# Wow... Newspapers really are going away, aren't they? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434 "2008-12-03T01:25:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/21 "2008-12-03T16:01:43Z")
Is this only a US thing? We have in the Toronto area: 4 English-language dailies, plus a free ‘commuter’ paper; 3 Chinese-language dailies; 1 Spanish-language daily; 1 Italian-language daily, and Krillions of weeklies in as many languages and viewpoints. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/22 "2008-12-03T16:11:14Z")
I never understood newspapers, and I am one that will regularly print things out to read, just because it is easier that way. I love reading things that are in my hands. But newspapers are hard to read with the folding layout, hard to refold, messy with the smudges, and quite clearly biased. Plus the articles are so short and inflammatory. When the whole bailout thing was going on (still going on) I read and read tons of things online, all sides of it, trying to understand. Newspapers are just entertainment. I don’t think they’re real news and haven’t been for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/23 "2008-12-03T16:12:11Z")
We canceled our newspaper subscription several years ago, when we realized that 90% of the papers that were delivered to our house sat around unopened for several days before finally going into the recycle bin. Like **CookingWIthGas** , I used to love to read the paper while eating a leisurely breakfast, but the days of leisurely breakfasts have long since gone away. I think that in addition to the internet, everyone’s life is more fast-paced and hurried than it was 5 or 10 years ago. Unfortunately, taking the time to read a newspaper every day was one of the “luxuries” that many people sacrificed as they had more things to do and less time to do them. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/24 "2008-12-03T16:28:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Is this only a US thing? We have in the Toronto area: > 4 English-language dailies, plus a free ‘commuter’ paper; > 3 Chinese-language dailies; > 1 Spanish-language daily; > 1 Italian-language daily, and > Krillions of weeklies in as many languages and viewpoints. Vancouver has no shortage of papers, either. _The Globe & Mail_ is not what it once was, though. It’s gotten less substantial in a few senses. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/25 "2008-12-03T16:57:45Z")
Good. Less random people knocking on my window trying to sell me a newspaper at a stoplight. I’m somehow allergic to newspapers. I get those little water blisters all over my arms when I hold them. E-News is better anyway, IMHO. Video, Audio, HighDef color pictures, and the freedom the net. Saves on trees also. Just isn’t helping the job market. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/26 "2008-12-03T17:34:41Z")
> [@EpicNonsense](#): > > Good. Less random people knocking on my window trying to sell me a newspaper at a stoplight. I’m somehow allergic to newspapers. I get those little water blisters all over my arms when I hold them. > > E-News is better anyway, IMHO. Video, Audio, HighDef color pictures, and the freedom the net. Saves on trees also. Just isn’t helping the job market. Tell me where I can get E-News coverage of the local city council issues. Ed ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/27 "2008-12-03T18:14:16Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > I read the L.A. times at lunch. The paper is a shadow of what it once was. It’s got ads on the front pages of sections, the section banner is cartoonish and makes it difficult to differentiate it from an advertisement. I’ll continue to read it for years, as it’s a damn hard habit to break. I probably get most of my news online, but anytime I’m traveling, I always grab the local newspaper. I’ll miss them when they are gone. I do too. It’s still a good paper, but you’re right it’s not what it used to be. I have to wonder: “How much does it matter if I put my fifty cents into a newspaper rack?” I do that about five times a week and read it on the subway. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > This is a funny outlook. There are so many things that are ‘wastes’ of trees and other resources. Like the fast food industry. > [@Sunspace](#): > > Is this only a US thing? We have in the Toronto area: > 4 English-language dailies, plus a free ‘commuter’ paper; > 3 Chinese-language dailies; > 1 Spanish-language daily; > 1 Italian-language daily, and > Krillions of weeklies in as many languages and viewpoints. Los Angeles has the largest Spanish-language daily in the U.S. (La Opinion). But it’s not really all that good for news. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/28 "2008-12-03T18:45:03Z")
Other than a convenient presentation of comic strips, when I occasionally buy a newspaper for my BART ride into work it is rare to actually learn anything new. So I don’t often buy a newspaper for the same reason that I don’t watch the evening local or national news. To the extent that the needs of filling newspapers is the drive behind getting news online so that I will have read it before the newspaper is even printed, I mourn the loss of newspapers. But even that occasional desire to buy a paper newspaper is fading. I do 95% of my reading on my Kindle now and it has the ability to download the daily edition of certain newspapers. Just this morning I was reading my book (on my Kindle) when I looked around and the woman sitting in front of me was reading the paper and I saw an op-ed that looked to be of interest and I hadn’t seen before leaving home. Within 2 minutes I’d bought (for the same $0.50) and downloaded it to my Kindle and was reading the op-ed. And if I’d wanted to save the $0.50 I could have just used the (somewhat crappy) web browser to go read it online. But I had the entire newspaper in my hands without any of the inconvenience of trying to read a newspaper on a crowded train. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/29 "2008-12-03T19:43:19Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Other than a convenient presentation of comic strips, when I occasionally buy a newspaper for my BART ride into work it is rare to actually learn anything new. So I don’t often buy a newspaper for the same reason that I don’t watch the evening local or national news. > > To the extent that the needs of filling newspapers is the drive behind getting news online so that I will have read it before the newspaper is even printed, I mourn the loss of newspapers. > > But even that occasional desire to buy a paper newspaper is fading. I do 95% of my reading on my Kindle now and it has the ability to download the daily edition of certain newspapers. Just this morning I was reading my book (on my Kindle) when I looked around and the woman sitting in front of me was reading the paper and I saw an op-ed that looked to be of interest and I hadn’t seen before leaving home. Within 2 minutes I’d bought (for the same $0.50) and downloaded it to my Kindle and was reading the op-ed. And if I’d wanted to save the $0.50 I could have just used the (somewhat crappy) web browser to go read it online. But I had the entire newspaper in my hands without any of the inconvenience of trying to read a newspaper on a crowded train. On Thanksgiving Day I was travelling and so missed my normal morning paper. I decided to download it onto my Kindle. What did I get? The previous day’s edition! Ed ---
**Author:** ![criminey.jicket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/30 "2008-12-04T01:08:29Z")
I haven’t really any need for newspapers. Today, in fact, I got a call from the _Victoria Times Colonist_, flogging a discounted subscription. I told her no thanks, I got all my news from TV and the net. I take do a copy of one of two free local papers on Fridays for the tv guide and crosswords, though. I could easily do without by using zap2it online for the tv guide. It’s hard to imagine a world without newspapers. How would we get sales flyers? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/31 "2008-12-04T02:52:24Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Tell me where I can get E-News coverage of the local city council issues. > > Ed You mean your local paper doesn’t have an online edition? Even the Havre Daily News, way out in the backend of nowhere, has that much. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/32 "2008-12-04T02:58:18Z")
Houston has had only one major newspaper for years now, the Chronicle. There’s an alternative paper called the Press. I didn’t know it was possible to produce a paper that sucks worse than the Chronicle, but the Press manages. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/33 "2008-12-04T05:03:56Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > You mean your local paper doesn’t have an online edition? Even the Havre Daily News, way out in the backend of nowhere, has that much. The online edition doesn’t carry every single article from the print edition, such as the one or two paragraph filler items. And those are precisely the articles that tell you about some minor issue discussed in the city council. Ed ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/34 "2008-12-04T05:10:41Z")
I like newspapers, I enjoy perusing those over a leisurely breakfast in a way I can’t replicate online. However, the Tribune does suck ass, and I’m happy to hear it’s in its death throes. The Times is way better (Florida’s Best Newspaper!). I’m still a little confused about how the St. Pete Times Forum is in Tampa, though. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/35 "2008-12-04T05:40:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This is what happened in Las Vegas. > > There used to be/sort of still are 2 papers here. The Las Vegas Review-Journal (mornings, conservative) and the Las Vegas Sun (afternoons, liberal). Eventually they entered into a revenue sharing/printing agreement, and now the Sun is a 6-8 page section bundled into the RJ. They still have a separate staff of reporters, columnists, and editors for each paper. But I miss my afternoon friend showing up at 4pm every day, ready to inform me about events that the morning paper had to miss because of their printing deadline. > > I’ve subscribed to newspapers since I was 13 years old. I usually read a couple each day. I also read news online, but it isn’t the same. I still often pick up a copy - and pretty much ignore the RJ. Paying just so I can read the Sun…sigh ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/36 "2008-12-04T19:27:52Z")
> [@cletus](#): > > Am I the only one that never buys newspapers anymore except on Sunday and only for the coupons? Last time I bought it I didn’t even read the paper. I glanced through a few pages but I had already read all the news online. I’ve even stopped reading the comics after discovering the wonderful world of online comics. I used to read newspapers quite a bit. A couple years ago, I stopped even buying the Sunday paper…because the coupon savings fell below the the cost of the paper (coupon quality has declined enormously in amount and number over the past several years) ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/37 "2008-12-04T20:51:10Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Houston has had only one major newspaper for years now, the Chronicle. There’s an alternative paper called the Press. I didn’t know it was possible to produce a paper that sucks worse than the Chronicle, but the Press manages. To be fair, the _Press_ is a free alternative weekly, so I don’t think they’re really trying to compete with the _Chronicle_. I have never subscribed to a newspaper, but I have a bunch of them on my RSS feed. My parents had a subscription to the _Chronicle_ for awhile when I was in high school, but that was before the internet was anything big. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434/38 "2008-12-04T22:18:51Z")
Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, the oldest paper in Colorado and the state’s oldest continuously operating business (1859), was put up for sale today. It was projecting $15M in losses next year. I’m not sure they’ll find a buyer. [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/04/rocky-mountain-news-sale/](http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/04/rocky-mountain-news-sale/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-newspapers-really-are-going-away-arent-they/475434.md?page=1)