My hometown paper, The Charlotte Observer, has fired Kevin Siers, its Pulitzer-Prize winning political cartoonist. Like many other papers, the Observer has been whittling itself away the past few years. They lost their palatial office building, quit printing a Saturday edition, and have bled off numerous positions over the last decade: business editor, book editor, social editor, and so on.
I didn’t agree with many of the Observer’s or Siers’ positions, but they were well presented and challenging. They used to host a limerick competition for St. Patrick’s Day and picked one of my limericks for publication. Kevin Siers picked my submission for his “Write that Caption” cartoon competition four times, and always awarded me with his original black-and-white drawing — except the last one, when he surprised me with the colorized version used for publication. (See above) It’s a cherished memento that now hangs framed in my office.
People tell me, “Just read the news online.” No. Trying to read online is not the same experience. Pop-up ads disrupt you. Worse, autoplay videos try to lure you away from the article, and videos aren’t as thought-provoking or enjoyable. Reading is an active and cooperative activity between reader and writer, while watching a video is passive and one-sided. Watching a video is like inserting electrodes into your brain and submissively absorbing the input.
Progress? This isn’t it.
M.C. Tuggle, Writer 
I agree, Mike. Reading online is definitely NOT the same experience. And, congrats on the cartoon caption. Priceless.
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Jack,
It’s prophetic too.
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Great post, Mike. I agree with every word of it. Sorry to see your hometown paper go the way of all physical newspapers. Congrats on the acceptance of your submissions, and the color memento.
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Thanks, David. I suppose the ‘net was the death knell of print media.
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Absolutely!! Job killer. Cruel and inhuman efficiency.
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Agree with everything you say. Sad, sad. Contemplation is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
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David,
You are correct. We’re losing those precious moments when we’re free to contemplate our world and the thoughts and experiences of others. Stimulation and the pursuit of the buzz are all that matter. Truly sad.
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Although it is sweeping back the waves, I wish paper editions would last for all the reasons above. Also, while newspaper editing has become bad over the years and reporting often is editorializing, online reporting seems at time to lack any editors at all, focusing primarily on click-bait headlines.
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alie,
Yes, and it’s speeding up the downfall of local papers. Guess they can’t see that.
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One advantage of online news is that you get set up google alerts for the type of news you are really interested in. However, other than that, I agree, I love the paper versions more. It is more fun to read and the online news is, as you said, full of ads and nonsense, not to mention all the fake stuff on social media.
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Thomas,
I don’t mind ads, and know they’re necessary, but the intrusive ones repel readers.
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It’s sad, Mike!
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Jennie,
Yes, it is. It’s a step back from a literate society.
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It certainly is!
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I bought the paper for years, Mike. Sipping coffee and reading the Sunday edition was the best! I agree with you that online news isn’t the same. It’s curated “for me” which limits my exposure to new topics. I want to choose what I read, not some algorithm. Sigh.
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Diana,
I agree. Nowadays, it’s generic infomercials and cookie-cutter op-eds disguised as reporting.
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Great post. I mentioned in a post I wrote about a week or so ago, that the local newspaper in my area is a joke. No Tuesdays and Saturdays although the Sunday edition is out and delivered on Saturday anyway that edition is not worth the price for the little amount of real meaning news.
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Pondering,
Yes, it’s sad. The Internet has turned everything upside down.
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The price of progress is all.
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Anon,
Yes. Sad.
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I couldn’t agree more, Mike. When I first started working as a journalist with our local newspaper, it had cut from 5 days a week to 3. When I was let go as a stringer during COVID, it had been cut to 1 day a week and was no longer run by local staff. Another issue has been the US Postal Service. I pay good money for the Wall Street Journal because I want a daily newspaper. For several years now, our local postal service has failed to deliver my paper daily or on time, and sometimes failed to deliver it at all. I sometimes get copies weeks late if at all. I abhor reading online, if I can help it. There truly is a difference in how our brains consume information between online media and print media (Maryanne Wolf and Nicholas Carr’s work atteststo this). As a caveat, I like reading some things online, such as your blog. Keep it up, my friend.
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Will do!
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