Detroit Press to end home delivery most days

[ghost of miles]

The death of the print newspaper continues:

Detroit Free Press ceasing most home-delivery editions

[Chuck Nessa]

dang

[Rooster_Ties]

Holy crap!

[papsrus]

Might as well fold up the tent.

[Jazzmoose]

Yeah, might as well pull the plug now.

[GA Russell]

I'm shocked. But Detroit still has two newspapers. Maybe towns with only one paper won't face this problem.

[ejp626]

I'm shocked. But Detroit still has two newspapers. Maybe towns with only one paper won't face this problem.

Actually the two essentially merged for all practical purposes a few years back.

[Guy Berger]

Shrug- not sure when the last time I read a daily newspaper hard copy.

Guy

Edited December 13, 2008 by Guy

[7/4]

Might as well fold up the tent.

Yeah, might as well pull the plug now.

The house of cards keeps folding.

dB

[Chalupa]

Parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News files for bankruptcy.....

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_updat...bankruptcy.html

[Uncle Skid]

dang, indeed.

Our local newspaper, of which I've subscribed to for over 25 years, is still publishing daily.

But, I'm really close to canceling. I hate to do it, but there's so very little compelling (local) content that I just can't justify the cost anymore. The bottom-line oriented MBA douchebags have won again.

Not that it's terribly expensive, but it's just become so pathetic -- pictures of people's dogs, grandchildren; reprinted (and anonymous) "quotes" from their online forum, days-old regurgitated national coverage that is covered (better) elsewhere...

It feels strangely like when I finally gave up on our local brick-and-mortar record and CD stores. I can't help but feel we've all lost out on this seemingly inevitable "progress", some how.

Edited February 23, 2009 by Uncle Skid

[Big Al]

dang, indeed.

I can't help but feel we've all lost out on this seemingly inevitable "progress", some how.

Yup

[Guest youmustbe]

What would some of you prefer?

That organissimo is a monthly or weekly magazine to which you write letters and hope the editor publishes them or this blog made possible by 'progress'?

[Chuck Nessa]

dang, indeed.

Our local newspaper, of which I've subscribed to for over 25 years, is still publishing daily.

But, I'm really close to canceling. I hate to do it, but there's so very little compelling (local) content that I just can't justify the cost anymore. The bottom-line oriented MBA douchebags have won again.

Not that it's terribly expensive, but it's just become so pathetic -- pictures of people's dogs, grandchildren; reprinted (and anonymous) "quotes" from their online forum, days-old regurgitated national coverage that is covered (better) elsewhere...

It feels strangely like when I finally gave up on our local brick-and-mortar record and CD stores. I can't help but feel we've all lost out on this seemingly inevitable "progress", some how.

And as the page count diminishes they began running full page ads disguised as news. We are about to pull the plug. I feel sorry for our paper girl.

[ejp626]

Maybe we have another thread on the death of newspapers, but here's more somber news: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business...tml?_r=1&hp

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper will produce its last printed edition on Tuesday and become an Internet-only news source, the Hearst Corporation said on Monday, making it by far the largest American newspaper to take that leap.

When you look into the details it gets far more depressing. They are laying off 145 reporters and keeping 20 blogging-types and auditioning others to provide free blogs. (yikes) And the big unknown because of the way costs and expenses were pooled with the Seattle Times is whether they take the Seattle Times down with them. People have different reactions to this, but I think it's a fucking tragedy. Bloggers are never going to keep politicians' feet to the fire (and as little accountability as we've had, imagine American life with the muckrakers all the way through Woodward and Bernstein). I don't think the next business model will prove remotely satisfactory.

[Shrdlu]

Does anyone actually read a newspaper regularly anymore? They went out with paper mail, analog TV, 5 1/4" floppy disks and 16 bit CDs.

[Chuck Nessa]

I hope we aren't just left with blogs.

[GregK]

Does anyone actually read a newspaper regularly anymore? They went out with paper mail, analog TV, 5 1/4" floppy disks and 16 bit CDs.

Still getting the Ann Arbor News here every day.

[Free For All]

I've pretty much stopped reading the paper on a daily basis, but I still love sitting down with the Sunday paper and a cup of coffee. I'm more likely to browse and discover interesting articles than when I'm reading online. I also don't need or want yet another reason to sit at the computer any more than I already do.

[paul secor]

Does anyone actually read a newspaper regularly anymore? They went out with paper mail, analog TV, 5 1/4" floppy disks and 16 bit CDs.

Still like to sit and read The Times in the morning while I'm having my breakfast. It's a more comfortable fit for me than sitting in front of a computer screen.

[TedR]

My wife and I start practically each morning with the daily paper and a cup of coffee. We divide up our favorite sections. I'm embarrassed to say we even make fun of Mary Worth (the strip writers anyway). Having no newspaper would be like having no books, using the Kindle as a substitute. It just wouldn't feel right. The future is coming way too fast now.

[GA Russell]

Like the Seattle P-I, the Ann Arbor News will discontinue its hardcopy, and go 100% online.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CN...;show_article=1

[ghost of miles]

NY Times article on same:

Michigan losing four daily newspapers

[GregK]

Does anyone actually read a newspaper regularly anymore? They went out with paper mail, analog TV, 5 1/4" floppy disks and 16 bit CDs.

Still getting the Ann Arbor News here every day.

Looks like I spoke too soon. Unbelievable. The home of the University of Michigan without a daily newspaper. I'm stunned.

[johnlitweiler]

The death of the print newspaper continues:

Today's rant:

The hell of it is, losing a lot of these newspapers -- Gannett and Newhouse papers, Conrad Black's papers in Canada for example -- is no great loss. At least 35-40 years ago already, cities with Gannett papers (like San Antonio, Rochester) were effectively newspaperless -- that is, the dailies were almost entirely ads. I remember when Indianapolis had 3 vital dailies. Now only the Star is left, but Gannett now owns that and Indy is newspaperless too. Pathetic that all Canada has any more is the Toronto Globe & Mail (I hope I'm wrong about that), the rest from Halifax to Vancouver are all Conrad Black wreckage.

Of course, in good times, back when Chicago (for a familiar example) still had 3 main dailies, 60% or 70% of the stiff inside was ads. But enough ads to pay for many pp. that included content.

A fair question: What exactly is news? Most of what's in the front of today's 2 Chicago dailies is barely disguised press releases for govt. officials, politicians, and especially entertainers, along with a few selected fires, crimes, and natural disasters. Apart from investigative reporting, which there ain't much of lately, it's possible that there's not enough real event to fill more than a few columns a day. By real event I mean events of interest beyond the boundaries of neighborhoods.

So w/o newspapers I miss national and world news, and comics, crosswords, sports, and such. We don't get much national or world news in newspapers now. The rest is entertainment, and we can entertained in other ways. Kinda looks like newspapers don't want me to read them.