DeeDoo’s Digital Scrapbooking Blog

I fear that my days of reading the local newspaper are coming to an end.

Monday morning we were surprised to find our newspaper decked out in an all-new format, complete with multiple color codes (so you’ll know where you are), short headlines (so you can scan quicker), sidebars (to summarize all those facts), and more. All these changes are the result of customer surveys and an effort to please the subscribers and keep them buying the paper.

The new format is pretty – looks a lot like USA Today. But the change has upset the leisurely feel of reading the paper. It now seems more like sound bites than real articles, and it refers us to their website ‘for additional information.’

I acquired the habit of reading a daily newspaper each morning from my parents. It’s been a way to ease into the day, scanning headlines and reading choice articles while sipping a hot mug of coffee. A day without this little ritual just didn’t seem to go quite right. I felt adrift from the mother ship of ‘what’s going on in the world today.’

Now, of course, I can get the lowdown on way too much of what’s going on in the world through the Internet and CNN online, among others. And I’ve become addicted to that, too. Days without the local paper don’t hurt as much, and the pleasure from reading the local paper has been gradually diminishing over the past few years.

Still, the paper seemed like a familiar old friend in the house, stopping by to deliver the latest happenings. That familiarity has gone by the wayside with the new format change. We can get all the news online now, including the local and state happenings, from a new familiar old friend—the Internet. And the information is delivered rain or shine, 24/7. We don’t even have to venture out the door.

I’m going to feel a little sad the day I cancel the paper. But you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, and I’ve almost finished my training.