End of a News Habit?

Image by Scott Adams via FlickrI'm a newspaper guy. It's in my blood. My family owned a weekly newspaper for many years. My dad was a journalist. His dad was a journalist. And his dad was a journalist. Much of my adult life has been spent working for newspapers. But I've always believed the news business is about delivering information, and not so much about the delivery method (paper, teevee, internet, et al). That makes my current dilemma no less difficult: I'm about to drop my subscription to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

I love getting the newspaper from the driveway each morning, drinking my coffee while reading In the News, the front page, the editorial pages, the Sports section, the comics ... I love the feel of newsprint in my hands. But when my subscription ran out, the renewal notice arrived with some sticker shock. Old price: $109 p/year. New price: $150 p/year. Not only that, I've moved from Fayetteville to Fort Smith, which means my ADG subscription no longer includes a "local" newspaper (the NWA Times in Fayetteville). So they want me to pay a lot more to get a lot less of something I can get for free online. Hmmmm.

I've gotten two renewal notices and four phone calls from customer service agents. One agent called on a Saturday and said she could get me my previous rate; I said I'd do that if she'd call back on Monday when I wasn't driving up I-540. She never called back. Now my carrier has called and he's going to see if he can get my old rate. We'll see. If not, I'll let my subscription lapse and see how long I can go without something that's been part of my life for, oh, forever.