Pixels Still Don't Compare To Newsprint

There are many lessons to be found in Barack Obama's electoral success, but one of them has nothing to do with race, politics or government. Instead it's a lesson about the tactile nature of history.

At a time when daily newspapers nationwide are struggling to merely survive, the morning after the Obama victory they couldn't print enough copies to meet reader demand. New York Times corporate bonds may be rated as "junk" by credit agencies, but on this day the line would-be readers stretched around the block outside the Times building.

Some papers went so far as to reprint copies of Wednesday's paper again on Thursday. Or offer it as an insert in their Sunday editions. The reason? Millions of people wanted a keepsake, for themselves, for their children, for their grandchildren. And for that, a download just wouldn't do. You can't hold an image on a computer screen. You can't fold it over and place it in a scrapbook. You can't gently open old, yellowed pages and be transported back in time. On this day, all the things that are commonly seen as limitations suddenly became competitive advantages.

People want history they can hold, not simply look at. Better get your reservation for the special Inaugural editions in early. It promises to be another sell-out.

Listening to the newspaper...

One of the "not-all-that-secret" secrets of TV and radio news, especially local news, is how assignment editors and producers often find inspiration in the pages of local newspapers.

Most broadcasters don't have the staff, or the resources, to chase down difficult stories. Historically, that's been the domain of print journalists. After all, a newspaper reporter travels with a notebook, an MP3 recorder and maybe a laptop computer. A TV news reporter often brings along a half-million dollars worth of expensive electronic equipment. And the deregulation of radio has made news a rarity, except on all-news and Public Radio stations.

For years, my daily commute to and from Manhattan involved me juggling a copy of The New York Times, along with a briefcase and a beverage on an NJTranist bus or the Subway. But now that I'm working in central Jersey, I'm driving to and from work. That pretty much put an end to my Times addiction. And while there is always the on-line version of the paper, I treat it like most things on the Web... something to be scanned, quickly pondered, then abandoned for a new URL.

I always thought it was a bit of a cheat when NPR stations interviewed print reporters. Kind of like creating stories by talking to ourselves. But I must admit my opinion has changed, now that Public Radio stations like WNYC are my primary vehicle for in-depth news coverage.

Times reporters and editors show up with what I once considered alarming regularity. Now, I'm grateful to hear them. After all, it's a long ride from Exit 9 to 14C on the New Jersey Turnpike, and I appreciate the literate companionship...

Good-Bye Trenton, Hello Williamsburg

Once upon a time... up to last week, in fact... The New York Times had a section they called Metro, short for "Metropolitan." It was the paper's way of acknowledging that intelligent life (and subscribers) might exist outside of Manhattan. They even had a news bureau in Trenton, and a printing plant Edison, NJ. Now all three are history... the bureau, the printing plant and the section. Just like the proverbial "good old days," local news is relegated to the back end of the first section, under the banner New York.

In a way, it's not surprising. Hemorrhaging almost as much red ink as Wall Street, The Times... like the victim of a merger and acquisition deal gone bad, is trying to cut its way back to profitability. But its absence will be noted by some of us who reside on the west bank of the Hudson.

With about 40% of the newsroom staff of The Star-Ledger accepting buy-outs, and other papers struggling even after substantial downsizing, it looks like in-depth news coverage of the Garden State will likely become the near exclusive domain of the AP and New Jersey Network. We'll miss The Times distinctive, if at times dismissive, voice. Somehow, reading blogs on nj.com just isn't the same...