Saturday, October 8, 2011

Losing newspaper is like losing friend

The Denver Post notified me last week that it will no longer deliver newspapers to Laramie as part of a cost-cutting effort. Sunday papers will still be delivered for $1.50 a week, but I wonder how long that will last. For an extra 10 cents a week, The Post will give me full access to their online version.
I've subscribed to The Post for 21 years and really like getting a large, metro newspaper with a great sports section, occasional investigative reporting and lively editorial section. I enjoy the leisurely pleasure of flipping through its pages while savoring my morning coffee or evening beer. Reading it on my laptop will take away that pleasure of physically turning pages, wondering whether the next page will contain a story or photo that catches my attention.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a big advocate of online news. I read numerous online stories every day and regularly follow two or three online newspapers. I teach an online journalism class and began the first online news site in Wyoming in 1995.
I still subscribe to our local newspaper, the Laramie Boomerang, which is fine for providing superficial coverage of local events, overkill coverage of high school and UW sports, and the daily police log where I sometimes find the names of people I know. It's not a very good newspaper.
That's why I appreciate getting The Post so much. It provides most of what I expect from a newspaper - good writing and photography, indepth reporting, solid coverage of breaking news, entertaining columns, wide-ranging sports coverage, and thoughtful analysis.
I understand the need for The Post to cut costs. The newspaper industry is in big trouble with declining readership and advertising. The Post also announced this week that it is offering early retirement buyouts to its news staff and may have to lay off employees if the buyout doesn't work.
But cutting delivery does a disservice to loyal readers who count on The Post for indepth information on local, regional, national and world affairs.
I will be getting the Sunday edition while delivery lasts, but I'm passing on the daily online version. My morning coffee and evening beer just don't taste as good with digital news.