PLAINS, Ga. — In Plains, every third car seems to be plastered with a news station’s logo.
Satellite dishes have popped up alongside the blooming camellias and daffodils coaxed open by southwest Georgia’s spring-like weather. Cars, vans and satellite trucks from various media outlets clump together like barnacles on the edges of the tiny downtown and the historic sites honoring the life of former President Jimmy Carter.
Many residents of Plains, including veterans of the Carter craze that boosted tourism and media attention around his presidency in the late 1970s and early 1980s, patiently sit through interviews with national and far-flung local news outlets. Plains public works contractors repaint the lines on Main Street under the watchful eyes and bright lights of network cameras.
