MetaChat - Weekend ramblings about that obsolete 'dead tree' medium, the newspaper

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05 October 2013

Weekend ramblings about that obsolete 'dead tree' medium, the newspaper I still like the concept of a newspaper, even though I once blogged that the local newspaper, with the big banner "THE TRIBUNE", when left around the apartment, seemed to multiply, prompting me to rename it "THE TRIBBLE". Cut my subscription down to Sunday only, but they give me Saturday free for some reason. So, still Tribbling.→[More:]

Good things about the paper: it still has some long-time local reporters covering all 10 of the local municipalities, it's owned by McClatchy (which has the best, and maybe last, real-journalistic Washington bureau), plus a good comics page with more good funnies (Bizarro, Mutts, NonSequitur, Frazz and my guiltiest pleasure Frank & Ernest) and only two 'soap operas' (For Better or for Worse, Rex Morgan).

Bad things: I've never successfully completed the Sunday 16x16 Sudoku even when it's rated 1-star-easy (and the Sunday Crossword is a NYT Will Shortz torture device), the bottom of the op-ed page has Doonesbury and Mallard Fillmore (balancing honesty with dishonesty?), and a scary-large Real Estate section, even during the downturn, with houses I could NEVER afford.

Odd thing: Often has inserts from local businesses printed on 8x11, white office paper, which just seems out-of-place; today had one from a tree trimming service - that was torn - and one for a chiropractor - named Dr. Bend. This is a weird town and I LOVE IT.

Anybody else here still reading the Dead Tree Dailies?

post by: oneswellfoop at: 16:35 | 18 comments

oops, lost my MORE INSIDE. Mods, please hope me!

posted by oneswellfoop 05 October | 16:36

done :)

posted by gaspode 05 October | 17:34

We read online. I miss the days when I would buy the Sunday paper and read it cover to cover. Read as much as I can online, but I think I still miss stuff.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 05 October | 17:37

We quatra-cycle the local paper: my Mom gets it delivered daily (she's not giving up her newsprint), then I read it, then I hand it over to my neighbors to read, then they give it back to me so I can use it for mulching my garden .... it's impossible to do that with the digital version.

I love those 8x11pages that are printed on one side because the back is perfect for list making.

posted by mightshould 05 October | 18:52

I Still Buy Paper, I'm Not Ready To Get A Tablet And I'm Still Waiting For a Smart Device that I Can Put In My Pocket And Fold Out To Book size

posted by brujita 05 October | 20:22

Paper here too. The metro paper (which also gives me full online access for free) and the town paper.

posted by initapplette 05 October | 20:35

Finally gave up on the print version of our local a few years ago. They just started a pay wall which I am happy to pay for since I feel that local papers are still important and the other local paper is a horrible right-wing rag.

It used to be that you could tell the politics of a family around here by the color of the bag that the paper on their front steps in the morning was. Green meant the (mostly) liberal Post-Gazette and red meant the crazy right Trib. But now that it's all online, it's harder to tell.

posted by octothorpe 05 October | 22:06

I love the newspaper. We just re-subscribed to the NYT and I tell you, that is one quality Sunday morning. I'm less enthused with the local paper, and have been reluctant to subscribe though I do buy it frequently. and do read the freebie which the major metro daily puts out.

The whole topic kinda breaks my heart. Had newspapers been more with it, they would have totally owned online news. Instead, they kinda got owned. Now they're playing catch up. And still, a news organization built around the written word is a beautiful and powerful thing. And few media sources can present, as efficiently as a newspaper, a summary roundup of any and all important things worth knowing on a given day in as nice a package.

I'm glad they're still around, though. And I realized that since we like them, we need to start buying them. I really should subscribe to the local rag because yeah, no one else is sitting down at the town meetings playing watchdog, and local news is important.

posted by Miko 05 October | 22:43

We get the free local weekly which is full of typos (I guess you get what you pay for) but otherwise mostly read the Guardian and BBC websites. There is a local daily but I confess I don't buy it.

(What's With the Capitals, brujita?)

posted by altolinguistic 06 October | 07:08

I'll grab read and cover to cover local independent papers; the CSIndy now; the Austin Chronicle then. I don't think I ever read a single copy of the AA Statesman; I will read the Gazette from time to time. In OK; the paper was sadly 2-3 day old news even in 2010.

I live a few blocks away from the Gazette; owned by Anschutz, as is the Broadmoor. Gee; a quick Wiki read seems to have Anschutz owning half of everything everywhere, and also kinda illustrates why most of my reading of anything is online... the depth of information available makes paper content seem very 2d and like a piece of elementary school reading material.

I am grateful Anschutz bought and 'saved' The Gazette; there was talk of bankruptcy without him.

posted by buzzman 06 October | 09:28

My Droid Just Changed The Keyboard And I Have No Idea What's Going On With The Sudden Caps.

posted by brujita 06 October | 11:03

Oooh, Let's All Talk In Title Case! I've Been Reading The Newspaper Since I Was Three; Why Stop Now?

posted by initapplette 06 October | 18:33

Me Too. One Of The Great Things About the Newspaper Is Its Physicality. It Has a Big Spread, Big Wide Gestures You Can Use to Hold It Up And Move It About, And A Satisfying Rustling Sound. It Is Sensorily Rich!

OK, that really interrupts my flow. Just wanted to add that I grew up with a family tradition of passing sections around the table in the morning, and when everyone was done with a section, we dropped it on the floor. I still do this and really enjoy it. At the end of a good Sunday there are 6 or 7 sections on the floor.

posted by Miko 06 October | 22:15

I haven't subscribed to a paper in over 30 years, and have never felt I was missing anything. It helps that the paper that serves the area is largely a mouthpiece for the state GOP, so it's easy to ignore. Then, when newspapers started declining, the paper shrank and became mostly an ad supplement with a conservative editorial page. Even easier to ignore.

posted by Thorzdad 07 October | 07:46

I do not subscribe to the local paper because my ex-husband is a photographer for it so his NAME is all over it.

posted by JanetLand 07 October | 09:48

I've Been Reading The Newspaper Since I Was Three; Why Stop Now?

Some of my grad-school classmates were talking about how "busy" they are now that school is in session. One said they know nothing that's going on in the world and "don't have time" to read the paper, and others seemed to agree. Don't have time to read the paper?! Seems as strange to me as "not having time" to brush your teeth or put on clothes.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 07 October | 11:10

I haven't bought a newspaper since I got the NY Times Crossword Puzzle App

posted by rollick 07 October | 14:47

Somehow over the last couple decades in the US, we've almost all found time to spend 1-4 hours (at least) of our free time online, so I think the time's there. I'm sure if you asked someone in 1988 "Can you find 1-4 hours for a new way of getting information, entertainment and staying in touch with friends?" the general answer would be "I don't have time."

As far as things going on in the world, I get my daily dose of radio news on wake-up and while I drink coffee. I'm bleary anyway, it's a fine time to be updated on all the lousy things that are happening. What I like about newspapers is that the stories are so much more information-rich than radio or TV news. Once you know something is going on, you can find more about it.

posted by Miko 07 October | 19:56

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