Newspaper Publishing

Volume one of The Story of the Tour de France concluded with Bernard Thévenet’s dramatic victory over Eddy Merckx in the 1975 Tour. Volume two opens with super-climber Lucien van Impe’s taking advantage of a course made for the riders with wings. His win was followed by the dominating presence of Bernard Hinault, who became the third rider to win the Tour five times.

At the dawn of the 20th century, French newspapers used bicycle races as promotions to build readership. Until 1903 these were one-day events. Looking to deliver a coup de grâce in a vicious circulation war, Henri Desgrange - editor of the Parisian sports magazine L’Auto - took the suggestion of one of his writers to organize a race that would last several days longer than anything else, like the six-day races on the track, but on the road. The race was an electrifying success. Held annually (suspended only during the two World Wars), the Tour grew longer and more complex.

This telling of the 2019 Tour de France is a supplement to our two-volume The Story of the Tour de France. Volume one told the story of the Tour's origins and each edition of the race from 1903 through 1975. The 2019 edition was filled with surprises with young riders taking control of the race. Every day had something happen that confounded the experts. The winner did not emerge until Mother Nature surprised everyone in late July with snow and ice. With just three stages to go, mud, hail, and ice on an Alpine road changed everything.

A Long Way from Flat River encapsulates Mr. Province's 36-year newspaper career with the San Diego Union-Tribune. The audiobook not only provides a background of the Copley family who owned the newspaper, in addition to many other newspapers in the Los Angeles area and in Illinois, but also gives a behind-the-scenes look at the newspaper industry and Mr. Province's personal involvement and history with the Copley Press from 1969 until his retirement in 2005.

Except for the two world wars, the Tour has been run annually since that 1903 race, and yearly addendums seem the best way to keep telling the story. So please join us as we go on the 107th trip around La Belle France. Let’s see how those new faces of the 2019 Tour did in 2020.

There are many honest and highly ethical people in businesses, and public offices, including those in the newspaper industry but honesty can only maintain an upper-hand when accountability for potential dishonestly remains in place and is practiced when necessary. I also feel that the type practices I describe in the chapters of this audiobook, that I witnessed first-hand as a contract newspaper distributor, including illegitimate methods for increasing circulation by some newspaper companies, is far more common than the general public may realize.