# Curse the NY Times! No more weekly TV listings. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665 "2006-05-06T13:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/1 "2006-05-06T13:48:43Z")
I am to be reduced to reading the crappy new version of _TV Guide_? Starting today, the _NY Times_ has discontinued its weekly TV listings magazine! _Bastards_. It was a perfect little supplement, easily read, all the local stations, no crappy articles to suffer through. I called the _Times_ and the recording said, “from now on you may refer to our Web site or the daily listings,” which is a hell of a lot of use when it’s Sunday and you want to know what to record this coming Wednesday or Friday, and you want it circled on your coffee table, not on your goddam computer screen. I may actually cancel my _Times_ subscription now. I can get my news online, and I guess I’ll have to buy the local paper and toss out everything but _their_ TV page. Sooo, anybody know what the hell is on TV this week? _Sonsobitches_. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/2 "2006-05-06T14:49:46Z")
Got a “response” to my e-mail: > [@](#): > > Thank you for your e-mail regarding the discontinued Sunday Television section. Although we cannot respond with individual replies, all messages will be closely monitored and given serious consideration as we plan future television coverage. Crap. Now I gotta go out and buy the local _Picayune Bugle-Gazette_ just for the weekly TV listings. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/3 "2006-05-06T15:30:57Z")
Curses! Eve, drop me an email. I have a book for you to read. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/4 "2006-05-06T15:40:57Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I may actually cancel my _Times_ subscription now. I can get my news online, and I guess I’ll have to buy the local paper and toss out everything but _their_ TV page. > > Sooo, anybody know what the hell is on TV this week? _Sonsobitches_. Can’t you get your TV listings online too? We can in the UK. Is this modern technology too much for the colonies? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/5 "2006-05-06T16:37:53Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Can’t you get your TV listings online too? Yeah, but that’s pretty much useless: who wants to run back and forth to the computer and print stuff out, when you can have a nice little booklet handy on your coffee table in which you can circle the weekly viewing/taping? Plus, the trouble with _daily_ listings (newspaper or online) is, I want to know what’s on _later this week_, so I can set my VCR if I’m going to be out of town or out late. The _only_ reason to get the weekend _Times_ now is Christopher Gray’s “Streetscapes” column. Tomorrow morning I’ll go to the deli and paw through the local papers and see which one has a weekly TV listing. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/6 "2006-05-06T17:39:37Z")
The Denver papers just did something similar; they will only distribute the TV magazine to those who request it. Something over half the subscribers have already requested it, so I don’t know what they think they’ve gained except to piss people off. I’m waiting for the day that they announce that they are going to discontinue printing the news in order to save paper. I understand that newspapers are in a financial crunch and all that, but damn! Somebody in the front office isn’t thinking these things through. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/7 "2006-05-06T18:23:23Z")
As someone who closely follows the newspaper industry (and hopes to be employed therein shortly), I’ve been keeping a close eye on the trend to eliminate all non-essential material in newspapers. The big push is to get rid of the stock listings. A lot of newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, have done this or are planning it, but it always solicits an outcry from readers who somehow want to play the stock market without keeping watch on prices on an up-to-the-minute basis. TV listings are also on their way out, thanks to the Internet. The newspapers figure that the money they can save in newsprint is more than the number of lost subscribers. I hate to think what this business model means played to its logical conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/8 "2006-05-06T18:24:47Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Sooo, anybody know what the hell is on TV this week? _Sonsobitches_. _Gilda_ is on TCM tonight at 8PM EDT. The divine Rita Hayworth (“If I were a ranch they’d call be the Bar Nothing.”) plus Glenn Ford and George Macready doing their dance of sublimated seduction (“I was born the night you met me.”). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/9 "2006-05-06T18:28:28Z")
Here in Louisville, the _Courier-Journal_ recently cut out all of the capsule reviews from its TV listings booklet. I was kind of irritated; I mean, even though I tend to get my television information from the Internet or from the capsule reviews available from digital cable, it’s nice to have another option. But a TV listings booklet full of nothing but grids is damn near useless. Apparently, plenty of other readers were less than pleased with the change, and the newspaper responded by restoring the capsule reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/10 "2006-05-06T19:32:30Z")
Disgraceful, is what it is. I saw today’s “daily listings” in the _Times_, which is all they’ll have from now on: prime-time shows only, no hint as to what’s on before 6:00 p.m. or after midnight. And, as I said, just one night’s shows. Nothing about what’s on later this week. _TV Guide_ was always a piece of crap, but now with their new “No TV Listings at All, Just Articles!” format, it’s _useless_ crap. I hope some of the the local papers still have a weekly TV page . . . ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/11 "2006-05-06T20:05:43Z")
Why not download them to your PDA? Maybe you can get them as a podcast to your iPod? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/12 "2006-05-06T20:44:45Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Why not download them to your PDA? > > Maybe you can get them as a podcast to your iPod? 😃 PDwho? iWhat now? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/13 "2006-05-06T21:30:42Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Sooo, anybody know what the hell is on TV this week? Yeah. Channel 7 is showing an old movie. Channel 9 is showing an old movie. Channel 13 is showing a Benny Hill episode to be followed by some old movie. Channel 14 is The Weather Channel Channel 17 has a local programming schedule Channel 27 is All Star Trek, All the Time except showing some old movies every now and again. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/14 "2006-05-06T21:38:40Z")
Wow, until this thread I had honestly forgotten actual printed TV listings existed. For a few years now I have simply used the on-screen guide from the cable company on my DVR. I realize not everyone has this feature, but this thread made me realize how dependant I am on it. I actually don’t remember the last time I saw a printed TV guide. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/15 "2006-05-06T22:24:36Z")
Yeah, I use the on-screen guide that comes with my cable. I wish it didn’t suck. It’s wrong fairly frequently, it only goes out about 24 hours in advance (sometimes 36) and it doesn’t include descriptions until 12 hours or less before the program starts. I find it hard to believe that keyboarding monkeys are feverishly typing up program blurbs only 12 hours in advance of the broadcast, so goddammit, release the information! Or the hounds. You could release the hounds, and sic them on the damn keyboard monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/16 "2006-05-06T22:31:40Z")
Can’t you go to your cable provider’s schedule page? I also have a variety of TV schedules available to me on [Iwon.com](http://Iwon.com). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/17 "2006-05-06T22:50:25Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Can’t you go to your cable provider’s schedule page? > [@Otto](#): > > I use the on-screen guide that comes with my cable. I wish it didn’t suck. It’s wrong fairly frequently, it only goes out about 24 hours in advance (sometimes 36). Nuff said about _that_. The little weekly magazine was a perfect life form: compact, easy to page through and think, “Hmm, I’ll be out late Thursday and there’s a good movie on, I’ll set my VCR.” Spend a few minutes on Sunday and circle what I want to watch that whole week, and all I had to do was glance at it thereafter. I hope the _Times_ gets a lot of furious complaints (they already have mine) and reconsiders. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/18 "2006-05-06T23:22:49Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Yeah, I use the on-screen guide that comes with my cable. I wish it didn’t suck. It’s wrong fairly frequently, it only goes out about 24 hours in advance (sometimes 36) and it doesn’t include descriptions until 12 hours or less before the program starts. I find it hard to believe that keyboarding monkeys are feverishly typing up program blurbs only 12 hours in advance of the broadcast, so goddammit, release the information! > > Or the hounds. You could release the hounds, and sic them on the damn keyboard monkeys. Wow, your’s _does_ suck! Our’s is pretty spiffy. You can see a week in advance, including descriptions, it has lots of nifty search features too to help you find something specific you may want to look for. I’m depressed for you, you need to go kick some keyboard monkey ass. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/19 "2006-05-07T00:15:25Z")
The solution is obvious. Just ask a friend who is computer savvy to print out a schedule for you every week. Alternately, you could just move to Boca a few decades ahead of schedule. There you will find that besides mah jongg, canasta, and complaining, our elders enjoy refusing to deal with any technology invented after 1970. The Sun Herald and the rest will have a weekly TV guide for decades. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665/20 "2006-05-07T01:22:37Z")
Some decent fire and outrage on the part of the OP but the flames died down pretty quickly. Off to **Cafe Society** , so the art/lit denizens can commiserate and possibly offer alternatives. Veb [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-the-ny-times-no-more-weekly-tv-listings/355665.md?page=2)