Classic Rant #192 (February 11, 2010): No Newspaper, No Newspaper Is Not Necessarily Good News

I am a traditionalist. I like to get an actual newspaper delivered to my home in the morning, and read it while I eat breakfast.

Today, with the remnants of the blizzard still around, I shoveled at about 5 a.m. in the morning (after shoveling several times yesterday), walked the dog, and sat down to eat breakfast.

But I did not have a newspaper to read while I ate breakfast.

Believe me, with the weather conditions as they are, I am not blaming the carriers, generally adults who are doing this for the few extra dollars it gives them each month. I will let you know that several years ago, while going through my divorce, I also did this type of work for slightly over a year, to get myself above water. It was the easiest, hardest job I ever had. I generally respect the carriers.

Anyway, I went back outside after finishing breakfast, did some more shoveling, and still there was no newspaper. It is after 7:30 a.m. in the morning now as I type this, and I don't know if we ever received our newspaper.

I know newspapers are a dying breed. More and more, we are getting our news from the Internet. Every newspaper worth its salt has a Web site, and many are even charging for the right to read their full content online.

But I like the look, the feel, and the ease of convenience provided by a real newspaper in the morning.

Sure, I could get my news off the Internet. But you know, even with two laptops and one desktop at my disposal, I just can't see reading this stuff while I am chowing down on my first meal of the day.

What's more, I am on the Internet all day at work ... I don't want to start off the day with it.

Sure, some would call me old fashioned. I know my daughter gets her news 100 percent off the Internet, and probably hasn't read a newspaper in years.

But that is her generation.

Newspapers are going out of business, cutting back with information, and they are not the same newspapers that I grew up with. They are thinner, sleeker, and have far less information than they used to.

But I still like the format. I love starting with the back page--sports--finishing that section, and turning to the front of the paper for the harder news.

Sure, it sounds like a relic, like the LP record, but even records are making a comeback. People simply prefer them--with all their nuances--to CDs.

I feel the same way about my newspaper, and I have to say, it was like missing an old friend today.