Goodbye, print Statesman Journal and Oregonian. We went digital.

Today was a day that I never thought would arrive -- the day my wife and I decided to stop getting home delivery of the Salem Statesman Journal and Portland Oregonian.

Given our age, early 70s, we grew up reading newspapers printed on dead trees that crinkled when you turned the pages.

Laurel and I both like print newspapers. 

But we also like seeing the Statesman Journal and Oregonian in the paper box at the end of our driveway. And increasingly, that wasn't happening.

Our neighbors reported the same thing was happening to them. So even though I registered a complaint every time this occurred, which was often, the delivery still was erratic.

Plus, for four years I've subscribed to the online editions of the New York Times and Washington Post. 

I find it easy and pleasant to read those newspapers on my computer, iPad, or iPhone.

So it finally dawned on me that I could do the same with the Statesman Journal and Oregonian, though neither has a web site as clean and easy to navigate as the Times and Post.

Thus today I phoned customer service at the Oregon newspapers and changed our subscriptions to digital only. 

That resulted in big savings. The Statesman Journal went from $59 a month to $10. The Oregonian went from $54 to $23. 

Bottom line: instead of paying $113 a month for the two papers, now we're paying $33 -- $80 a month less. 

It felt like a bittersweet moment, talking to the customer service people. I've gotten home delivery of the Statesman Journal for 44 years, ever since moving to Salem from Portland in 1977.

Holding a newspaper in my hand as I eat breakfast has been a part of my life for much longer. As long as I can remember, actually. 

OK, as a kid I probably focused on the comics. Which is still one of the favorite parts of the Oregonian for my wife, in large part because of Pearls Before Swine, a pleasingly acerbic comic strip.

After I switched to digital only, I couldn't find the comic strips on the Oregonian's oregonlive.com site. I also couldn't find the TV sports listings that I frequently refer to in the print paper. 

But after logging into my Oregonian account I found the e-newspaper that looks just like the print newspaper, insofar as a paper on a screen looks like a printed paper.

That solved the problem of comics and TV sports listings. (The Statesman Journal also has an e-edition, but I prefer the Oregonian for everything other than the few Salem stories in our local newspaper.)

So right now I have no regrets about going all-in on digital newspapers. Should mention that I also subscribe to the digital Salem Reporter for about $8 a month.

Thus I'm getting a healthy dose of daily news for not a whole lot of money per month: $15 New York Times, $15 Washington Post, $10 Statesman Journal, $23 Oregonian, $8 Salem Reporter -- $71 a month total.

That's just $12 a month more than I was paying each month for Statesman Journal home delivery. Going digital is a lot more cost-effective, for sure. 

I suspect print newspapers will become extinct before too long. Us baby boomers probably are the last generation to have a longstanding love affair with holding a print newspaper in our increasingly wrinkled hands.

Young people probably can't understand that infatuation, having grown up with smart phones and other electronic devices in the same way us old folks grew up with paper, pencils, and slide rules. 

(Google "slide rule" youngsters, if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Comments

[Kurt]

Although you sometimes seem to have a bit of a conservative virus embedded in your operating system and occasionally make "over the top" remarks, the contributions that you make are unique and appreciated.

As the disparity between incomes widen, fewer people will have access to competent reporting due to the increasing dominance of paywall protected sources. You could be profiting from your work and I respect your choice to provide the free service.

An example of the importance of what you do is the recent school board article. Not only was it excellent, but it provided an opportunity for Jim to make his incredibly accurate and important comment.

You can't stop progress (even when it may not be as progressive as intended) so going digital is in the cards, just as going digital seems to describe the future of library systems.

As Salem is showing signs of catching up with cultural changes, I can imagine that there could one day be enough support for an online competitor to the Journal. I miss the writings of Helen Caswell.

After all, without being able to hold the physical object in your hands, what does the Journal really have to offer. Not much, in my opinion. Anyone can post digitally and there is a plethora of talent out there just yearning for opportunities to participate.

An informed public is, of course, key to a functioning democracy.

[William C Fouste]

Brian, you haven't been reading The Oregonian online the last few years, when they went to a four-day home delivery schedule? Like you, as a 71-year old, I prefer reading words on printed paper. There is something relaxing about the printed page that I prefer. That being said, I had been reading the e-edition of The Oregonian three days a week and then every day, during our annual Summer-in-the-Winter trip to the Southwest for three months.

I live in a rural area also, at the end of The Oregonian delivery route (they apparently follow USPS routes). I often failed to get a paper delivered, and just read it online instead. As a Progressive/Democratic Socialist, I am also concerned about mitigating climate change. So, I felt guilty adding CO2 to the atmosphere by having a physical product hauled out to my house. Even though I was reading The Oregonian online for a good portion of the year. A few months ago I discovered, trying to renew my subscription, The Oregonian now offers a digital only subscription. That was all it took (a financial incentive) to stop getting the physical product.

My transition was helped by my starting to read The Washington Post, New York Times, and The Guardian, online, last year. Yes, this is the future! I still dislike listening or watching for information. All of those publications are pushing audio and video. So far, I read a transcript if available (notably Ezra Klein), but otherwise skip the info.

To respond to Kurt's posting: those citizens not now paying for news, are not going to be deprived of info. The vast majority of Americans are not now informed from news organizations (see Ezra's interview with Kristen Soltis Anderson).

Now if I can only transition to electronic storage of information, instead of printing on paper!