The Decline of Newspapers... A Personal Story

We have all seen the stories about the massive decline of newspapers in recent years and it is reflected in newspapers being offered for around half price (not at the news stand, but in M & A deals) and practically having to have to give ads away in order to stay afloat. I recently have had a personal incident happen that brings this reality very close to home.

I stopped subscribing to dailies years ago, but I do have a ritual of getting the Sunday newspaper. Sometimes it is the Houston Chronicle, other instances it is the New York Times, and still, other times, I get both. My wife and I might grab coffee or go grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday and just pick one up along the way. We did just that on Saturday. I grabbed a newspaper and put it with the milk, fudge bars, and other necessities. When we got home we put all our bags on the dining room table and went to work putting things up. Well, here it is on Sunday evening and I just walked pass the table, and guess what I found there? A Sunday paper still in the grocery bag. If my wife sees this, it will likely be my last newspaper.

So did I deprive myself of news today? Not hardly, instead I get the exact news I want, when I wnt it, online. No longer do I fumble through pages trying to find articles worth reading. No longer do I find milk from my cereal on the corners of the paper. No longer do I wonder where that great article was that I read, instead I simply put the keywords in and the name of the publication, and eureka, the article appears.

Still, traditions die hard, so I probably will keep on getting a newspaper out of habit. In fact, as soon as I'm done writing this, I'll run to the dining room and get reading. But you and I will know my secret, I get my serious reading online.