My local newspaper recently sent us (subscribers since the mid 1980's) a letter telling us about a rate increase for subscriptions effective next month. They also thanked us for supporting local journalism.
In the same week, I found out (from a local radio station's post on Facebook) that the offices for this newspaper are being vacated. Some of this is pandemic related - people work remotely now. But it also means it's the end of our local physical newsroom.
Somehow, this isn't a surprise. For months now, if our local newspaper runs an article on a local problem (high rental costs, drug addiction, homelessness, you name it), the examples it gives aren't local - they are articles about places and people who live over 100 miles (160 km) from here. My guess is, they take one article and run it in all newspapers for miles around.
Or, if they run a "fun" feature - like "local ice cream places" they give shoutouts to businesses in at least a 50 mile radius. (Yes, they actually ran a feature on local ice cream parlors earlier this spring and they did just that). I don't know about you, but my ice cream purchased 50 miles from here would have melted long before I got home with it.
So, let's take a short trip down memory lane.
I was cleaning out my draft posts the other day and found the below. I never published it. Maybe it felt too "whiny" but I now realize, from what I know today, that I was looking into the future.
From a January 2014 draft post:
Recently, when I tried to put my newspaper on vacation hold to be delivered upon my return, no one seemed to pay attention. This is not an isolated occurrence and I know other people who have had various service problems with the paper.
The other times, after they delivered the paper on the first day of the hold, I was able to reach someone by phone or chat and the paper was finally stopped.
This last time was the final straw. I just got home from a four day trip out of town, one that was draining on a number of levels.
In preparing for the trip, I went online two days before I left (a Tuesday) and asked that the paper be stopped as of Thursday. Thursday (I was still at home when the paper comes so I wanted to see if the paper was stopped or not due to my previous experiences in the paper not being stopped) the paper came. I had to leave soon after that, and ended up online chatting with a customer service rep later that day (I had to wait a few minutes, so I have a feeling that rep was quite busy). The rep promised to contact someone. OK...
When I came home, there were three papers on my porch. That is a good way of telling a potential burglar "welcome to my house!"
I went online to find my only option at that time of day was chat. No customer service email address. I already (from previous experience) knew I was outside of the phone customer service hours, which seem to be fewer each time I need to call them. So I emailed the executive editor, who I realize is going to direct my email to someone else. But I wanted them to know that I, a customer of over 25 years, was ready to quit doing business with them. It appears that is the only way I will get the newspaper to stop delivery. I am a long distance caregiver, I must travel sometimes to give care, and I need to be able to stop the paper. Every time I need to. Period."
Now, back to the present.
I had no way of knowing that when I finally posted this, our paper wouldn't print on holidays, or on Saturdays. And that our newsroom was moving to parts unknown.
I suppose we are fortunate to be subscribing to a six day a week paper - when it is delivered, that is.
Complaining about a missing paper (yes, our paper wasn't delivered - again - yesterday) almost seems nostalgic.
Sometimes I do miss the good old days. Nostalgia.
Sometimes.
...newspaper aren't a growing industry.
ReplyDeleteI bloggrd about newspapers last month, as you might remember. I subscribe to The NY Times, the NY Daily News, the Washington Post and Newsday, and read them all on line. Most of the people I know who actually buy print editions of the papers are older, over age 60. I suspect most newspapers will eventually phase out a print edition.
ReplyDeleteThey outsource so many things, like customer service, and then no one gets the heads up when things are going wrong. So, the business loses business until it goes out of business. Do the higher ups ask the customer service people about the issues? No. They bring in consultants to figure out why they're losing customers, but at this point, it's too late to stop the problem. They've lost customer trust.
ReplyDeleteWe've lost something in this incorporation for all things. This is why the loss of small businesses (and small, local papers) is bad in the long run.
Yes, you are fortunate. Our paper went to digital only about a year ago, then shut down completely a few months ago. Another started up recently, but I haven't seen it. It's only published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The entire point of a real newspaper is the bigger Sunday edition, and we don't have one. Plus, three days a week, it's expensive, so no. Oh, and it's delivered by mail. Truth be told, the old newspaper, and the digital news from one of the television stations is so poorly edited I cringe and send screenshots to my daughter who will have a BS in English soon. One headline read "Republications" for "Republicans."
ReplyDeleteVery few physical papers left...
ReplyDelete