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Getting a picture published in a paper is rarely a measure of your artistic or technical talent. Cellphone pictures get published in newspapers, it doesn't mean the person who took the picture can take good pictures, he was just there at the right time and took a shitty image of a newsworthy event.
That's why the newspaper bought your pics, they are newsworthy, they're still extremely bland and a better photographer at the same place/time could have taken way better pictures.