You can wax all you want about how the newspaper is on life support. Why the 'net is sooo much of a better way to read the today's news. And how the business model of a physical newspaper is dead.
Seth Godin makes his argument that 98% of the paper will not be missed. Adam Singer agrees with him.
I will miss papers.
Just like the great record albums of the 60's and 70's where the artist was building an argument through a collection of 10 or 12 songs, a daily newspaper is a combination of stories, ads and editorial that present a specific frame of the day's events. The total sum of the paper makes a much more powerful statement than one or two articles hyperlinked in Google news.
Yes, it is inefficient. Yes, it's not great for the environment. Yes, no one is buying ads, but I just can't say goodbye.
Here are 8 reasons why I always want the New York Times and your hometown newspaper to be in print:
- The paper delivered to my door every day feels like a daily gift. A dedicated team of writers and editors have packaged a way to understand the world with me in mind.
They've done all this homework and I'm the beneficiary. The same information on the internet doesn't get me excited in the same way. - In its totality, my paper represents something to be conquered. There is a satisfaction of reading and finishing the paper that is just not the same on the web.
- I can't read a whole paper on line. In fact, the idea of it is absurd. People skim on the internet. The majority of web readers don't have the patience to read detailed articles for a long stretch of time. Bloggers know this instinctively and find their most viral posts are ones that are a numbered list. It's a drag to read on a lcd screen. It makes you tired. Eyestrain. For me - relaxation is having a coffee and bagel on Saturday morning with the paper. I could stay in that chair for four hours.
- I'm resisting subscribing to the Times with a Kindle. The first thing in the morning I want to touch is paper not plastic.
- The newspaper is a window to finding your bliss. I have to thank my parents for being broke when I grew up (well maybe not but memory plays tricks on you). We didn't go out much. One of our treats was buying the Sunday NY Times on Saturday night. I ran to the corner to get the paper. I brought it home and tore into the Arts & Leisure section (it didn't read as such a flack rag back then). Of course with a whole night ahead, I read the other sections too (with less fervor). I didn't skim. I read the whole thing. As a ten year old, reading the Sunday Times was a liberal arts education in itself.
- It's portable. I can read it on the subway, at breakfast, and at night wi-fi or no wi-fi.
- It covers my head when it rains. Can a Kindle do that?
- Yes, I love that everything is digital and can be searched in a nanosecond. But when I read a paper - it's an immersive experience that has been un-matched for me in the digital world. And, yes, I am lucky to call the New York Times my home town paper.
image credit: Zarco Drinic
