Forget hard news. The stories in today's Erie Times-News that piqued the interest of readers who are calling me concern a Hollywood film shoot on Presque Isle's Beach 10, and the Miss Tawny beauty pageant.

In the newspaper game, we call such stories "talkers." They're the ones people chat about as they stand in line at the bank, wait to take their seat at the ballpark, or check out their groceries at the supermarket.

Veteran Times-News reporter Gerry Weiss worked hard to establish several sources on the crew of the film set, which is not an easy thing to do. Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron star in this production of "The Road," a film based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, which means there's lots of security on the beach. Filmmakers never want strangers accidentally wandering onto their set. Curious fans also get enthusiastically discouraged.

The other feature in today's newspaper that spurred half a dozen phone calls was the photo package of the candidates in the Miss Tawny competition. It celebrates the cultural heritage of young black women, according to organizers, and contestants competed for the crown in casual wear, physical fitness, evening gown categories and a question and answer session.

Reader interest in these stories shows that not all the big, headline-hogging stories attract the most interest.

-- Kevin Cuneo