Tell me again ... why do newspapers need paper, exactly?

Why do you need a Kindle if you have a computer? I can get the Times on my laptop already...

 

I'm 41 and I don't want a Kindle. I'm as old-school as you can be for someone my age, but I think there's certain things which people my generation and the ones before me still value in a newspaper.
For example, if your kid, grandkid, niece, nephew, whatever, makes the honor roll, hits three homers in a Little League game, gets engaged or married, gets a promotion, anything like that, a newspaper clipping is a nice thing to have for a scrapbook or the fridge. Going to the Web site and printing it out just isn't the same.
I completely get the point about saving millions of dollars on newsprint and other costs, but count me as one of the relics of a bygone era who hopes print editions last a little while longer, at least at weeklies and small-town dailies. They might not survive another 26 years till I retire, but another 5-10 years would be nice.
Now, release the hounds....

 

I don't have a Kindle, but I know someone who took a long vacation and while he was driving, his wife could just whip out the small Kindle and start reading a book, paper, etc. No need to open up a clunky laptop, which might be hard to read anyway in a car. Just hold the Kindle right up to your face, I guess. And there's more of these devices on the way. I don't know if this is the future or not, but the future is not what 50+-year old people want. Hell, probably not even 40+-years old.

 

How many of your kids lug home 25-pound backpacks?

Imagine them lugging home this.

And if you think we are all going to be using clunky laptops in 10 years, well I am going to think differently.

 

Point taken about the kindle being more portable, but I can also read the Times on my iPhone. Why would I play $500 for a third device with such a specific purpose?

 

I don't believe the print version of newspapers will ever completely vanish, no more than I believe books or magazines will one day be exclusively digital.

 

Do they break easily? Are they really as portable as a small paperback? Nice to be able to "carry" many books at once, but what if you misplace it while on vacation?

 

Another thing to consider is that a newspaper gets delivered to a house and then different people can read different sections all at the same time. Not so if the family has one Kindle.

A good thought, though.

 

BB, you are assuming that a home will only have one Kindle.

 

And you're assuming more than one person in the house reads a newspaper anymore.

 

I have a kindle and get the Times on it. I'm a big fan.

 

In 10 years we will have a single device that we surf and net on, send messages, listen to music, take pictures, record videos, play games, read books, read newspapers and watch TV on the road on.

This device will be bigger than a Blackberry but smaller than a laptop.

Students carrying backpacks to school will look as out of place as desks with ink wells in them.