[redelbee]

I started working for a newspaper just after 2007-08 hit and hastened the decline of the already struggling industry.

One day, after working diligently on the job for a few months, I pitched my editor an idea for an online-only story with some interesting multimedia elements. He told me I could definitely work on that story “on my own time.” I was an hourly employee so I asked him to clarify if he wanted me to schedule the work around the other stories I was working on at the time. He laughed and told me that he couldn’t justify paying me for any project meant only for the website. I was welcome to work on the story and publish it on my own time of course.

I decided to leave the publication and the overall newspaper industry that day. I still miss the feeling of working in a buzzing newsroom, there’s just nothing like it. Similar to the author, I’m nostalgic for the days when the news cycle was limited by time and column inches.

I don’t think we’re ever going back to anything resembling the heyday of newspaper publishing. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where halfway decent reporting happens then maybe subscribing to the print edition makes sense. Unfortunately I am not so lucky. I read magazines for my “news” and try not to check the headlines too often on my phone.

I grew up with a morning and afternoon daily. I never knew how good I had it. Two comics sections! News stories with same day updates! Imagine such a wonder…

[dvtrn]

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where halfway decent reporting happens then maybe subscribing to the print edition makes sense.

I definitely would if there was actual value to it beyond reprinting AP articles I already read online two days ago because the local Newspaper itself is actually owned by a national media entity and contains maybe a page of news that actually feels locally informative-as was the case living in SmallTown USA.

Now, living in one of the US’ largest cities (Chicago), online community ‘zines’ tend to be more relevant to my block, whereas the city paper is pretty much only good for “the mayor upset a percentage of their constituency, and the Bears are still trying to figure out football”.

Every now and then there will be something truly informative for me as a citizen, but independent local reporting when done well and with care and vigor will always replace a physical paper from the traditional local entity for my consumption habits.

(That said newspaper crosswords are still for completely random and absolutely nonsensical reasons a magically anachronistic experience)

[bombcar]

The only really "local" paper left is actually just a classified ad section, but it IS all truly local and actually quite helpful (finding lots of stuff the internet doesn't care to know about).

I could see that having a short "letter from the editor" section that might grow ...