by Shirley Gooding

Created on: July 02, 2009   Last Updated: July 11, 2009

No, newspapers should give readers the option of perusing a print version. Who wants to crawl into bed with their personal computer to read the Sunday paper with the family? As the population ages and eyes dim, especially using those goofy curly bulbs, newspapers are a comfortable way to stay in touch with the world, both local and global.

Many of my generation feel there is something special about getting printers ink on our hands after a good read. And how in the world will we line the bird cages, wrap fish or collect money for recycling if everything is on a computer screen? Newspapers going out of print will be responsible for many lost jobs as well as revenue for suffering municipalities with shrinking budgets. Cities collect a lot of money with their recycling programs which includes newspapers.

There is a movement afoot to get college newspapers to go totally to an on-line format and there are some very unhappy journalism instructors as a result. Believe it or not there are students who do not have access to a computer, to read up on what is happening at their school. And what happens to that special event that was published in the paper once it is confined to cyber-space? The computer crashes and your sons Eagle ceremony no longer exists. Same with obituary, birth and wedding announcements. No, I believe there should be a hard copy option. You can't put a computer in a scrapbook!

If newspapers think they will survive in a fully digital world, they are sadly mistaken. Do they plan to charge for this service? A daily newspaper, hard copy will cost a reader from 25-75 cents per day and up to $1.50 on Sunday. If there is home delivery, that privilege will cost between $60 and $90 per year.

There is no way people will pay to read something on-line, so how are they going to pay the reporters, editors etc.? Without these workers there is no newspaper. The loss from ad revenues alone will cause them to go under. Ads are easy to delete on-line and I for one pay them no mind. I find most ads on-line are annoying and can be downright dangerous, especially when they are accompanied by flashing lights or rapidly changing colors. I am an epileptic and extremely sensitive to these things.

Newspapers could really save themselves from destruction by keeping the option of a hard copy open for those of us who desire it. Indeed, the day newspapers are completely on-line, is the day I give up on this beloved medium of communication.

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