IREADTHENEWSTODAYOHBOY

Yes, I did. It was not about a lucky man who made the grade, though. It was about the folding of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper (get it? folding newspaper? A HAW HAW HAW), the last print edition to appear tomorrow. But did I read it holding said paper, or any paper, in my hands? No. I read it here:

http://www.kirotv.com/news/18941041/detail.html#-

And that makes me part of the demographic that is killing print media. And I thought I would be the last person to BE THAT GUY, too, but I am.

I came from a reading family, and that included all of us reading the morning paper without fail every single day. It was a ritual, silent and expected. No one really discussed the news items; as a matter of fact, it was considered rude to interrupt anyone whilst they were perusing the daily. It was all sort of serious. Like my parents, I became compelled to read the paper in order, which meant as the paper came delivered by section: Front Section, with world and national news and editorials; Local Section, which could be anything from the latest from Milwaukee's Mayor Maier (no better government name, if you ask me)to the Farm Report; Arts & Entertainment, with the fascinating TV listings for ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and UNAFFILIATED (that was the one with wrestling and Speed Racer cartoons); Sports, which I generally glossed over unless they had Olympic coverage or mentioned my hometown; and The Green Sheet, which had the comics, more entertainment stories and humorous news, puzzles, crosswords, whatever, and YES, it was actually GREEN. The Green Sheet was of course my favorite piece of the paper, being a kid and all. When I finished reading the paper, I would put it all back together, in order, and I felt good. I knew more than I did before. And was there no more glorious feeling then going outside and grabbing the delicious fat Sunday paper from the front stoop? I say nay.

When the Milwaukee Journal years later stopped printing The Green Sheet in green, but still called it The Green Sheet, I was upset. WTF is that? Oh, well.

So, as I grew up I kept my paper habit, wherever I went. If I was traveling, I would have to find a morning paper somehow, someway, or I would feel weird, sort of naked in a way. As I moved around the country over the years, one of the first things I would do in settling up my perma-household would be to subscribe to the local paper: The Arizona Republic, The Chicago Tribune,The Denver Post, and finally, The Seattle Times.

It is hard to say what happened exactly then, but slowly I started putting off reading the paper until later in the day, and then I started missing days, and then I noticed the papers piling up, never opened, going straight to the recycle bin. It made me feel awful somehow. I still really loved reading a paper, but like so many others, my time was being fractured by more information and entertainment options than ever before...most of which were found on the DEVIL INTERNET.

Sigh.

So, after more than 40 years of reading a print paper, I ended up canceling The Seattle Times, and yes, I still feel very crappy about it. I understand very well the cost, the unique content that leaves when a newspaper is shut down, not to mention losing the voices of many talented and dedicated journalists. I may have no smeary black newsprint on my hands anymore, but I know I am missing the depth of investigative reporting, the boldness of the daily columnist, the unintentional hilarity of the small-town crime log, the incredible photojournalism, and so much more. I traded that for poorly-written and sensationalist headlines from CNN.com, so crappy that sometimes I can't even bear to read that.

Sigh. I know, I know.

From the KIRO piece:

While the P-I's Web site ensures it a continued presence in the Seattle news market, it will likely be a pared-down version of its former self -- operating with a skeleton staff and a heavy reliance on blogs and links to other news outlets.

Good god, I hope they aren't going to rely on this blog. Unless they want to hear about coffee, cheap jeans, and what's up with the Hollywoods. Hmm. HMMMMM.

More papers are going to go down like this, the times they have changed, and it is a business reality. My strong hope is that the rich journalistic content will return here on the internet, where all things seem to end up. Instead of z-grade news soundbytes with annoying ad-filled streaming videos, maybe we could see the work of excellent writers and photographers doing what they do best, illuminating our world, helping us to make sense of it, allowing us to connect to meaningful things going on around us. It will take a brave Editor-In-Chief and some serious budgeting of resources, but there are those of us who are here now who love to see that and who would support it.

Oh, and KIROTV.com, you spelled "Intelligencer" wrong in the FIRST SENTENCE of your article. JFC.