Genealogists love the social pages in a newspaper to find birth, marriage, and death notices, plus a bit of gossip.  The rest of the newspaper contains excellent content as well.

One of my great findings was found in a horse riding demonstration announcement.  Not only could I confirm residence, I now had an occupation, employers’ name and great facts about an ancestor’s skills as a rider and a businessman.

Indexes are being released daily for newspapers and some do capture information beyond announcements.  Val D. Greenwood’s The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy talks about where to find old newspapers.