Change in the News

Today's postcard - machine embroidery outline with inks and paint

No, this isn't about policical change. It's about change in how we get our news, and my thinking started earlier in the week when I handed over my 50 cents for the local newspaper and was told that it now costs 75 cents.

I was a journalism major, back in the day so long ago that we learned to set type from little pieces of metal letters in wooden trays. And counted the letters in the headlines to make sure they fit - no resize button. I know I'm really dating myself here.

We learned about the famous newspapers with a kind of reverence and loved their mottos, like the New York Times' "All The News That's Fit To Print" and my all-time favorite, the Atlanta Journal's "Covers Dixie Like The Dew."

The major cities had morning papers and afternoon papers, often quite competitive, and the newspaper came on your doorstep or in your mailbox. I think about my dad faithfully reading the newspaper every day, sitting in his chair with a light over his shoulder. Even when money was tight, giving up the newspaper wasn't an option.

Fast forward to now, when the morning and afternoon papers have combined and their names reflect that, like the Louisville Courier Journal and the Chicago Sun Times. When most of us no longer get a newspaper on our porch every day, and many of us no longer read newspaper hard copies at all, relying instead on the tv evening news or the internet. When USA Today is likely to be chosen instead of the local newspaper. Times have changed. Less for me, perhaps, because I still read a newspaper most days. Something about holding it in my hands, being able to go back to reread the stories, admiring the format that the most important part of the story is still at the top.

I meant to write this last night, but staying up late watching election returns the night before caught up with me. And this morning when I logged on to cnn.com, there was an article about newspapers. About how yesterday it was hard to find one. How some newspapers printed extra editions.

The quote from the Washington Post's president and general manager said, "What it really shows is there's a unique value to print. It's the ability to look at the whole thing and hold a piece of history in your hands." And later in the article people talked about having something to pass on to grandchildren, so that they could see that history.

So now, something more to think about. On that one day, newspapers were important to many people. But will we have that piece of newspaper to hold history in our hands in years to come?