Do you read newspapers?

Gallery

Posted on by

Parade MagazineI am of the generation that loves to savor their coffee over a daily newspaper — a real paper newspaper, not one that is on the internet. I love the touch and feel of real paper.

The Sunday paper used to be extra special. The comics were in color and there were tons of ads of all sorts. I used to look at all the clothing ads. Now I am much more into the grocery ads.

One of the best sections of the Sunday paper is the Parade Magazine. It is or was tabloid style – big and colorful. It’s a national magazine included in many newspapers. They estimate their readership at 60 million.

On the inside cover is a column called Walter Scott’s Personality Parade — where readers write in questions about celebrities. I always read that section. There are a few weekly columns and an in-depth feature article or two with some good recipes. Of course there are tons of ads for stair glides, hair removal devices, hearing aids, jewelry – all good stuff for older folks!

Over the years, just like those big-sized magazines that never fit anywhere, it was downsized. With the size going down, there are fewer celebrity questions (often I don’t even know the celebrity they are asking about!) and fewer articles. Sometimes there aren’t any recipes. (I love to cut out recipes to clutter my drawers. I rarely make them but I have them just in case! Don’t laugh! I bet you have a file or two of untried recipes yourself!)

I never really measured the magazine but today I took it out and I could swear it lost another inch or so. In fact, I checked with the beloved husband and he said that it did appear to be smaller. Not only was it smaller in size but there seemed to be fewer pages. Perhaps the print is smaller or the paper is thinner?

In this electronic age, paper newspapers are struggling. The younger folks don’t buy them. They go to msn.com or whatever to get the latest news. Most don’t even know what’s going on locally which is the real benefit of a local daily newspaper.

The local ads, which are the newspaper’s bread and butter, are almost non-existent. If you are looking for a job, you are more likely to search on Monster, CareerBuilder or other web-based job banks rather than the local paper. Same holds true for housing and car sales.

I hate the thought of the industry dying out. I subscribe because I enjoy it and to support it. We also subscribe to our local glossy-covered magazine which doesn’t have a lot of “stuff” in it. It has some good articles about local people or restaurants that I find interesting so it’s not a total charitable act.

With the Superbowl coming up in New Orleans, today’s “small” Parade featured Emeril Lagasse with several recipes for Superbowl parties. I will probably cut them out and litter my counter for a while before I throw them out. I am not fond of Superbowl-type food. Generally speaking, it’s unhealthy but it is a tradition! There is an interesting looking Sangria recipe….

 

Photo Credit: Google

23 thoughts on “Do you read newspapers?”

  1. Pingback: Friday, it’s about the news habit… «

  2. We stopped subscribing several years ago to the local paper. Sometimes we buy the Sunday newspaper, which I enjoy because it has a big crossword puzzle in it. For the news, I read online. I used to loved to read the paper, but now I prefer the online version.

    Like

  3. I do read the newspaper, and we have two delivered. I can tell you that the industry is indeed changing rapidly and may morph into something quite different, but it won’t be what we have always had. My brother is an executive for a major newspaper chain. Many of the changes are economy driven beyond the costs we think of. But in truth, advertising is down. Way down…and that’s the bread and butter, not the subscriptions. Times are changing everywhere…sometimes I can hear my own grandmother’s voice coming out of my mouth!

    Like

  4. I’d love to read a real paper newspaper every morning, but the delivery service is so unreliable here that I cancelled our subscription. The frustration and inconvenience of getting the paper trumped my personal desire to continue on with the coffee/newspaper routine. Pity, ‘cuz I miss it.

    Like

    • A month ago our regular delivery people resigned and moved out of state and it’s been touch and go ever since. I don’t think they found someone to replace them yet as the timing is all over the place. I do appreciate those folks who get up at incredible hours in the morning to deliver the paper and I don’t think the pay is all that good.

      Like

      • The pay is lousy. I had a friend who did that when her kids were little. She could leave them asleep with her husband, go to work in sweats, make a bit of cash & be home in time for breakfast. Oddly, she liked the job, but only because it got her out of the house.

        Like

  6. We have 2 newspapers delivered to our door, Kate. I love the funnies and the news you just can’t get elsewhere.
    Those who want to raid the cookie jar (our tax dollars) count on our not paying attention to them until it is too late. I feel a good paper provides reporting that lets you know what’s going on and, as a good citizen, you get involved and make a difference in your community and beyond.

    Like

    • I feel that way too. Once in a while, especially during the summer when I do breakfast in the screened-in porch, we get the New York Times Sunday paper. That is a real treat that takes days to read. I love the book reviews in addition to in depth articles on world events.

      Like

  8. I haven’t read a daily newspaper in years and I don’t watch the 6 o’clock news. No news is good news. And ignorance is bliss. :mrgreen:

    I do read the free Island Newspapers that come out twice a week. And, even without trying, I pick up on major headlines just by logging on to check my mail. Today, I heard about the disastrous fire in the nightclub in Brazil with hundreds dead. So sad.

    Like

  9. Wow… You nailed it. I grew up with several newpapers arriving daily.
    Hub and I, after being a local paper subscriber for 43 years, just cancelled last month for financial reasons. I miss it… especially the “in your neighborhood” section.
    The online version isn’t cutting it for me but will have to do for now.
    BTW: I have saved recipes so old the edges have yellowed. 😉

    Like

  12. Newspapers will be around for a good while yet. They have adapted with the times. There will be less of them. in the Uk we have 10 daily National peridodicals, not mention the weekenders. Some of them are nothing more than vanity projects for their owners, for they carry power.

    I read the Washington Post on line everyday, and I check individual stories on UK newspaper websites, but I need that printer’s ink on my fingers. I have worked in newspapers and at that time what an antiquated industry it was. I remember taking a photograph into the London Evening News for publication. A fat man at a desk, cigar chewed between his teeh, scribbled a note on the back of the photograph with a thick black pencil, held it high above his head, and shouted “BOY!” at the top of his voice. Suddenly a young lad ran into his office, snatched the picture and ran off with it. The picture appeared in the paper two hours later. Whereas now, you take a picture on your phone, load it up to the website and it can be in place in a story within minutes and sometimes syndicated world wide before the day is out.

    Stick with the printed page, you can’t beat it.

    And remember, you can’t press a flower between the pages of a kindle! 🙂

    Like

  13. Printed newspaper is still the best, I read it, no longer a subscriber because I tend to accumulate all of them and forget to recycle. I read the newspapers at work instead, free. Recipe, tons of them. I haven’t tried them all, yet. Kate, this post is perfect because I have one drafted waiting to be posted. I don’t think printed newspaper will go out of style. People tend to go back to old habits. 😀

    Like

Comments are closed.