Are We Past Newspapers?
What is wrong with the world today? Doesn’t anyone get a headache from reading so much online? Don’t you enjoy picking up a magazine or a newspaper every now and then for some quiet, un-plugged time alone? Apparently hardcopy newspapers are suffering because they continue to lay off great writers. And although this blog that I am typing right now from my laptop is a blow to the written paper, I do read the hardcopy newspaper daily and always look to it for information and happenings.
I am unsettled today because a great writer was laid off from the paper that I frequently read. It will not be the same to read someone else’s articles, much like when your favorite news anchor leaves your most-watched station or retires.
I was also laid-off from the newspaper I am speaking of, and it was a bigtime blow to my self-esteem. When your job is to write, no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep your work from becoming personal. Your thoughts become your work and your paycheck. Creativity and unique writing become something you try endlessly to harness and bridle. So, that being said, how can you not take a lay-off personal?
As we continue to electronify every aspect of our lives, while it may be faster, easier, and more efficient, I still challenge everyone out there to pick up an actual newspaper and take a look. The internet cannot recreate the inky smell, the crinkling sound of the pages, or the glee that a young child feels when they swat that paper out of their mother’s view.