Community Chat

[golding76]

Only a few days ago during a discussion on this board about subscribing to certain magazines, such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, I suggested that I regarded keeping the printed word alive as a "civic duty." I wrote of my heartache when a newspaper or magazine folds.

Well, the Washington Post, to which I've subscribed for several decades, has now been bought by someone who is a master of the Internet. It was just announced. What does it mean for my beloved Post?

Some might view my alarm as unnecessary hyperventilation, but really, where will we be if we do not have hard copy newspapers and magazines? Yes, newspapers are online, but I swear they do not contain all the copy found in the version thrown into your driveway every morning.

I hope Mr. Bezos can breathe new life into the Post. I hope I don't have to order my news online. By the way, on the news tonight (the announcement just came on the 10:00 o'clock news), Donald Graham, the Post's chief executive and chairman, said that when he kept the newspaper going after the economic downturn, he felt that it was his "patriotic duty." I had never heard that before, and it is much like my comment on the board the other day. We really must keep various viewpoints alive -- and have them presented on hard copy. Our country will remain strong and committed to its ideals only if we keep a variety of newspapers and periodicals going.

I'm still reeling from this news.