In this blog, I talk a lot about change. And about how change is of the things we can expect in our life. Something that we can count on.
This week I experienced a change that I thought I would never see in my lifetime. And while it may seem kind of silly or strange to those of you who read this blog, to me it was a tough decision to make the change I did.
So don't laugh when I tell you that the change I made was to quit taking the daily newspaper. Because I know that most of you don't subscribe to or read the daily newspaper. Today most of you get your news off of your telephone. Or off the Internet. Maybe out of one of the free papers – like the New Times.
But it was a little more emotional decision for me because for much of my early life I worked on newspapers as either an editor, headline writer, or staff writer. I even worked on the newspaper when I was in prison - if the prison was one that had a newspaper. And one of my goals in high school and early life was to become a writer and working on a newspaper – while not well paid – was a good way to get a lot of experience. In fact, one time I was released on parole and shortly thereafter went to work as a staff writer for one of the biggest newspapers in the United States. That gig came to an end when I got caught leaving the newsroom one night with six capsules of heroin in my pocket. And before long I was back writing for the prison newspaper.
So, if I was so much in love with newspapers why did I quit subscribing? Well, the answer is very simple. The answer is that they raised the price of the monthly newspaper – seven days a week delivery – to over $55 dollars a month. And a few years ago, maybe as few as three or four years ago, the paper was only $25 a month. But the price wasn't the only factor. The paper not only went up in price, they got rid of some of their better writers, while at the same time reducing the number of pages to the size of a throwaway tabloid. The only papers that had any size to them at all were the Wednesday and Sunday editions where all of the advertisements appeared.
So I made the decision and canceled my subscription. It only took a few minutes on the phone to cancel it. But it probably took me a year or so to make the decision because I love the idea of opening pages and reading in-depth analyses of what's going on in the world. So I canceled reluctantly, and with mixed feelings.
Now I read my news on my iPad, a change I know it'll take a while to get used to.
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