Reading the Newspaper

I am, in a sense, standing on the deck of a sinking ship.  While most people have abandoned ship, I (stubbornly) remain in place.   I am talking about the newspaper.  I can’t seem to stop receiving and reading the paper and print version.

I have tried to convert to reading the local news online, but something about scrolling on my computer leaves me dissatisfied.  I feel a need to hold all the news in my hands at once.  I enjoy leaving a newspaper spread open on the counter so I can flutter about doing other things while occasionally stopping to flick through the pages.

There can be no doubt newspapers are vanishing.  Following are some statistics from an article by Milos Djordjevic:

• In 2020 alone, more than 300 US newspapers closed.
• Print and digital ad revenues saw double-digit decreases in 2020.
• 20% of US news readers pay to access online editions of their favorite newspapers.
• The Wall Street Journal had the highest circulation of all US papers in 2020.
• Only 3% of US adults cite print newspapers as their primary information source.
• The number of newspaper newsroom employees has dropped by 50% since 2008.

At some point, I suppose I will need to give up on my printed news.  Once I do, how will I start fires at my cabin?

—Mitchell Hegman