I was talking to some friends who are programmers the other day and astounded at the number who subscribe to one of the two primary local newpapers in our area. I personally haven't had a print subscription to a local newspaper in over 8 years. I have a couple of reasons for this:
- Newspapers are a waste of natural resources. The only counter-argument comes from the print organizations themselves effectively saying “it isn't that bad“ and “we only use recycled paper“. Demand is demand no matter which way you slice it!
- I don't enjoy hauling out the newspapers I don't read for recycling. And these papers take up space and resources in the recycling operations.
- Newspapers are written for morons. Their target audience is a 6th grade reading level (on ambitious days).
- Newspaper reporters and their bosses have abandoned all attempts to be non-biased, instead all articles are written more like editorials today.
Being in the tech industry, I think it's part of our obligation to try out the electronic delivery mediums (web, rss, pocketpc/palm) and make them work in our lives. This doesn't mean dropping subscriptions, in fact the number of subscriptions I receive has skyrocketed since casting off the paper-wasters.
Don't confuse my intent here, it's not to ridicule people who receive newspapers. But if you have the means to do so, isn't it worth a try?
Update: Just found this article. The president of ABC News says that “too much commentary can hinder the distribution of useful information.” Pretty good analysis for junk journalists.