Newspapers...

I knew the day would come when I would officially declare this...I miss writing!

Ever since I was in about 1st grade I knew I wanted to write. I knew I had to write something, sometime, all the time, write, write, write.

At one time I wanted to be a fiction writer but without a garuntee of publication, that dream was shelved and I went in another direction...Journalism. The photo shows newspapers with the same names as papers I worked for...The Sun, The Independent. I didn't work for -those- papers, just papers with the same names.

But newspapers are in a bad way. Many do not read them anymore and people entrenched in the newspaper business laughed at or ignored things that could have saved many papers. When USA Today launched, it was considered trash and was basically the material for many a joke. Now, after 20 years and many capital injections, that paper is surviving better than many others. So many newspapers have filed bankruptcy that any journalism student would be wise to diversify skills.

While I love writing, I am not married to the idea of getting news from a newspaper. This is partly why newspapers are in decline...I'm not the only one who thinks like that and my numbers are growing. Hey, I was a reporter so that really spells bad news.

Service from our only major local paper, The Star, is terrible...which also contributes to why I do not purchase the paper. I've subscribed to the paper about three times and it has never been delivered. I have decided to not subscribe anymore and only purchase issues of interest.

My doubts about the powers that be pulling newspapers out of this downward spiral is why I quit the business and moved on to a completely different field. Still...I do miss meeting people, attending events and most of all...writing. I don't think I drastically changed the world or country but I know I made some people happy to see their names in print. The pancake breakfast princess counts just as much as the President...and she's going to be more appreciative of the press.