The Pros and Cons of a Tangible Newspaper

Is it worth the effort to consume news away from our screens?

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We’ve been receiving actual old-school paper newspapers at our house for the last couple of years.

Yes, that may be a shocking statement for some of you. How can this guy who frequently writes about all of this fancy new technology still read paper newspapers? I sometimes wonder that myself.

So, I thought it would be interesting to break down some of the things that I love about the newspaper while also touching on a few things tha are less than ideal.

Let’s take a look!

Pros

The Senses

Reading a paper is really a feast for all of your senses. Of course it’s pretty easy on the eyes if you’re used to staring at a screen all the time. Reading on paper is usually far easier than reading on a screen. You’ll get less strain on your eyes and you don’t have to worry about glare.

What about the smell of ink on paper? It’s pretty unique. You know a newspaper when you smell it right? It may not be a smell that you love, but it’s a distinct olfactory experience.

This may sound crazy, but I also love the sound of a newspaper. As great as it is to silently swipe at a screen, I like the noisy crinkle when unfolding a section of the paper. It’s always a frustrating experience trying to fold it all back up nicely, but the sound is just fine in my book.

The Ritual

I think the ritual of the newspaper can also be tied to the senses. You anticipate that smell of ink on a Sunday morning. You may associate the paper with not just the smell of ink, but maybe also the smell of the coffee you drink while reading the paper.

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There is a ritual in the way you unfold the paper the same way each day or week. Maybe you have a specific order in which you read the paper. Is it from the front page onward or do you jump around to your favorite sections first.

I equate the ritual of reading the paper to the experience of making a cup of tea or a pour-over coffee. Yes, you could get the instant version instead (skimming the story on your phone or a push-button single cup coffee) but you are choosing the more intentional, slower version of essentially the same end product.

The Focus

Let’s face it, we have short attention spans these days. It’s a wonder that you’ve even continued reading up to this point. Thank you by the way! But when you’re reading a newspaper there is another level of focus involved.

Your paper newspaper will not beep at you. It won’t suggest another thing that you should read. It won’t do anything to interrupt the experience of consuming the words on its pages. And this is a beautiful thing.

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I also give some bonus points here for the ability to read a paper while eating or drinking something. I won’t lie, I like to read the paper when eating something messy where I don’t mind using the paper to wipe my hands. It’s something I’d never be able to do if reading on a phone or Kindle. The newspaper can be your entertainment and your clean-up all at the same time!

Cons

The Timeliness

This may be obvious, but a newspaper isn’t timeless. It has a very finite shelf life. In my specific circumstance, I receive the local paper on Friday morning. This paper offers up fun things to do in town starting that day! There are typically events happening on Friday night that I totally miss if I don’t get around to reading the paper until Saturday or Sunday. That makes it way less helpful.

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And in the age of the internet, almost all printed newspaper stories are also published digitally. In my case of the Friday morning local paper delivery, some of those stories could have been read online several days earlier. We’re mostly talking about commentary and cultural pieces that are still relevant a few days later. But if I want the latest news, I’m not really getting it by the time the paper arrives on my doorstep.

It’s almost like each newspaper is a ticking clock. You can’t wait too long to read it or it may feel completely useless. Which brings me to my next con.

The Guilt

There is a certain level of guilt if I don’t get through a whole newspaper in a timely manner! Our local paper is fairly easy to get through in a day or two. Most of the articles are quick reads.

But we also receive the Sunday New York Times which is a whole other beast. Sure, there are some lazy Sundays where I can get through most of it. But other weekends we’re busy and the paper just sits there. I’ll do my best to get to it on Monday or Tuesday. By Wednesday, I’m starting to feel pretty guilty.

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I know there is tons of knowledge in that paper, but it’s from Sunday. There are all sorts of new Wednesday news for me online, how can I go back to the paper news on a Wednesday? As great as the paper is, it can saddle you with guilt in just a few days.

The Waste

So I’ve gone a few days without reading the paper and now it just sits there on the table. Maybe it’s been spread out and it sits on multiple surfaces around our home. Maybe some pages of this week’s paper start to mingle with pages from last week’s paper. You lose track of what’s what!

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And you have a pile of paper that needs to be disposed of. I know, it’s pretty easy to recycle newspaper. It’s not going straight to the landfill to rot. But it’s still dead trees that need to be processed. It’s still taking up space in our recycling bin. And let’s not forget that it most likely has made our fingers black with ink. Going to have to waste some water to wash those hands!

Would I have been better off just reading that article online instead? My hands would still be clean and maybe a few trees (or at least branches) would still be alive. Our recycling system could re-allocate those resources to something else right?

Conclusion

So, you can see I’m pretty torn about this subject. There are positives and negatives to being a newspaper household in this modern age. Do we need it? No, not at all. But it sure is nice to have a tangible paper in our house each week. And as a dad, it never hurts to have some extra newspaper around to help make art projects less messy. And don’t forget about the ol’ Silly Putty newspaper trick. My daughter still gets a kick out of that every time.

For now, I’m going to continue getting my newspapers, but I know I’m one of the last few holdouts. Or am I wrong about this? Are newspapers making a comeback as people try to disconnect from their devices more?

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Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

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