Breaking with institutions of the past is not an easy task, but I’ve recently bid a semi-farewell to a veritable icon in my life: my daily newspaper. A semi-farewell because I couldn’t go cold turkey and am still receiving my Friday through Sunday papers. More on that later...
For the past nine years, the Sacramento Bee has provided my daily dose of current events as it represented the nearest major community. The Bee has been in print since 1857 and is the flagship paper of the McClatchey Company. Several years ago McClatchey bought Knight-Ridder which was the second largest chain of newspaper companies. In the ensuing three years, or so, McClatchey has divested more than a few of the Knight-Ridder publications while seeing it’s stock price plummet. The economy has gone south, too, resulting in lower advertising revenues for the Bee and they have reacted by slashing staff and the size of their product. It goes without saying that their subscription rates have remained constant.
I don’t mean to pick on the Bee; many papers around the country are experiencing similar obstacles and dealing with them in similar fashion. I’m reminded of the Air Force Officers’ Club quandary of the 80’s: It seemed the O clubs were, by and large, losing money to off-base competitors. Their solution to this problem revolved around the reduction of services combined with an increase in menu prices and dues. You needn’t have an MBA to figure out this plan only accelerated the exodus of once-loyal patrons. Today, most Air Force bases have all-ranks clubs in lieu of the past NCO and Officer club mainstays.
I fear the newspaper industry is responding to their financial crisis in the same way which will, accordingly, only serve to accelerate the move to other, more timely, sources of information. Are there other choices to escape this dilemma? I’d think so, but they’re not so quick and easy as firings and smaller editions. National news could well be covered by centralized news bureaus and papers could cover local news utilizing a smaller staff concerned with this smaller scope of coverage. Yesterday’s stock prices could disappear altogether since more up-to-date data is available for investors. And the obituaries need to pass on along with those within that section. I find it hard to believe that anyone hears of a recent passing from the obit pages, what with speedier forms of communication commonplace.
It is vitally important to keep the local newspaper available and pertinent. But to simply remove content will not win the day. Bold, outside-the-box thinking will be needed to ensure a vigilant eye is kept on those that would otherwise be inclined to abuse their power. Local reporting has historically kept the proverbial finger on the pulse of goings-on that escape the radar of national news organizations and it is ever so important to maintain that level of attention. So why did I cancel my paper?
Well, it occurred to me that the time required to digest the morning paper was less than the time required to eat my breakfast. Many of the articles were re-hashes of stories I had already learned of through other avenues. And local, Sacramento stories had minimal impact on me due to my remote location. The bang for my buck was noticeably smaller and I got to the point where the minuses outnumbered the plusses. Additionally, I only enjoy about three comic strips anymore and I can find them online. But the New York Times Crosswords of Friday - Sunday are my favorites and I’m not ready to abandon them. Hence, my decision to keep the weekend paper in my regimen. Time will tell as to which direction I’ll go from here: either a return to the daily paper or a complete cancellation. I wish to remain a connected, informed, thinking citizen and should the paper’s absence cause me to feel ostrich-like, I’ll re-up in a heartbeat.
I can tell you one thing, though: the lack of the morning paper has changed the morning routine. My wife and I have historically shared a silent nosh while reviewing the daily stories. Now we take our food of choice outside to our deck, enjoy a chat, and admire Mother Nature. Time better spent? Perhaps so. I’ll let you know when I know.
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