Daily newspapers have only themselves to blame for their demise. The publishers have missed one of the most important reasons why subscriptions have gone down: deterioration in delivery service. And now with the Internet in almost every household, it is probably too late to change.
When we began a home in ’51, the morning and evening editions were not only delivered to our front porch, but were placed between the screen/storm door and the main door of our house.
Since newspaper publishers didn’t want to pay their “paperboys” more as inflation decreased the value of a dime, it became common for the kids to throw them on the porch, until finally just anywhere in the front yard. Today, one is lucky if the deliverers don’t just drop it out of their cars into the street gutter.
Most of us prefer to hold a printed copy in our hands over a cup of joe or while seated in our recliners. But when we never know if our copy will even be out there or when, and if it will be dry or wet, why bother when we can read it free without ever leaving the comfort of our homes, with just a few taps of the fingers?
This article appears in Sep 11-18, 2008.