It’s too bad the Herald places minimal value on its own product.
Contrast the defeatist attitude of its Sept. 30 print editorial regarding its elimination of the Monday printed edition of the paper with, say, the upbeat attitude of Maria’s Bookshop. While Maria’s does belong to a partnership of locally owned bookstores that offers books online (libro.fm), it continues to stay culturally relevant by hosting book-signings, having books on display that reflect current trends, reaching out to the local community and making the experience of reading “real” books extremely fun.
Since the Herald does not seem to be working to honor the value of its own print edition, let me make the case for them. First, studies show we retain information more readily on paper than we do online (Alison Flood, “Readers absorb less on Kindles than on paper, study finds,” The Guardian, Aug. 19, 2014).
I personally read headlines more when perusing online; I absorb more general and interesting local information when the paper is spread out before me. Reading the paper can be more of a family experience, as the print edition is more conducive to sharing and discussing articles together. And birth announcements, sports articles and obituaries in printed form are treasures.
My point is that, if you envision that your print edition can be relevant here and now, you can make it be so. But if you picture yourself as a Victrola, then that is what you will become.
Trisha Rickey
Durango
