Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Shrinking Newspapers

Word comes today that the Orange County Register is going to be shrinking -- literally. It will lose one inch in width by this fall.

Other changes are detailed in an article published today. This news comes on the heels of the paper recently ditching its Business section, in part because people read stock news online.

I've also noticed that the Long Beach Press-Telegram has been shrinking rapidly. The Local News section recently completely disappeared. The paper -- which has also gotten thinner in width -- is down to a mere three sections.

Meanwhile, some days the L.A. Times Sports section -- the best part of the paper -- is incredibly thin. It's frustrating to expect to read about a certain topic at breakfast -- say, figure skating -- only to find a note in the paper that the article is "on L.A. Times com" only.

I love the Internet, but I also love to read newspapers -- although the bias at the L.A. Times drives me nuts. There is a certain pleasure from opening the crisp pages of a brand-new paper that can't be replaced by the computer. The paper's a little more portable, too. :)

I really wonder if newspapers and home newspaper delivery will even exist a decade or so from now.

2 Comments:

Blogger Irene said...

We get the Press-Telegram from our neighbor. I am not sure that if we had to pay for it we would bother. But like you I do like opening a paper. I have been disheartened by the PT for over a year now. And don't even get me started on what they have done to the comic section!

12:57 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

My kids have been very dismayed by changes to the Register's Sunday Comics -- the size of the comics "boxes" greatly shrunk down, which takes some of the visual pleasure out of the Sunday paper.

Best wishes,
Laura

2:15 PM  

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