Thursday, February 11, 2010

Rant #192: No Newspaper, No News Is Not Necessarily Good News


I am a traditionalist. I like to get an actual newspaper delivered to my home in the morning, and read it while I eat breakfast.

Today, with the remnants of the blizzard still around, I shoveled at about 5 a.m. in the morning (after shoveling several times yesterday), walked the dog, and sat down to eat breakfast.

But I did not have a newspaper to read while I ate breakfast.

Believe me, with the weather conditions as they are, I am not blaming the carriers, generally adults who are doing this for the few extra dollars it gives them each month. I will let you know that several years ago, while going through my divorce, I also did this type of work for slightly over a year, to get myself above water. It was the easiest, hardest job I ever had. I generally respect the carriers.

Anyway, I went back outside after finishing breakfast, did some more shoveling, and still there was no newspaper. It is after 7:30 a.m. in the morning now as I type this, and I don't know if we ever received our newspaper.

I know newspapers are a dying breed. More and more, we are getting our news from the Internet. Every newspaper worth its salt has a Web site, and many are even charging for the right to read their full content online.

But I like the look, the feel, and the ease of convenience provided by a real newspaper in the morning.

Sure, I could get my news off the Internet. But you know, even with two laptops and one desktop at my disposal, I just can't see reading this stuff while I am chowing down on my first meal of the day.

What's more, I am on the Internet all day at work ... I don't want to start off the day with it.

Sure, some would call me old fashioned. I know my daughter gets her news 100 percent off the Internet, and probably hasn't read a newspaper in years.

But that is her generation.

Newspapers are going out of business, cutting back with information, and they are not the same newspapers that I grew up with. They are thinner, sleeker, and have far less information than they used to.

But I still like the format. I love starting with the back page--sports--finishing that section, and turning to the front of the paper for the harder news.

Sure, it sounds like a relic, like the LP record, but even records are making a comeback. People simply prefer them--with all their nuances--to CDs.

I feel the same way about my newspaper, and I have to say, it was like missing an old friend today.

2 comments:

  1. I have to have my morning paper, for me the best way to ingest the news and not the zip you missed it style of tv news.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed. The morning paper is part of my consciousness, and not to have it makes me feel naked news-wise.

    ReplyDelete

 

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