People sometimes wonder why the Internet is crushing the life out of the local papers. I don’t. Not any more.
Sure, I like the tactile experience of sitting at the kitchen table and reading the paper, flipping the pages while I slurp on a cup of coffee. I like the detailed reportage, although most of it comes in prefabricated and fitted to the Popular Narratives by the wire services. There’s not a lot of original reporting at the local level these days, or so it seems... even the movie reviews have been farmed out.
Now, the local fishwrap is just a wizened shadow of its former self. Plenty of useless ads, though, and I get a metric buttload of paper to chuck in the recycle bin.
But the Internet has the really good funnies.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
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3 comments:
The local paper is doomed because, in large part, readers simply don't want to deal with views that conflict with their own. As a result papers with a grand tradition, such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are now pursing the editorial position of not taking a position on anything. I like a paper I can love because I agree with it, or loathe because I disagree with it. Give me somthing to chew on and I'll read it. Give me pablum and I'll ignore it. So, I'll have my jollies by reading and agreeing (for the most part) with the NY Times, recognizing how smart they are for being on my side of things. And I'll have my jollies by reading and screaming at the Wall Street Journal for being so blindly ignorant of the real world that the average Joe has to live in. But in either case I'll read it. The AJC? If I look at it more than twice a week, that's a lot - and when I do I feel as though I would have been better off looking at USA Today. That's sad. . . .
You're right...the only thing I use my local delivered paper for, is to start a fire. Worthless opinionated garbage. I'm still amazed they've made it this long.
Things have changed...I guess you need to put a small screen on your kitchen table. I did, and it's a great addition. So, I can make coffee while I see what you're up to, and whats going on on the planet.
On a side note: I love printed books...I have hundreds and hundreds of them (maybe close to a thousand)...but they will soon be things of the past.
Actually, a networked computer in the kitchen is pretty cool. I like mine more than I thought.
It is what it is.
Fact is for me: Reading paper is better on my eyes than reading a screen...even though a non-backlit screen is more comfortable for me, like a Nook or a Kindle, etc..., it is still not the same as a printed book.
I used to buy papers of all creeds. I loved reading the Editor Page and Readers'Comments. People, in older days, were truly erudite. Some of the Letters, with wonderful quotations and historical allusions, presented challenges. The different opinions were clever, well documented, and always courteous. And some had a great sense of humour.
Now, the language, in those pages, is appalling. I wonder why Editors allow vulgarity and insults in their papers. Even on the Editor page, you seldom see a point well made. And shouldn't the grammatical errors be corrected? I totally lost interest in those newspapers. I feel I get better news on some blogs. And, often, a good laugh. It's so much needed in today's world.
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