No More Newsprint?

Forty-some years ago I worked in what was called the preparatory department of the world’s largest producer of newsstand materials. Locally, it was known as the Comic Book Factory.

It was my task to make sure the final product met the publishers’ standards and expectations. Today, my job would be called quality control.

In the preparatory department, I had a desk in a corner of one of the rooms. There I would read, look at, compare - - or whatever you want to call it - - the submitted artwork against the rough copy of the magazine then the corrected draft against the first product that came off the printing press. My colleagues and I usually drank a cup of coffee while we performed our jobs.

I can only presume that somehow the ink from the magazines was absorbed through my skin and blended with the coffee I ingested. I come to this deduction because I cannot read a newspaper without having a cup of coffee.

There must be some secret ingredient in the newsprint that enhances the taste of coffee. Or maybe it’s the other way around; I do not know.

I look forward to arising, retrieving my daily paper, and then settling in a corner of the couch with my coffee at my side while I read the news of the day. It is as much a part of life as is bacon and eggs.

Sadly, this daily routine and indulgence may come to an end, and in the not too distant future. I read with alarm the number of newspapers that are going out of business, reducing publication days, or filing for protection through bankruptcy.

What happened? What went wrong? Is it the Internet? Is it the economy? Is it a loss of interest in current events?

“Dead! That’s what John Doe was at 7:15 PM last evening when police found his bullet riddled body at 12th & Locust.” Our minds seem happy with that bare amount of information. Either we do not care about the details or we do not want to take time to discover the details. We want things instantaneously, just give us the bare facts, like in the opening part of this paragraph.

Recently a local daily, The Southern, reduced its paper size to save on costs. The Lions of Illinois state magazine has reduced its publication to 32 pages because of the economy. The Chicago Tribune is in financial trouble. The Ann Arbor, Michigan newspaper will now be solely published on the Internet. Dallas, Texas may lose its daily paper. Some metropolitan dailies are contemplating every-other-day deliveries.

I do not know about you, but reading news items on the Internet while drinking my morning coffee just will not mesh. Besides, have we not been warned to keep liquids away from our computers?

Come on, America. It’s time to start reading. Relearn how to hold a newspaper in your hands. Look for the details in the story so you will be more knowledgeable. Savor the essence of newsprint mingled with the aroma of coffee.

Besides, if we do away with the newspaper, where will the dog potty? How can you wrap a fish in a computer screen? Can you line the litter box with printed pages from your computer’s printer?