PARIS: Fine, I’ll go to a payphone. Do you have payphones in this town or are you still using a town crier?
A town crier is a public official who makes pronouncements as required. Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, and advertisements were all proclaimed by a crier.
There have been town criers in North America ever since Europeans came to the continent, and they were used in Connecticut in the 17th century. In some places, town criers persisted into the 20th century, and Provincetown in Massachusetts still has one. I’m almost surprised Taylor hasn’t organised a town crier for Stars Hollow, to give it an olde worlde feel. (It would presumably be Kirk).
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 