January 28, 2012

The Old Gray Lady

694.

Six...hundred.....and ninety four....pages. Who can read 694 pages in one day? Yet, if you want to keep up with the 106 Pulitzer prize winning, founded in 1851, largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, you must.

The chalky black ink that gets on everything and anything and the cumbersomely large pages have kept me away for years. Occasionally, my nosiness and desire to know everything will get the best of me and I will pay the $2 and some cents for a single copy. Only to read a few pages. I was over the moon when I saw an offer for a clean, non ink, free, 14-day trial subscription on the nook.

I tapped all the right buttons and in a matter of mere moments I had the January 28, 2012 edition at my fingertips. I scanned through the contents to comprehend how this digital version would present content. It was refreshingly well organized and easy to navigate. I thumbed through each section and each article. About 10 minutes later I found myself at page 694. I looked over to my husband and said, "There is just no way. How can you fully read about the world and be participatory?"

This volume of words is not even considering the other papers I like to browse; The Washington Post, The LA Times, The Times (London), Art News (online), and all the other solely online news outlets (such as The Huffington Post).

I, along with 30 million others, take advantage of the free online access to a selection of articles, opinion editorials, blogs and the like. However, while light users, those pursuing the pages with a reading rate of only 20 articles per month, can access the online content for free, we more avid readers hit a very prohibitive paywall (installed in 2011).

I have read only 5 - 6 articles today. I shall continue with my free subscription for the remaining 13 days. Most likely I will not pay for a full subscription. I simply do not have the time. If I am feeling particularly literate on a given day I might purchase the paper of that day. But for now, I will accept my limits.

The New York Times does truly contain all the news that is fit to print and I absolutely love her! Even if I find her to be overwhelming verbose (in a good way).

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