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Where is my newspaper?
Posted by Clayton Shold in Other "Stuff"
Earlier this week I was in a discussion about social networking and advances in digital technology. At one point someone suggested the newspaper as we know it today, printed on newsprint is going the way of the dodo, a flightless now extinct bird. Most of us have heard of major papers shutting their doors as their adverting revenue dries up. My friends in Seattle experienced this when the Post-Intelligencer pulled the plug in March of this year. Many are asking “why pay for a paper when you can get the same information on the Internet for free?”
One of the individuals from our group debate on Tuesday passed along an article from WIRED magazine “Future of Newspapers: Profitless? Go Wireless.” If offers some interesting perspectives; much of the content makes sense but I leaves out one consideration I believe is still relevant and important.
First I’ll confess to being a newspaper junkie. I enjoy my newspaper. Actually I read two papers a day, one in the morning, and the other in the evening. They are my escape.
As mentioned earlier, the current hypothesis is why pay for a newspaper subscription when you can get the same information on the Internet, and most of that information is free. A valid point to be sure, with RSS feeds you can be very selective, heck you can even view the on-line versions of the two papers I currently pay for.
Here’s the difference. I spend a good part of my day in front of two computer screens. When I’m there I’m working. It feels like work perhaps because of the environment. There is the desk, the phone, bright screens, keyboards, work plans, commitments, to-do lists etc.
When I read my first paper I do it while I’m eating breakfast and enjoying a coffee. It is part of my ‘morning ritual’. I find it pleasurable, I can scan the full pages for the articles I wish to read, I get a great cross section from local and global events, sports, political commentary, right down to my favorite comic strip. I carefully tear out the Sudoku puzzle to do in the evening. At night time I devour a second paper while sitting in my family room, most often with my wife who is reading or watching TV. Did I mention I am in my comfortable chair with my dog at my feet?
To me the newspaper is an experience as much as it is an information source. I suspect there are others like me who have developed a routine that includes a newspaper – heck on my early morning runs I still see a lot of papers on driveways or at the front door.
Who knows what the future holds, I’m no Luddite but technology isn’t the answer to everything. I don’t want some digital devise pretending to be my newspaper. My keyboard doesn’t leave ink on my fingers and that’s ok. I know I’ll get a dose of printer’s ink later this evening!
Clayton Shold
Salesopedia
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