The Death of the Newspaper
I am officially a part of the problem—the problem of declining newspaper sales, that is.
I cancelled my Edmonton Journal subscription today, after being a loyal reader for as long as I can remember. The main reason that I cancelled was that I just never seemed to find the time to read the paper. And when I did find the time, I was usually reading it online, rather than out of the physical paper.
A secondary reason was that the paper was massively cluttering up my house. Newspapers generate a huge amount of paper waste. And, because I recycle the paper, it tends to build up and take up a huge amount of space in between trips to the recycling depot.
I feel kind of bad about cancelling my subscription, because I am a part of the problem. But, mostly, I feel liberated. No more paper cluttering up my apartment. No more waste, since I’m not reading it anyway.
There’s also the issue of cost. I was originally going to switch to weekend-only service, since I usually do have time to read the paper on the weekend, but the difference in cost between 7-day service and weekend-only service is only about $4. I understand that this is done to encourage people to go for the full 7-day service but, for people in my situation, it’s essentially a deterrent. If I can save $26 a month versus only saving $4 per month, I’m going to opt for the greater savings.
How Will I Get My News Now?
When I want to read the paper—and when I have the time—I will do so online. And I’ll continue to get my news from other sources: television, radio, various online outlets, and Maclean’s (yes, I subscribe to the actual print edition and don’t plan to cancel it anytime soon).
Sorry Edmonton Journal. It’s nothing personal. I still like you, and I think you’ve got some incredible journalists writing for you, but the physical newspaper just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle anymore.