Where I live, far outside the Chicago city limits, the Sunday Chicago Tribune costs five dollars. I’ve seen it creep toward that amount over the past two years and noticed that I have an easier time finding the Sunday edition. Five dollars seems to be the line in the sand that many newspaper readers won’t cross. I still do, although I wonder what will happen if the price goes higher.
We also get the local paper delivered seven days a week. But it’s thin in many ways: Few pages, mostly syndicated, and what is locally written focuses on sports and obituaries. The abundant typos are included at no extra cost.
So I get the Tribune for a broader view. Yesterday’s edition carried lengthy articles about the passing of Muhammad Ali, the influence of Millennials on today’s world, and the mounting madness that is the presidential race. Yes, it also features the sports and obituaries of Chicagoland. And then there is the travel section, the arts and entertainment, the world, automobiles, real estate, and the comics. It gives me enough reading for a couple nights, which averages $2.50 a reading session.
Looked at this way, the paper costs less than a latte.
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