The Atlanta-Journal Constitution and The New York Times, Compare and Contrast
I just subscribed to The New York Times on Sundays, so this morning there were two papers when I opened the door.
I couldn't do a true comparison of the time it takes to read each as I learned that a lot of what is on NYTimes.com on Saturday is in the Sunday print edition. It took about an hour to read the AJC and about two hours to read what I hadn't already read in the NYT.
Much more color in the AJC. Much more substance in the NYT.
Lots of graphics in the AJC. Competent writing in the NYT.
No locally written book reviews in the AJC. The 28 page New York Times Book Review section.
Good coverage of the Braves in the AJC. Nothing beyond box score in the NYT. What's up with that?
For good measure, I read Creative Loafing, Atlanta's "alternative" weekly which is owned by a company that publishes "alternative" weeklies in a bunch of cities. Twenty minutes. But I skipped the ads for strip clubs, the personals, plastic surgery ads and the music reviews.
9 comments:
Maybe I should think about subscribing to the NYT since it would probably carry about as much "local" news in it as does our local daily paper. This happens to be one of my pet rants here because our local paper NEVER seems to acknowledge this area of our county exists except when they occasionally do a subscription campaign. Now, I feel much better having let that out of my system.
Another difference between us Dave. Only thing I have ever gotten a print paper for was the classifieds, the comics, movie times, and on occasion the local sports. When I was a wrestler and occasionally was mentioned.
Yes. I know. I am a narcissist. Hard not to be when you're this awesome...
Nowadays, everything I used to get by way of a newspaper has been supplanted by Internet sources.
Print's not dead, but it is coughing up blood.
Hey Dave,
High in ATL today 89
Low 74
High in PHX today 113
Low 92
Our low is higher than your high. It's FREAKING hot man! Send some ice will ya?
Jeni and Pos,
To me, there is something about newsprint that makes what you read better. Same with a novel. There is a pace with turning pages. Same being the not young lawyer that I am: I start and end online with the cases and statutes; but, in between, I print them out and dwell on them.
I know this part of me is a dinosaur. But, I'm hanging on to it until the providers quit providing.
I mostly read the AJC for the fun bits and the metro coverage. The "news" is already stale when the paper hits your driveway and I prefer to get that from the internet. Internet news is also a time-saver, since I can quickly scan the headlines and only read what I want to.
When I lived out of state, I missed the coverage of Atlanta sports (mainly Georgia Tech). If your team isn't ranked, forget about having any coverage in an out of town newspaper. It was frustrating, but when the web came along, it helped a lot.
Fermi, you're right for what you read for. During the week, I read read the AJC, NYT, Washington Post and occassionally some others online in the morning.
There's something about Sunday morning and seeing the roll of paper, sorting it, making coffee and breakfast and reading that is a great part of life.
It isn't the current news. It's the backround or investigative or color pieces, the reviews, even the puff, that's well written.
And, I want to see the cats in the new SD garden, sans the drug plant.
I don't even bother. There is no comparison between the San Francisco Chronicle and the NYT. But you what paper I really miss? The Washington Post. 5 years in the District will do that to you.
I'm a printer and offline reader as well. But when I subscribed to a paper I noticed that they tended to stack up, unread. Occasionally I would go on a tear and read a few, but that was pretty rare.
That said, while teaching a class on how to use the Internet in the mid 90's, a student asked me whether I thought that books would ever be replaced with online versions. My answer -- "Who wants to curl up in bed with a good computer?"
Ok, as much as I gripe and grumble over our puny little local daily paper, I have to confess that I don't like to miss an issue. I agree about the "page-turning" thing be it newspapers or books. But, Sunday morning (or by at least mid-afternoon, I want to have a copy of the Sunday paper from the State College region - next county over and closest Sunday edition to our region - mainly to calm my addiction to the crossword puzzle! Ok, I also like to read Dear Abby, the birth/engagement/marriage announcements. I generally have already read the Sunday paper online by the time I get the "real deal" home but sometimes, frequently now, they don't always publish all the editorials in the online version and I am also addicted to reading Leonard Pitts Jr's column there.
Print isn't dead but coughing up blood huh? Good one!
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