The last paper

I'm kind of a newspaper freak. I was a steady subscriber to the News and Observer from the time I got out of college. It's a good newspaper. When we moved, I immediately subscribed to the Tennessean. To me, it was the next step after turning on the utilities.

I found it disappointing that a city the size of Nashville had such a weak paper compared to Raleigh, NC. Both cities are about the same size, but the N & O is aimed at a better educated, more intellectual crowd. It has better local columnists, more sophisticated comics, science news, more in depth coverage of local issues. The national wire reports contain more of the story.

Still, we wanted the local paper, so we subscribed.

Then, like so many papers, the Tennessean made cuts. They laid off a good part of the staff. The Sunday viewpoint section disappeared. Business and Local became one section. The not-so-good paper became even less of one.

Then they raised the price. And now, it's going up again. Kurt called and cancelled. Enough.

It will be strange. I have had coffee and a newspaper every day since the early 80s, except where extreme weather kept it from being delivered. Snow, ice, a flood, a hurricane. That's how long I've been subscribing to newspapers.

I get the NY Times sent to my inbox. I have access to the Miami Herald online through my parents' subscription. I can pick up part of the Tennessean online, but it will be a change. Having a common news source is one of the things that keeps a community on the same page. Already, some people only watch Fox News, while others don't consider it a legitimate news station. Now, I have no reason to read the same paper as my neighbors or coworkers. It's just as easy to find a good paper online as it is to get the local one.

And thus, a news Luddite moves on to the digital world.