On-line News Still Can’t Beat a Printed Sunday Newspaper~

On-line News Still Can’t Beat a Printed Sunday Newspaper~

For the past several years I’ve gotten my news primarily from on-line sources from Yahoo, CNN, The Guardian, Huffington Post and The New York Times; however, there are few pleasures that I luxuriate in more than lounging in my reading chair on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and a print copy of The New York Times.  I do not watch television news because I find it superficial and annoying. The bias of the newsreaders who insert their opinions or try to inflame views is, to me, contrary to the purpose of the press – which is to inform – unless clearly identified as an editorial. I feel disdain for Infotainment.

This week I was indulged with both the Times and the Washington Post. If I have to choose one paper, it will be the Times because the content will occupy me for hours. Yesterday morning I enjoyed the front section for more than an hour. I read Section A from cover to cover. I read the Washington Post because it is my local paper and I like to read the Metro Section. But my affection for The Post has waned in recent years.

I do subscribe to The New York Times online and read the daily content; however, I’ve found reading “the paper” online is far less satisfactory than opening a print edition, reading an article while the paper is spread across my lap, and then folding it and hearing the crinkle as I turn the pages to finish an article continued on another page. For me, a satisfying Sunday morning begins with coffee and a paper. I cannot imagine a future without newsprint.

Just as I read a number of books in electronic format on my Kindle, iPad or laptop, there is something particularly enjoyable about holding an actual book, feeling its weight, touching the pages, and flipping back and forth to maps, photographic inserts, historic timelines or family trees of historical persons. There are occasions when an electronic format is unsatisfactory.

And that is how I feel about the Sunday paper. A printed newspaper feels an indulgence to me. Having a paper to peruse in bed, read on the porch, or tuck into my tote to read while en route to brunch is not just a treat, it is an essential part of a weekend for me.

How do you feel?  Would you miss a Sunday paper if it were no longer available in print?  I know I would. A Sunday paper helps me feel grounded in the present.