Goodbye Fishwrap…

[qtlaw]

Cancelled my subscription to SF Chronicle after 30 yrs (marriage account, been getting it since I could read in ‘68). Very sad. Got to point it was irrelevant, everything I was reading I already knew. Sports especially. We have one hard copy delivery left but may let that go too. It at least is slightly better with local news and slightly more recent news.

 

[Flip Wilson]

I canceled our digital subscription to the local newspaper last year. Rates kept going up and coverage of everything kept declining. I talked to a reporter from that paper this past weekend, and there are three news reporters on staff now. Used to be dozens.

I was sad to unsubscribe, but it just wasn't worth the money.

 

[wicked]

My mom still has the paper delivered so she can read the obits and the lottery numbers — and now the lottery numbers are a night behind.

I don’t think it’s worth it.

 

[TigerVols]

I dumped all of my subs in November. NYT,LAT,WaPo. But Google hasn’t figured it out and still provides me with news, and when there’s an article that interests me I’m usually able to suss it out without giving them clicks.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I was definitely sad when I pulled the plug on what is now the shell of our former good local paper. I mentioned that when I was out golfing with a buddy who still works there.

His response summed it up pretty well: "They quit on you long before you quit on them."

 

[Gutter]

Dumped my digital subscription for my hometown newspaper a few months ago.

Mostly for same reasons noted above, content quality. Most stories are related to food/restaurants or things to do in the area this weekend (ex. the same ****) or what businesses are opening/closing.

And the god-awful regurgitation of Twitter reaction posts crafted into a “story” under a vague, SEO friendly, question posed headline.

Thanks Gannett.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The local sheet raised its home-delivery price to $400/yr! This is for a 12-page tabloid. I told them I wouldn't pay it and switched to digital only, which is still expensive at $230/yr. I'd hate to see the paper go under, but all I read are obits (which are available on funeral home websites) and the police blotter. There's a scanner guy on Facebook who reports calls around the county in real time. The most interesting recently was a guy who choked during a Feb. 1 hot-dog eating contest at a local bar and ended up in the ICU. The paper hasn't reported anything on it yet.

 

[playthrough]

I was definitely sad when I pulled the plug on what is now the shell of our former good local paper. I mentioned that when I was out golfing with a buddy who still works there.

His response summed it up pretty well: "They quit on you long before you quit on them."

So true. I get regular updates on the Indy Star print edition from a Facebook friend who still gets it and chronicles all the mistakes and lack of timely news. None of it is surprising, considering the ridiculous deadlines and out-of-state production desk. But at this point, the joke is on him. That product is never going back to 1995.

I refuse to mourn any papers that give up on print for full-digital. I applaud it.

 

[qtlaw]

I was definitely sad when I pulled the plug on what is now the shell of our former good local paper. I mentioned that when I was out golfing with a buddy who still works there.

His response summed it up pretty well: "They quit on you long before you quit on them."

Thank you, that makes me feel a bit better. I don't want to abandon reporters but if the paper is/has quitting on us, what's the point? I'm not supporting a charity (trying to make a profit).

 

[Huggy]

My mom still has the paper delivered so she can read the obits and the lottery numbers — and now the lottery numbers are a night behind.

I don’t think it’s worth it.

My mother still gets the Toronto Sun but the only time I see a hard copy of any of the Toronto papers is when I go to the dentist twice a year. Was there last week and it's basically nothing, the sports section was wire stories on the conference championship games and a column about what the Jays rotation might look like next season. And the comics and horiscope.

 

[jackfinarelli]

I still get the Washington Post delivered every morning. I also read it online - - but I really prefer holding the paper in my hands as I consume the news.

My wife got me a coffee mug at the Newseum - - when it existed - - that says:

"I LIKE THE SMELL OF NEWSPRINT IN THE MORNING"
​

I guess this "habit" comes from when I was a kid; we got a morning paper and an evening paper delivered every day to our house. Reading the paper has always been a big deal for me.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

I haven't picked up a physical rag since the week TCU and Baylor both got snubbed for the first CFP. Happened to be in the waiting room while I was getting an oil change.

 

[Small Town Guy]

I've mentioned my parents' newspaper habits before. Was just there and this is the latest hard-copy tally: Five weeklies, three dailies. Between newspapers and the fact once a month they're buying seven or eight hardcover books at Barnes & Noble, they're probably keeping like six different people in various media industries employed.

 

[qtlaw]

Another reason I cancelled it, mild, but still a reason, clutter. I can blow through the Sunday Ed. on Sunday (that's what it's for right?). Wifey though will say "oh wait I want to read those sections, don't throw them out" and then next thing you know there's a couple of weeks worth and more coming....

 

[DanOregon]

My parents make a daily trip to the local store to pick up a paper, my mom loves the puzzles and the obits. She and dad only moved up here a year ago, but I think they are at an age where they take joy in knowing they've lived longer than most. I can't believe what they are charging for papers these days. And it isn't like my parents don't already KNOW what is happening today or need to be reminded what happened yesterday with all the news they watch on TV. At least they aren't subscribing. I think my dad just likes having a newspaper in his hands. Neither are internet types anymore. I guess their obits will be the last newspaper "story" I write. And I imagine the number of people they know, who know them that still read the paper (up here and in the Bay Area) will be about 20, if that. So about $30 per reader.

 

[MileHigh]

I haven't subscribed to a print version of a newspaper since the Rocky closed in February 2009.

 

[wicked]

I guess their obits will be the last newspaper "story" I write.

And you'll get charged hundreds of dollars for the privilege of offering the paper free content.

 

[Flip Wilson]

And you'll get charged hundreds of dollars for the privilege of offering the paper free content.

I told me Intro to Mass Comm class yesterday that obits are the new cash cow for newspapers. Classifieds were for years, but those are pretty much non-existent now thanks to, first, Craigslist, and eventually Facebook Marketplace.

 

[John]

Another reason I cancelled it, mild, but still a reason, clutter. I can blow through the Sunday Ed. on Sunday (that's what it's for right?). Wifey though will say "oh wait I want to read those sections, don't throw them out" and then next thing you know there's a couple of weeks worth and more coming....

That's why I stopped getting the New Yorker. A lot of great stuff in each issue -- though I'd argue most of their stories could benefit from losing about 20% -- but it was hard to finish an issue before the next arrived. Soon, the stack is a foot high.

 

[DanOregon]

I used to be a cover to cover NewYorker reader, but I just couldn't do it. Learned a way to skim articles. Scan down to where the "nut" of the story is, blow past any descriptions about what someone was wearing or what or where they were eating during and interview. And you can "read" about any NY article in about three minutes. And I never read the fiction. And reading about music and art seems pointless. I can usually get through one issue per gym visit. But, I am currently reading a 2022 issue, soo00000,