I read a newspaper today

I dropped our subscription a while back. The price kept going up and the quality kept going down - you could really tell the lack of quality editing going on, and even the paper itself seemed to get to a point where it was guaranteed to tear. I found myself using it only for the weather forecast and the sports scores. 

I should get a subscription to the local weekly paper, but I do read it every week at my in-laws.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

And you had to fight for the crossword puzzle. 

I stopped reading the paper in the 80's, but we get a weekly paper free here, and as newspaper quality goes, it's not terrible, so I read it for local news. I took it to work one Saturday and heard a lot of wow, you really are old...

For many years at work the Toronto Sun was the standard. I don't know who bought it, it was never me, but there was always one in the lunchroom, and everybody would stop to have a look. Initially it was the second page, then later the last page, to see the Sunshine girl.

We read the Bolivar Bulletin Times. Still written and put together by locals, thankfully. It's great not necessarily because of the quality of the writing but because it's a real small town newspaper. 

I saw a meme not too long ago that pictured 10 or so people leaning up against a building reading newspapers (when news papers were newspapers). The picture below was 10 or so people hunched over their devices, implying that nothing has changed. I so wanted to say : You stupid idiot.

There are few pleasures as sublime as settling down with a fresh, unmolested newspaper and a cup of coffee or a cocktail, depending on the hour. I've had a WSJ subscription for as long as I can remember. I'm still pissed that they added color and stopped printing broadsheet years ago. And when the NYT renamed the International Herald Tribune, a little part of me died.

SV reX said:

In reply to Colin Wood :

I think you just suggested reading an electronic article to affirm my appreciation for absolutely zero electronic interaction. 

...AND posted a link!

Oh!  The irony! 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

My older twin sisters would grab the comics, split them up between themselves and slowly read them as they knew I was waiting.  

Then they'd grab the TV Guide and see what movies were coming on that week. We were pre-VCR or DVD so if a movie was coming on you could only watch it when it was broadcast 

SoonToBeDatsun240ZGuy said:

Appleseed said:

Tree murders.

Based upon the thinness of most newspapers that isn't true.  LOL

Attempted tree murders.

In reply to Appleseed :

There are more trees in the US than there were 100(ish?) years ago... BECAUSE of the paper industry. The paper industry replaces every tree they cut, basically as soon as they cut it down. They have to plan 15-20 years ahead, so they need to get the tree farms planted ASAP. 

I do not know the environmental impacts of this, and how it compares to the old-growth that has been cut down and isn't necessarily being replaced. I just know that the overall number of trees is improved because of the paper industry, at least in the US.

In reply to mtn :

I used to do that in my construction business. For every 100 board feet of lumber we used, I'd pay growers to plant seedlings that would equal about 300 board feet of timber when grown. I did it for 30 years, so some of those trees have been harvested.

It just felt like the right thing to do. 

SV reX said:

In reply to mtn :

I used to do that in my construction business. For every 100 board feet of lumber we used, I'd pay growers to plant seedlings that would equal about 300 board feet of timber when grown. I did it for 30 years, so some of those trees have been harvested.

It just felt like the right thing to do. 

You are a good man.

In reply to SV reX :

I did the same thing a couple weeks ago! I just had the urge to kick back, relax, and read the Sunday paper. I had to go to two stores to find a decent one, and got a bit of a sticker shock. 
 

Up until about 10-15 years ago, I had read the paper cover to cover since I was in grade school. Unfortunately, our excellent local paper was bought out and turned into a generic AP paper. I think not having a reliable source for local news is detrimental. 

In reply to SV reX :

My grandfather briefly worked for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) sometime in the early 1930's - he planted trees along Route 31 in SW Michigan according to my father.  

Last month the wife and I drove that route up to stay in Traverse City.  I wondered if there is one tree left that he touched.  No way of figuring that out but it makes you wonder......

I still get a paper a few times a week, mostly days I take the train. I used to get one every morning but they've gotten surprisingly tough to find some days. I miss the guys planted all over the city selling them. Up until about 10 years ago they were outside every train station and in many busy intersections.  

When not printing articles off the web and mailing them to us, my inlaws cut articles out of the Detroit Free Press or WSJ and send them. Almost always car stuff directed at me. Mostly stuff I already know, because, you know, internet. Its quaint, but annoying.

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

My mom did that - I've done it.