I might have to break up with the Washington Post. I have subscribed to the Post for the past decade. I love it- 3 pages of comics, sometimes they write about cycling, if I have time to read the A section, I have more to say and a better understanding of a situation (but I always assume it is at least partially missing info pertinent to the situation as we all should assume). I particularly LOVE the online chats and blogs the Post offers online (and that they were so quick to embrace the online genre and make it relevant to modern users). And I love, love, love reading a newspaper not the online news- I just read headlines on the internet so it is unlikely I would know stuff anymore (except about Brittany Spears and entertainment news, I read that crap). Finally the food section's annual cookie section is a favorite (I know I can still buy the edition of the newspaper). (It came out this week, honestly I was a bit disappointed because the cookies were too fancy and complicated, I dont have time for that during the holiday season).
So why would I break up with the Post? I dont have time to read it and it is expensive. I also receive the Progress, admittedly not a great national/local newspaper, but it at least covers some local issues. I have enough time to read the not lengthy Progress- although for the love of God, please get Zits and Baby Blues in the comic section (those two comics may be the reason I dont break up with the Post).
What newspapers do you get, wish you could get, or are you done with paper?
4 comments:
I miss reading full-length newspapers, but not that much. I read everything online through Bloglines, but do have subscriptions to a half-dozen magazines. I subscribe to the RSS feeds for For Better or For Worse, the only strip I need to read. I had Get Fuzzy on for a while, but stopped.
For really full-length stuff that I don't want to read in front of a computer, I've taken to using my iPod to read it at my leisure. Bloglines has a fantastic interface for the iPhone and iPod that makes it easy.
Now, how are media companies going to continue to make money?
I just got rid of my subscription to the WSJ for the same reasons and haven't missed it. If it's something important, generally I'll see it somewhere in my RSS feeds. I do miss FBoW, but for some reason hadn't thought they would have a feed.
You two are brave. The mere thought of not reading the newspaper strikes anxiety in me.
I actually have FBoW on my_yahoo and I think I can get the other comics. But what do you all think about supporting the companies who are providing the news? I want to support WP and WPonline but ... it isnt as relevant to me anymore.
Good question. Who provides the news? I think relying on commercial interests alone to provide news will mean that a lot falls through the gaps. In the case of national and international news, the AP isn't going to be going away. The investigative arm of the Washington Post could end up being supported by a non-profit, let's say. Or, other commercial divisions of the Washington Post could support those kinds of news-gathering operations. Did you know half of the Washington Post's parent company's income is generated by the educational testing firm Kaplan?
We're still in a time of flux, and this is a good thing to me. The challenge is to figure out how to pay for it, how to make it sustainable.
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