When I was in college I had a couple of classes that included a major newspaper as part of the required reading. That was my first exposure (in those heady pre-Internet days) to the New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor, which I always thought was just a religious tract. How wrong I was - it's coverage, particularly of international issues, is rightfully praised. So it's a little disappointing to hear that the Monitor will no longer exist as an actual newspaper:
After a century of continuous publication, The Christian Science Monitor will abandon its weekday print edition and appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to largely give up on print.I guess that's progress. The least I can do is add 'em to my list 'o links.* * *
The Monitor is an anomaly in journalism, a nonprofit financed by a church and delivered through the mail. But with seven Pulitzer Prizes and a reputation for thoughtful writing and strong international coverage, it long maintained an outsize influence in the publishing world, which declined as its circulation has slipped to 52,000, from a high of more than 220,000 in 1970.
3 comments:
While I was not a reader of the CSM, I must admit that I read most newspapers online myself. Sign of the times... Yet, I find it sad that the glory days of the printed newspaper are clearly history - some of the biggest dailies are struggling seriously. Soon we will carry out 'Kindle' to the coffeehouse. Not quite the same...
I already have several Kindle devotes in my office. I'd like to say "I can't imagine giving up the actual book," but the fact is I've mostly given up on physical newspapers (Sunday indulgences aside). I still like the hold-in-your hand nature of CDs, tho'.
I too refuse to give up the actual book as well as my library card.
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