I have been an avid newspaper reader since I was 10 when I passionately followed Duke Snider and the Brooklyn Dodgers. I have been a reader of newspapers; I have delivered newspapers; and I have written for newspapers.
I had been a Daily Progress subscriber for 50 years. This year, I gave it up. Every year, they raised prices and reduced content, and what content there was was out of a leftist’s playbook – which is really stupid.
I began writing for the Daily Progress in 1975 when the Worrell’s were in charge. Their philosophy was “Don’t piss anybody off. We need all the subscribers we can get.” And they did well, peaking at nearly 40,000 subscribers during their prime years. But now, every article – even the AP stuff – is slanted way left. Yet, those that are likely to subscribe – businessmen and ordinary homeowners – generally fit into the moderate to conservative mold.
Still, I subscribed to the paper to read the sports section (which has also taken on a leftist-slant), the comics and play the games.
Recently, the DP’s sports section has often featured a full page, above-the-fold article about “Joe Blow” from Louisa County High School accepting a soccer scholarship to Radford. Who cares?
The Daily Progress says it will stop printing the paper on all seven days each week and end delivery by drivers. It will instead be mailing its newspapers to subscribers on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Game over.
I feel sorry for the newspapers. By 2030, they may all be a thing of the past, but if they printed stuff that people enjoyed reading and working with, like lots of crossword puzzles, bridge games and Sudoku, and if they didn’t offend at least half their subscribers with every article, they would at least have a chance.