If newspapers go away
Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 07:53AM - It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper. Jerry Seinfeld (1954 - )
- A newspaper consists of just the same number of words, whether there be any news in it or not. Henry Fielding (1707 - 1754)
My mornings usually start like this:
- Put on the robe and slippers.
- Make coffee.
- Feed the cats.
- Take the (cold) walk down the driveway to retrieve the newspaper from the mailbox.
- Clean up the cat barf.
- Get coffee.
- Settle in the recliner, open the Mankato Free Press and solve the Jumble, read the funnies, scan the news, and read the editorials.
- Shower, dress and go to work.
Because the newspaper is, and has been, such a big part of my life-long morning ritual*, I read Seth Godin's recent post, "When newspapers are gone, what will you miss?" with dismay. This small panic was intensified when I read yesterday that our major state newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, filed for bankruptcy. It seems 
I may have to consider what I would miss should print newspapers go away sooner than I would like.
Godin flatly states that nothing will be lost should newspapers stop publishing in print, even arguing that investigative journalism and in-depth reporting will continue. (This might be one area where I agree with Keen's Cult of the Amatuer diatribe.) Yikes.
I thought I'd just check Godin out on a few things out and see if I really can cancel my "Mankato Free Mess" subscription. First the important stuff...
- The Jumble (Yes, online, but I HATE the timer. And no Sunday version.)
- Isaac Asimov's SuperQuiz
- The funnies: Dilbert, Pearls Before Swine and F- on comics.com and Doonesbury and Non Sequitur on gocomics.com. (This is dangerous - I just signed up for a half dozen new comic strips and editorial cartoons including Lil Abner classics and Steve Sack.
- Dear Abby
- Car Talk column
- Local movie times are online - and accurate
Looks like all the important parts of the paper are online and most have RSS feeds. So far, so good.
I already subscribe to the RSS feeds for NYT columnists David Brooks, Tom Friedman, Maureen Dowd, and Paul Krugman. No problems there. Garrison Keillor's "Old Scout" columns are available online, a week after publication it seems but without RSS feed. Local papers have feeds for local columnists and opinion sections.
For "hard" news, I can subscribe to a dozen separate categories of news feed including "strange" at the Associate Press. CNN and NPR both have feeds. Locally, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Mankato Free Press both happily send send stories to my GoogleReader. The Jefferson-German Lakes Association Newsletter still seems to be print only.
OK, you get the idea. Yes, about everything in the paper I enjoy reading can also be found online. And more. And without the cost or long walk down the driveway wearing a bathrobe in -40 degree wind-chill.
Am I just sentimental believing I would really miss the printed newspaper? Is this another example of me resisting pounding my old square 1.0 mind into a new round 2.0 world?
Maybe it is the spread of ego-casting, reduction of editorial view diversity, and just plain loss of the serendipitous findings of interesting "stuff" that saddens me. And having nothing on which set my shoes when I poiish them.
How about it - would you miss the print edition of the that fish-wrapper you read?
*The ritual changed for five years when I worked in Saudi Arabia. While there was a daily English paper, it was not delivered, heavily censored, and there was no "Sunday" paper - something I missed the entire time I worked there. You expats today have it pretty darned cushy!
Reader Comments (19)
Before newspapers it was common to start the day with prayer. What worked for them might work for you.
I think it's partly the browsing that I like about a newspaper. It's letting my eyes scan the whole page, stopping to read an interesting article, going to the next page searching, weighing, and finding. Then slowing down or speeding up, seeing the interplay of photo and article, editorial cartoon and editorial... Foraging like surfing on the net but different...more meditative?
Despite Seth Godin's optimism, you should also wonder about those feeds for hard news prepared by actual journalists. Who's paying those journalists? By and large, print newspapers. If immediacy is all that counts, chances are "citizen journalism" will cover it. If perspective, fact-checking, context, etc. count...well, good luck with that.
There is just something way more relaxing and soul-filling to sit with the newspaper than it ever will be in front of a computer screen. I for one, think your long walk is well worth it (and good for you, too!).
What are art teachers going to be using for paper mache if newspapers go?
What about mothers who use newspaper as the "cover" to protect their table when their child is learning to scribble or finger paint?
What will I use for stuffing the packing boxes so items wouldn't roll around?
I think the reusability of newspapers would be missed! I know there's no such word, but you know what I'm trying to say! There are SO many creative ways to reuse newspaper - all those crafts etc would go as well!
Is the death of the newspaper an inevitable evolutionary process in a society concerned about the environment? I'm hoping not.
Sometimes, when I'm on the subway, if I don't have a book with me, I entertain myself by reading the back of whatever newspaper the person across from me happens to be reading. I wouldn't be able to read the back of their laptop or i touch, would I?
I'd also miss spying on the reading habits of my husband. He leaves the paper folded by his chair, and I love to peek at what he's circled.
I'd even miss the social aspect of obtaining the paper - we get ours from a convenience store down the street, and often chat with the clerk as we make our purchase.
SIGH...
I read the paper a lot like Paul C. For my favorite Sunday paper I ALWAYS rouse myself before anyone else just so I can be the FIRST to read (and i actually resent being 2nd and having to read a paper that has already been ruffled through and sloppily put back together.) I love the living section with engagements, marriages, anniversaries, and babies. I love the section with editorials and opinions. But each time I read the paper for top or even unusual stories, it seems I've already read these in my reader. I have even gotten to where when I open my reader online, I read through the news folder first. I even saw the news about the Minneapolis Star Tribune in my reader just this week, ans wondered if it was a paper you read. It's a sad day indeed, but one that was inevitable. There are many things in history, not to mention the last fifty decades, that have gone away because something new (and often times better) has come along.
I wake up...stumble to my desk (in my living room, small apartment) and jiggle the wireless mouse to bring the PC out of standby. Then scan Google News, NYT.com, Washingtonpost.com, Marketwatch.com, bloomberg.com, then make coffee then read email.
We are not that different...you and I...except I use pixels and you use paper.
I think I do not care for the disappearance of newspapers anymore than I like seeing those gray hairs when I look in the mirror. And probably for similar reasons. ( I have fond memories of my dad "threatening" to read Peanuts to me before I could get to the funny pages.) But I start my morning like John Bailo with pixels, not print. OR with the newsradio, (but I prefer reading the NYT online, and playing mahjong solitaire to that option.) The one plus I can think of, is the trees we might save, and the pollution we might prevent (newsprint) but I haven't really researched that, so it may be that newspaper disappearance may not have an upside at all.
If I didn't get the newspaper, I'd probably never read the columnists that I (generally) don't agree with - such as George Will, Cal Thomas, and Kathleen Parker. If you don't read opposing viewpoints, you are not thinking deeply. If you are not thinking deeply your brain muscles atrophy. So - it's not just the walk to the end of the driveway that I'd miss - it's the jogging around my brain looking for arguments to refute those outrageously wrong-minded columnists who stick their arguments in front of my nose every few days. Yes - I can subscribe to their columns with my Reader. If I did that, I'd have to actually click on their names to see the headlines - the headlines that I can't miss when I am scanning the opinion page for my favorite columnists such as Leonard Pitts. And yes - I could go to my newspaper web site. It's not the same experience. You can't get that 2-page spread where you can drink in tons of information just be scanning quickly. Not to mention - I'd ruin too many keyboards with spilled coffee!
I agree with Paul C:
Am concerned that the digital format doesn't favor catching an article that I would not have seen otherwise, because you are seeing only one article or blog entry on your screen. The tunnel-vision of the small screen format tends to lead me to writers whose opinion I share. It is a challenge to read those I might disagree with, although good bloggers will add links to articles or entries they disagree with.
NPR's Talk of the Nation (December 11, 2008) had an excellent podcast Where Will You Get Your News In 2012? with Tom Rosensteil, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism focusing on the several of the questions Doug and Seth raise.
So, yes I would miss the newspaper, however, the next question is: If I only read newspapers, would I have heard the podcast? ;-)
Best,
John
Doug,
Timely post. After many months of consideration, I finally took the plunge and canceled the daily paper but kept the Sunday delivery. Surprisingly, every morning, I open my front door and what is there? The daily Boston Globe. It's like an old friend, waiting for me to peruse it's pages and it just doesn't want to end the friendship.
When they do stop delivering it, one thing I definitely won't miss is the ink on my fingers.
Yeah....we got it pretty easy. It also forces many international educators online. Which is why I think we're seeing over 50% of our staff on facebook and the likes. You learn to use the tools out of need.
Oh yeah, I'd certainly miss that inky thing, so useful in so many ways. I don't want to do Jumble online, nor the Cryptogram. And I love peeking at my horoscope. And yes, reading the columnists I don't agree with, 'cause I'd never subscribe to their feeds. But I'm sure it's a generational thing. Oh, and I get most of my news from another very old medium -- radio! I find it ironic that in this time of rapidly changing formats, good old radio is as strong as ever (I'm talking about public radio -- I hate the commercials and shouting on the other kind). Last, I'm SO glad that I'm not the only person who has to clean up cat barf. Thank you for that tidbit!
Hi Umphrey,
Given the state of most news today, prayer seems advisable.
Doug
Hi Paul,
I know exactly what you are saying. That’s that “serendipitous” aspect I mentioned – finding things in a newspaper one would never have thought of as being interesting or important. When you figure it out, let me know how to get that same experience online.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Walt,
I am sure like you, I grew up appreciating “professionalism” in many trades, including journalism. And that does cost something. Because of costs, investigative journalists are among the first to be cut when newspapers scale back, I understand.
Godin seemed to have an answer, but I am dubious as well. Keen makes this point solidly in Cult of the Amateur too.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Jo-Anne,
Perhaps it is generational that the screen does not give the satisfaction of the paper?
And ought to move my mailbox a half mile down the road. That would really give some exercise!
All the best,
Doug
Hi Janice,
And might I add, what will the homeless have to insulate their pants and coats when the weather turns cold?
It drives the LWW nuts when I read the Kindle. She can’t stand not knowing what I am reading.
One positive about getting the news online is that one is not at the mercy of the paperboy/papergirl or whoever delivers the paper. You should hear me when the paper is late!
All the best,
Doug
HI Cathy,
You, in this as in other ways of looking at information and communication, seems to indicate you’ve done a better job of adjusting to this online world than many of us. I still order my reading as paper – then the RSS Reader. And yes, I see lots of repetition.
Oh, and at my age I check the obituaries everyday just to make sure I don’t find my name.
Doug
Hi John,
You are probably more right than I’d like to admit!
Thanks for the comment,
Doug
Hi Janet,
Perhaps it is sentimentality, not practicality, is the biggest reason we dislike the passing of print?
Yes, newspaper takes trees, but computers take electricity created by coal, etc.
Doug
Hi Jacquie,
The whole issue of “ego-casting” - only reading those people with whom one agrees – seems one of the biggest dangers of getting all one’s news selectively online. I’d have a hard time subscribing to Cal Thomas, although I do subscribe to David Brooks and George Will!
Watch that coffee!
Doug
Hi John,
I’ll look for the NPR podcast. Sounds great – thanks for the head’s up.
For most of us it is not a question of newspapers OR other media, but newspapers AND other media. Glad you made this point.
Doug
Hi Karen,
I’d be interested knowing if you have withdrawal when your subscription runs out!
All the best,
Doug
Hi Jeff,
Good to see I got a little rise out somebody with that comment ;-)
I was also impressed by conversations at EARCOS about how important and online presence for international will be in case of a political crisis that requires evacuation.
I don’t get the sense that international schools world wide have the same level of use of online resources that southeast Asia demonstrates.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Jane,
Truth be told, I probably get as much news listening to NPR on my drive to work as I do from the paper! Glad you brought this up.
Oh, I also get to empty the litter box.
Doug
We subscribe to our local daily Fargo Forum, plus I pick up the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sundays for a broader perspective, an extra crossword puzzle, and the cents-off coupon inserts. :) It's not just for the grownups either --- your grandchildren have inherited the ritual of reading the paper every morning at breakfast. Miles pores over the weather map while Paul reads all the funnies. (When Paul was 3 and the paper stopped carrying Spider-Man, he was beside himself.) Plus there is occasionally important news about space exploration or the discovery of a new type of dinosaur that gets the boys' imaginations revved up.
My honey and I were actually reminiscing the other day about when we moved in together and had to decide whether to keep my Minneapolis Star Tribune subscription or his St Paul Pioneer Press subscription... a first lesson in the fine art of marital compromise.
Maybe we're all throw-backs in this family, but at least we're quirky in the same way! And nobody's dripping pancake syrup on the keyboard.
Hi Sweetie,
I always thought you were a wonderful parent – this only proves it.
Love,
Dad
I agree with Jo-Ann:
"There is just something way more relaxing and soul-filling to sit with the newspaper than it ever will be in front of a computer screen."
It's the daily ritual of comfort I'll miss. A cup of tea in the afternoon & flipping through the International Herald Tribune -- the only English newspaper with lots in it here in Seoul. Yes it is a morning paper but... here it rarely makes it to the house before I leave for work.
I do think the days are numbered for print newspapers & I'll miss it. The cost of subscriptions goes up; who is going to deliver the papers? Do advertisers see return value on print ads or is it more effective on the Internet or TV ? Is using all that paper very eco-friendly even if it's recycled? How much does it cost to de-ink newspaper?
Linda
Hi Linda,
I am a passionate fan of the International Herald Tribune. It seems to be the perfect length with a great balance of world and US news, arts, editorials and comics. It even has the Jumble. I always think the presence of the IHT separates the 3 from the 4 star hotels abroad.
All the best,
Doug
if your cats barf every day after eating breakfast, you're wasting your money and your cats' nutrition. Ours did the same until we experimented with better cat foods. We wound up with a sensitive stomach mix from Petco (or PetSmart?) - now they don't puke up the food, our money actually feeds them, and we are all happier.
Oh, and we haven't bought a newspaper since around 2000 when we started reading tailored news on Google.