Hello & Good Morning!

[Rudy Taylor]

Teresa, I can't believe I didn't know about the Control + Scroll Wheel procedure.

Works beautifully.

[Diane Amberg]

Good morning Rudy!

[Teresa]

Judy.. I hope all works out for you and your vehicle.. Sometimes when they decide to lay down and get sick.. they really do a number .......

[dnalexander]

Good Morning, just barely in my part of the world and afternoon in Howard. Just wanted to say I just saw the "new?" redesigned Prairie Star website and wanted to tell Rudy it looks great. I love local newspapers. Rudy would you be interested in buying the San Francisco Chronicle or San Jose Mercury, they are up for sale. they could use someone that would write about local news and not just cut and paste wire stories. Maybe you might also, share your thoughts on the decline of so many Newspapers and what they can do to be more relevant in today's internet society. I would like to hear an expert's opinion. Maybe, I am getting old and fighting change, but I still love sitting reading a hard copy newspaper and getting ink print on my hands.

David

[Wilma]

I do to, David.  I am not happy sitting in front of a small screen trying to read the news, having to scroll up and down and click here and click there.  Forget it.  Give me the old fashioned newspaper that I can take to my recliner, watch TV and drink coffee.  There is nothing more relaxing, especially on an early Sunday morning.

[larryJ]

Having spent more than 34 years handling newsprint and ink, I can put my two cents in here.  In the old days ink was oil based and very messy and did come off on your hands, your clothes, or whereever you laid the paper down.  Today, ink is more soy based along with other refinements making it cleaner and less toxic.  It still will come off on your hands to a certain degree but not as bad as it was. 

The reason newspapers are declining--------------the internet to begin with and now a recession.  Many younger people choose to get their news off the computer as they don't have the "time" to sit around with a paper.  Most if not all newspapers saw this coming and established their own websites.  For the most part these websites are free, no subscriptions, or they will give you a taste of what is happening in the world and if you want more then you have to pay up.  Newspapers depend on advertising to make money.  Once the internet was established some of the advertising money went there and not to just newspapers.  When the recession started, people looked at their daily expenses and cut out what they could and newspaper subscriptions were on the top of the list along with magazines and things like that.  Many have told me over the years that television gives them all the news they want to see.  However, television gives you a 15 to 30 second shot at a news story and moves on.  A newspaper will print a story that covers more of the facts than you would get in 15 to 30 seconds and if you missed it the first time you could always go back and read it again. 

So if a newspaper is losing advertising or I should say having to share with the internet and people are cutting back on their spending, it is going to decline.  Fifteen years ago the Los Angeles Times would have meetings with their employees and tell us how the paper was doing and that they were worried the profit margin would fall to less than %10.  Three years ago they were worried about making any profit and today along with other newspapers they are fighting to stay in business.  The Times was bought by the Chicago Tribune about nine years ago and is now bankrupt. 

With the advent of television in the 50's and 60's to the internet and now phones that you can get your news from, newspapers are less needed, for lack of a better word.  Will they die altogether?  Not for a while, as long as there are people like you and I who like to wake up in the morning to a cup of coffee and a newspaper to let me know what is happening in the world.  Newspapers will die when there is a giant IMAX screen on every corner blasting CNN at you.

Now that I have said my piece I will get my second cup of coffee and enjoy the rest of this forum and then read my local newspaper.     Larryj

[Wilma]

If I have to get my news from CNN, I guess I just won't get any news.

[Teresa]

Good morning... Have massages to do most of the morning and then hopefully we will be able to tramp our way into the marshy jungle that we call a yard and mow and trim. *HOPEFULLY* It is about to drive up both crazy . Must be growing an inch a day... but it is still pretty soggy in areas..
No matter.. soggy or not, I think we will yard work this afternoon cause they are predicting 60% chance of rain tomorrow again.. 

Hope everyone has a productive Monday..

[Diane Amberg]

If going to the dentist is productive then I was. I had one tiny spot that they had been watching for years that finally needed a filling. So now I am  drinking  a cup of coffee that is trying to dribble down my chin as I can't yet feel the lower right side. Teresa when you are dome bailing your yard, come do mine. We have the same problem and are due rain every day this week My nose garden  sure is nice though.

[Wilma]

Nose garden, Diane?  This I have to see.  Could you send pictures?