I’ve just made a radical decision. For the first time since childhood, I’m no longer going to read the local daily newspaper in my home. Of course it’s a decision that 20 million other Americans have made in the past two decades, which is why the newspaper industry is in jeopardy.
In some ways I feel like a traitor, having worked at daily newspapers for 11 years myself. But it makes sense, not just because I’ll be saving $16.31 a month.
The catalyst for my decision was customer service and delivery problems. Some days the paper isn’t there by the time I leave for work. Other days it blows away because it’s so thin, and the delivery guy didn’t bother to put a rubber band around it. Complaints haven't helped with the delivery.
What pushed me over the edge, however, was the content of the paper, or the lack of it. When I first moved to Springfield, the paper had interesting local stories and a vibrant editorial page with opinions expressed by local editors and an array of columnists. The editorial page has devolved into a feud between the rabid right and the loony left.
I’ve enjoyed sitting down to breakfast with the morning paper for years, but I can wait an hour until I get to the office. Everything on the printed page is available online — for free. I’ll be checking the obituaries and box scores, but not much else. Most everything in the paper I’ve read online somewhere the day before. I’ll continue to read USA Today and The Wall Street Journal at work. Those national papers haven’t appreciably cut back on their content.
I called to cancel the paper a couple of weeks ago. Only problem is the company keeps bringing it every day. Maybe I should have canceled long ago. I get better service.
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