by Paul Schingle

Created on: May 31, 2008

I don't know if it means I'm old school or if I'm just stubborn, but I read the newspaper every single day. There's just something about it that makes ingesting the news, especially with the current state of the economy, our current upcoming elections and all the other bad news out there, more palatable. I almost never watch the news on television (or television at all, for that matter). I do read things of interest when on the internet, but you always have to take any "net news" with a grain of salt. But, one of my morning rituals is always to sit down and read the Chicago Tribune. On days I have time for lunch at work, I'll also read the Sun Times. It's good to get a number of points of view. And don't kid yourself. As much as the press want you to think they're objective, they really aren't.

Television news is just too cutesy for my tastes. The worst, of course, are those early morning shows that claim to be news. They may have a five-minute blurb of something real at the top of each hour, then follow that up with fifty-five minutes of celebrity gossip, the latest fashion fads and some little kid who's done something to amaze adults world-wide like tie his shoes left-handed. Early morning TV news is little (if any) better than Entertainment Tonight. And late night local news isn't much better.

The internet isn't a horrible source for getting information. The problem is, anybody can publish on the internet. Everything you read there is going to be rather obviously slanted (and I include my writing on the net as well). But even the stuff you read from AP, which is supposed to pride itself on objectivity, has a slight tilt. Internet news is a full step above the TV, and I read news there, but one just has to be careful what they're going to believe.

From an objectivity standpoint, I suppose newspapers aren't all that much better. Columnists are especially slanted, but then they're supposed to be. Still, there's just nothing like unfolding the paper and reading political news, sports and local interest stories over a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I actually prefer reading the columnists I'm most likely to disagree with. It gets your blood pumping and wakes the mind up. There really is nothing like good old newsprint.

So, what is the future of the daily paper? Some say the printed word is a dinosaur whose time is about over. I certainly hope they're wrong. Reading newspapers regularly just feels right. It feels right in your hands. Give me something I can touch. Truly, there is nothing else like it.

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