JWD to the MRT
One of the simple pleasures in my weekday morning routine comes at 6:00 a.m. when I settle down with my second cup of coffee and a copy of the Midland Reporter-Telegram. I've written previously about my belief that no matter how pervasive online forms of news delivery become, nothing will ever replace the tactile superiority of holding newsprint...at least, not for me.
Given that routine, you can imagine my displeasure on those infrequent times when the paper isn't delivered on time. I'm literally at a loss as to what to do with myself. Sure, the TV is tuned to one of the local morning news shows (alternating between two stations each day) but, frankly, that's a poor substitute for what I'm expecting, other than the weather forecast.
But that's the situation I found myself in this morning, when 6:30 arrived without a paper, then 7:30, then 8:00. After Abbye and I returned from our walk, I took the almost unheard-of step of phoning the MRT's Circulation Department to report the missing edition.
The phone was answered immediately by a polite and efficient woman, who asked for my phone number and quickly verified my address. "We'll get a paper to you as soon as possible," she promised. I didn't know what that meant, but in less than 30 minutes, a van pulled into the driveway and I was hand-delivered today's edition.
Here's the kicker. About a half hour later, someone from the MRT called to make sure I had received my newspaper. I was quite impressed with their diligence and efficiency.
I'll admit that I'm pretty quick to take a swipe at the paper when I perceive it's fallen down on the job...it's only fair that I should be equally willing to give it credit where credit's due.
At the risk of ruining my hard-earned rep as a hard-nosed blogger who sniffs in disdain at all things MSM, I also want to go on record as saying that I'm enjoying the series of ads running in the MRT spotlighting various members of the newspapers' staff and giving some insights into their lives outside of work. It's a great way to personalize the people who bring us the news each day.
Eric: You mean a tech-savvy, I-pod owning, web-knowledgeable, guy like you prefers to get his news via dead trees stained with ink? I'm disappointed.
I used to read the paper all the time as well. Now, I refuse to subscribe on philosophical grounds. No, it's not that I hate the, "liberal media." I've got a different philosophy in mind. See, the way I figure it, most newspapers have defined the value of their content as being zero. After all, they give it way on the web. My Momma always told me, "John, never walk when you can ride, and never pay for what you can get for free."
Posted by: John Peter Smith at October 28, 2005 07:50 PMJim, I've never been able to live up to my own hype. I'll try harder.
John, just think of me as the eccentric old guy driving the Studebaker down the freeway. But, the real reason is that I still get things from the treeware version that either aren't available online or are much less convenient to track down and read.
Then there's the additional and not insignificant benefit of being able to sit next to my wife and share a newspaper and conversation about the content thereof. Doing the same via separate laptop computers just doesn't have the same, um, ambiance.
Posted by: Eric at October 28, 2005 08:30 PM"treeware version"
This was a hard day. I needed that. Thank you very much. I've a new name for newspapers now.
Posted by: Jim at October 28, 2005 08:40 PMThey do try hard at the MRT. Now if I could just get Ed Todd to stop trying to kiss my wife everytime he sees her, I'd be satisfied with the MSM!
Posted by: Wallace-Midland, Texas at October 28, 2005 10:29 PMSorry, Wallace, but I'm with Ed on this one...that's the price you have to pay for marrying a cute young wife.
You can start worrying when she starts looking for him with the intent of planting a big ol' smooch on him!
Posted by: Eric at October 29, 2005 09:24 AMAbout the publisher
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You really are doing damage to that lynch mob member persona you've been nurturing continuously since 2002.
Posted by: Jim at October 28, 2005 05:52 PM