I believe newspapers are an important source of information on many levels. Nationally recognized publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal built followings for their excellent writing and on-the-scene coverage, regardless of whether one agrees with their political leanings. They cover the national scene from global politics to emerging art to dynamic sport events to current culture.
But as costs for printing a paper increase and the push to put everything online intensifies, newspapers struggle to survive in the age of technology. I’m saddened by this, not so much for the big city papers, but for the local community ones, our own Herald Palladium a case in point.
When we moved here over twenty years ago, the HP, as it’s called, had four or five sections, tons of advertisements, and a full time staff. Now there are only two sections, except for the Saturday edition. But that isn’t the only change.
The paper used to be delivered by a delivery person; now it comes with the USPS mail. It’s a morning publication, but our postal person delivers in the mid-afternoon. If there is no mail on a given day, there is no HP. Which means the Sunday edition has bitten the dust. Additionally, the paper never prints on Mondays. So there are at least 104 fewer papers per year.
I would give up paying the $377 a year it costs to read neighbors’ obituaries, syndicated columns, and sport news from local high schools. At the same time, I don’t want to contribute to the demise of something I believe is important. Any suggestions?
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