off an email to CEO Fritz Henderson who responded with an invitation to test drive other GM products at the company's test track. Walker loved the Cadillac CTS and was also impressed with the Buick LaCrosse. Will he switch from BMW to Cadillac when it's time for a trade? He's not sure, but he's now open to the idea.

I'm not sure if it was destiny or DNA that led me to our new series "All in the Family." Like millions of Americans, I come from a family of entrepreneurs. In 1894, my great grandfather opened a general store and post office near Dixon, Illinois that remained in my family for nearly a century. My parents and grandparents owned a laundry and dry cleaners near Peoria, Illinois for forty years. Unfortunately, that dream died when it came time to pass the torch to my sister and me. She headed into the insurance industry, and I headed into journalism. The business was sold.

Still, I'm fascinated with family firms. They form the backbone of American business. Think Ford Motor Company, Walmart, Nordstrom, and Meijer. Ira Bryck, Director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Family Business Center, estimates that 85% of all U.S. companies are family-owned. He says in parts of Europe and Asia it's as high as 100%.

News of the U.S. auto industry's demise is greatly exaggerated. That was the message I got today when I interviewed Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally. While Mulally can't comment on the future of GM and Chrysler, he's confident in the future of his firm.

Mulally expects vehicle sales to pick up, so much so that Ford is stepping up production. The company has also been scaling back on incentives. That is helping boost margins. The government is also getting ready to launch its "Cash for Clunkers" program. A number of Chicago area dealers says that program is generating a lot of showroom traffic, so that could also mean better sales for Ford.

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon one of those old "Airport" movies. In this one Dean Martin is the pilot, and an unhinged passenger brings a bomb on board. What struck me about the movie was how air travel has changed since then. Despite the mad bomber, flying back in 1970 was a pleasant experience. Passengers had room to move around the cabin, and they even got fed.

Today flying is a lot of things, but I wouldn't call it pleasant. Cabins are packed with passengers and there are no meals, except in business and first class. You also have to get to the airport two hours before a flight; pay to have your bag checked; then risk having your bag unloaded in Omaha when you're flying to Miami.

Deregulation has a lot to do with the change in air travel. It opened the skies to more carriers. That additional competition made fares cheaper, allowing more people to fly. The problem is airlines can't make money on $200 tickets. They make money when passengers pay double or triple that amount. Throw in gyrating fuel prices and you end up with a broken industry.

As I watched GM CEO Fritz Henderson's press conference this morning I was struck by a couple of his comments. (Henderson met with the media in Detroit as the company emerges from bankruptcy.)

First, Henderson said "business as usual is over" at GM. I hope so. Prior to its chapter 11 reorganization, GM was a hulking giant unable, and possibly unwilling, to change its ways. After the terrorist attacks in 2001 GM couldn't sell big sport utilities without big rebates or 0% financing. Yet, the company still clung to the segment thinking consumer sentiment would change. It didn't and things got worse last year when fuel prices soared above $4.00 a gallon. The company's commitment to making smaller cars and new technology hopefully is a move in the right direction.

John Storm is the kind of businessman who gives me hope about American manufacturing. Storm grew up on a farm in Indiana. He developed an interest in engineering as a boy when his dad took apart a tractor engine and asked him to reassemble it. The tractor engine resulted in a metallurgical engineering degree from Purdue University, followed by a ten-year stint at as an engineer at General Motors.

At GM, Storm came up with the idea to quickly harden metal parts using electricity versus the old fashioned way of baking the parts in an oven. GM passed on the idea, but GM's loss was Storm's gain. He patented the system and for the past 20 years has been charging GM, Chrysler, and Ford to do the work for them. He's also sold them equipment to do the work themselves at plants in the U.S. and abroad.