Letter: All the news that’s fit to print

To the Editor:

Print media has always had a place in our family. While in high school, I delivered Colliers magazine. I was jealous of my friends who delivered the Billings Gazette, a daily, for they made much more money. One of our sons delivered the Shopper, and another the DeKalb Chronicle.

We still rely upon the print media. On mornings the “Trib” doesn’t arrive, I am put out. Breakfast just isn’t the same without it. Comics, as well as news. Yes, the cost is a burden. We depend upon the Sandwich Record for much information that doesn’t come any other way: city council information, obits, COVID-19 info, sports. I remember a seminary professor who claimed that we needed to have the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other.

The above caption is quite a slogan, but in these days many of us forgo the print version and rely on radio, TV, social media, etc. The question has become, “will the print media survive?” The Tribune is to be purchased by a big hedge fund; many are fearful for the outcome. The newsroom already has lost many good journalists.

Change is coming; the Trib has gone digital, as well as maintaining the print. This week, Time announced that it has “launched a new digital subscription to support our work of providing trusted guidance and telling essential stories of the people and ideas that shape the world.” It may well be significant that the same issue featured “The next 100 Most Influential People.” The old method of supporting print media by subscriptions and ads doesn’t do it today. New ways of paying are certainly ahead. One guess is perhaps paying for premium news articles. Journalism with all the news fit to print has been vital for our democracy since our nation began. We the readers (and listeners) need to keep it going.

Rev. Bob Dell

Sandwich