I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

[mike64]

The printed page is going the way of the horse and buggy. Several big newspapers around the country have completely gone out of business. Locally, our two big dailies-- the Detroit News and Free Press, have cut back to 3 day delivery-- their days are probably numbered. My wife and I miss the Saturday paper delivery. The ironic thing is that even though most people get their news online these days, most online news sites are only collecting news articles from other sources, most of which come from the very news organizations that are suffering from the online trend. When the big newspapers go out of business completely, what's going to replace well-researched and fact-checked news? Bloggers printing half-baked opinions backed up with made-up facts?

I used to have a subscription to PC Magazine, which I looked forward to getting every month, until they switched to online-only. Newsweek, which I also subscribe to, recently dumbed itself down to appeal more to the "OMG can't read more than one paragraph at a time LOL" online generation. They now have a section of short articles about news around the world, but in case they're not short enough, each article has ONE sentence highlighted in red that summarizes the entire thing. I'm starting to just read the red sentence and move on-- so Newsweek isn't just responding to a trend, it's teaching people like me to be more superficial readers.

It's not like I'm a dinosaur-- I spend plenty of time online (much of it on iboats ). But if I go to lunch by myself, I want to take a newspaper or a magazine-- I'm not going to take my laptop with me. I'm sure that Kindle device is pretty nifty, but I want to be able to take a book anywhere and not have to worry about battery life or a wireless connection. I want pages to turn. I want to look at a magazine with high resolution pictures and in-depth articles.

By the way, if you took the time and effort to read this whole thing, congrats. LOL.

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

It's a shame what happened to the newspapers The Hartford Courant has cut it's paper size down to 2/3 of the original size to save money not in content but physical size. A once real good paper is nothing but ads with a few stories throw in. A little history about them, The Connecticut Courant began as a weekly on October 29, 1764 The daily Hartford Courant traces its existence back to the weekly, thereby claiming the title "America's oldest continuously published newspaper" and adopting as its slogan, "Older than the nation." (A reborn The New Hampshire Gazette, which started publication in 1756, but disappeared and reappeared, has trademarked the title of oldest paper in the nation. It is a bi-weekly, while the Courant has not missed a week since October 29, 1764.

 

[lowkee]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

When you see ***** enlargement ads in a newspaper or magazine, does that means they are doing well or doing poorly? I often wonder that, as seemingly more and more have those ads in the back 1/3. Even 'Boating' magazine has them, which seemingly is written for the upper-middle segment.

As for newspapers, I can't say I've read a major newspaper in a long time (years), not because they are printed but because they are no better than shock-and-awe television news. Sensationalistic press is what made news profitable in the beginning and is what makes news boring today. There is enough drama in life without reading about other peoples' drama. I want to know a running list of what effects my life and I'll research, on my own, anything more than that. Before the internet, that would involve library research, but now I just have to Google something to get at the many sides of an event. Did a South Carolina governor misuse funds for an affair? I don't care, I don't live in that state, tell me about the bills about to be passed in my state. Yes, they may be boring ones to many, but my life is affected by them, not some crooked governor in a state I don't live in. Michael who just died? I don't care, we weren't friends or related or anything. Tell me about the town meeting last night or how much the running tally is for the current occupation we are fighting. These things affect me, not some actress who was married, then divorced, then remarried all in one night.

To me, the newspapers are getting Karma handed to them. They concentrated on trash and cutting corners in so many stories over the years, nobody trusts them, few respect their 'journalism' and even less subscribe to them as a result. Live a front page life, die an unpublished death. Heck, the National Enquirer has been around for years and years, too. In programmer speak: Old != Quality

 

[eaglejim]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I can't remember the last time I read the big paper I check about 5 sites Iboats being one of them now if I can get the little local guy to quit delivering the local paper that would make my day,he is online too

 

[bruceb58]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

A long time ago, I used to get Trailer Boats Magazine. I used to look forward to the the technical help section of it. Iboats is the same thing but 1000 times better. Can you imagine having a problem with your boat, writing a letter to Trailer Boat magazine and waiting to see if your letter gets published? Bottom line is that there is way more info at our fingertips on the internet than any of these magazines or newspapers have. The internet provides "Breaking News" that the print media just can't do.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

Our local newspaper is getting thinner and thinner as time goes on. There is something nice about sitting with a coffee and reading ther paper some mornings. I will miss it as well if it stops.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

No need to worry about the dead tree media, Bama is open to a newspaper bailout.

 

[mscher]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

Just another sign of the times. (not NY).

Paper, printing, mailing and delivery costs skyrocketing.

Instant news coming from EVERYWHERE, 24/7.

500 TV channels to choose from.

Free classified ads on craigslist.

Little time to actually sit down and read.

Good while it lasted.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

Newspapers are soooooo yesterday.... literally!

My primary source of news has been electronic (online, radio, tv, satellite, etc.) for about a decade now. Grab a headline, read a summary and if I'm interested, I'll research it deeply myself, not wait for some other "journalist" to tell me what I should think.

IMO newspapers are for folks who want to find out what went on yesterday... or maybe sometime last week. My girlfriend is old school and brought over the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. It was about 1/3 the thickness I remembered. And it covered stuff from the prior week. Nothing current even within the prior 24 hours.

Life changes. Adapt or die in business. Not too many buggywhip makers out there nowadays!

 

[dave11]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

Our local newspaper is getting thinner and thinner as time goes on. There is something nice about sitting with a coffee and reading ther paper some mornings. I will miss it as well if it stops.

There isn't much better than reading the Sunday paper over coffee and sharing articles with the Admiral.

 

[Link]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

The printed page is going the way of the horse and buggy. Several big newspapers around the country have completely gone out of business. Locally, our two big dailies-- the Detroit News and Free Press, have cut back to 3 day delivery-- their days are probably numbered. My wife and I miss the Saturday paper delivery. The ironic thing is that even though most people get their news online these days, most online news sites are only collecting news articles from other sources, most of which come from the very news organizations that are suffering from the online trend. When the big newspapers go out of business completely, what's going to replace well-researched and fact-checked news? Bloggers printing half-baked opinions backed up with made-up facts?

I used to have a subscription to PC Magazine, which I looked forward to getting every month, until they switched to online-only. Newsweek, which I also subscribe to, recently dumbed itself down to appeal more to the "OMG can't read more than one paragraph at a time LOL" online generation. They now have a section of short articles about news around the world, but in case they're not short enough, each article has ONE sentence highlighted in red that summarizes the entire thing. I'm starting to just read the red sentence and move on-- so Newsweek isn't just responding to a trend, it's teaching people like me to be more superficial readers.

It's not like I'm a dinosaur-- I spend plenty of time online (much of it on iboats ). But if I go to lunch by myself, I want to take a newspaper or a magazine-- I'm not going to take my laptop with me. I'm sure that Kindle device is pretty nifty, but I want to be able to take a book anywhere and not have to worry about battery life or a wireless connection. I want pages to turn. I want to look at a magazine with high resolution pictures and in-depth articles.

By the way, if you took the time and effort to read this whole thing, congrats. LOL.

Yes I did read it all.
Like everyone before us there are things we don't want to change in our life time.

"Radio is great" why this darn TV "thing"
The only thing that doesn't change is "change"

Wow the movies have talking! ???
My MIL lives to pick up her paper everday.
She is 79 years old and pushes the paper at me several times a week over dinner.

She knows I don't trust ABC news or the local papers!
But she keeps hanging on to the past.
For her it is a sad time.

Good or well run newspapers will go on.
IE: The Portland OR paper plans to go online in 4 years.

This will screw a freind of my son's. She makes about 4k a month delivering them.

She will adapt!

Same with my fishing partners son in law.
He is an editer for the Tacoma News Trib rag..
Forget your 150K job!

I don't like this change either but it is going to happen!

Link

 

[mike64]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

Newspapers are soooooo yesterday.... literally!

My primary source of news has been electronic (online, radio, tv, satellite, etc.) for about a decade now. Grab a headline, read a summary and if I'm interested, I'll research it deeply myself, not wait for some other "journalist" to tell me what I should think.

IMO newspapers are for folks who want to find out what went on yesterday... or maybe sometime last week. My girlfriend is old school and brought over the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. It was about 1/3 the thickness I remembered. And it covered stuff from the prior week. Nothing current even within the prior 24 hours.

Life changes. Adapt or die in business. Not too many buggywhip makers out there nowadays!

I have no problem with change. I'm in IT, I better not!

Changing from horses and buggies to gasoline engine-powered vehicles was clearly a change for the better-- a faster and more efficient means of travel. One of the points I was trying to make is, I don't know if this change IS for the better.

As I said, most online news sites get their news from the very news organizations that the internet is endangering. They're not perfect. but they have standards and rigorous fact-checking processes. Does it matter how fast you're getting your news if it's inaccurate or downright fabricated? Also, people don't want to read a lot of in-depth information on the internet, so it promotes news and information that is shorter, superficial, and dumbed-down in many cases. Not to mention the younger generations, who mostly write in text-speak abbreviations now IYKWIM, LOL.

I think (or hope) that as information delivery evolves online the quality of the information will improve. Don't get me wrong, there's an enormous amount of quality info online, and I think it's amazing how you look up just about anything on Google and almost instantly become an expert on it. When the power window mechanism on my Jeep broke, I looked up how to fix it online-- found complete instructions with pics on a Jeep forum on how to fix it-- saved me over $300 on the dealer repair. Not to mention all the great info here on iboats. So maybe I'm being too pessimistic.

I'm still gonna miss the printed page. Maybe I am a dinosaur

 

[lowkee]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I think the obvious solution to this problem is to hurry up and create digital paper, so we can subscribe to online publications and still enjoy the dead tree feel, without the dead trees. A main benefit to this is you can google stuff, mark it for later reading and have it waiting on your digital paper for your next morning or bathroom break. Truly a win-win for all. ..except the print newspapers, of course.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

The only thing I am going to miss is what am I going to put under the car to protect my concrete when I change my oil.

 

[IES99]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

The only thing I am going to miss is what am I going to put under the car to protect my concrete when I change my oil.

Plain water and newsprint is the best streak free window cleaning method for home, car, and boat.

My wife has a Kindle from Amazon to download and read books. That type
of technology should work fine for newspapers, too.

 

[mphy98]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I think the obvious solution to this problem is to hurry up and create digital paper, so we can subscribe to online publications and still enjoy the dead tree feel, without the dead trees. A main benefit to this is you can google stuff, mark it for later reading and have it waiting on your digital paper for your next morning or bathroom break. Truly a win-win for all. ..except the print newspapers, of course.

it has been done, it is called kindle by amazon, rumor has it apple is coming out with their own version as well. take along electronic books, mags ect. even some newspapers are on there now.

 

[ShaneCarroll]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I may be fairly young (25), but I always enjoyed the newspapers. If it is breaking news, you see it on the television, so I don't turn to the newspaper for that. However, they have interesting local stories that aren't covered on the tube, as well as the great editorials. For me, working in different states, counties, cities, etc., I love when they drop off the local newspaper at my hotel door every morning. I read it habitually. The best part is when I run out of rolling papers! Nah, just playing aout that last part, I heard ink kills brain cells. .

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I buy Time for myself, and National Geographic for the 15yr old. Great investment.

I don't put it down to the growth of IT or electronic media etc.
To me the average 'joe and jane' are dumber today than their equivalent 10 yrs back.
Yes, those that want to succeed definitely have a better education system and attain far greater standards, but the 'joe and jane' above can't write clearly, can't comprehend well, and believe they need the dream job or they won't work.
Then along comes TV, and I hate to say it, but your exported programs are 90% mind-numbing, and the dumb soak them up....(9so maybe that's why they make them!!)
It is our fault..... we raised them that way.

The result....people don't buy printed media because they can't handle it, and have no interest in the content, because they can't comprehend the written word.

You want to see what I have working for me....and they are a direct result of the above.

Just my opinion!!

Cheers
Phillip

 

[BWR1953]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

I buy Time for myself, and National Geographic for the 15yr old. Great investment.

I don't put it down to the growth of IT or electronic media etc.
To me the average 'joe and jane' are dumber today than their equivalent 10 yrs back.
Yes, those that want to succeed definitely have a better education system and attain far greater standards, but the 'joe and jane' above can't write clearly, can't comprehend well, and believe they need the dream job or they won't work.
Then along comes TV, and I hate to say it, but your exported programs are 90% mind-numbing, and the dumb soak them up....(9so maybe that's why they make them!!)
It is our fault..... we raised them that way.

The result....people don't buy printed media because they can't handle it, and have no interest in the content, because they can't comprehend the written word.

You want to see what I have working for me....and they are a direct result of the above.

Just my opinion!!

Cheers
Phillip

Have you seen the movie "Idiocracy"? Hysterical and right along those lines! It's been playing on the comedy channel for a couple weeks now. Check it out.

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: I'm going to miss newspapers, magazines and books

BWR!!
I didn't know of that movie....just looked it up on and watched the trailer on youtube, and this site below.
Brilliant!!
then the one: "welcome to costco, I love you. welcome to costco, I love you."
how good is that.
I think it is happening here in Moronfield....ooops, I should have said Morayfield.
To me, and I am probably wrong....this answers Mike64's question.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2682654/idiocracy_opening_sequence/

Cheers
Phillip