Why I’ll miss newspapers when they’re completely gone
The Post Dispatch closed down their printing facility after 146 years of service.
I grew up on Arnold, movie theater popcorn and ballpark snacks, and newspapers. If Pedro Guerrero found himself on the front page of the St. Louis Post Dispatch tipping his cap to the crowd at old Busch or ripping a single to left field on the cover of the sports section, it was getting clipped and glued. If Bernie Miklasz posted a column, I was hunting that down first. If there was a fresh bundle of movie reviews in the Everyday section, that was next.
When I was a kid, there’s a good chance my parents were bewildered by their son sprinting down Tholozan to Kingshighway for a fresh morning dose of commentary. Toys and books were fun, but the newspaper had the hottest news and opinion. Feeling the fresh ink on your fingertips while you pull in that newspaper scent is a real thing. It became addicting.
Carrying a newspaper in your hands made you look and feel smarter, something that helped a stuttering young soul like myself. The countless movies of guys folding a paper in half and tucking it under their arm before they hit the streets was a good match point. Christopher Reeve being a newspaper columnist who takes that folded paper into a phone book and comes out as Superman played a part. If you’re looking for blame with something I’ve done, check the movies and sports departments first.
Flipping through the pages with ferocity became a habit. Keeping entire papers from memorable dates was a normal thing. I checked the box score more often than an NFL draft fanatic checked the board.
The Post Dispatch closed their longtime printing facility in Maryland Heights this week. The last papers went out as the winter storm came blowing in, signifying a painful symbolism between cold weather and the chilliness of the current media landscape.
Confession: I’m writing this part of the article on a cell phone. People use these things to get their news now more than ever, a phenomenon that grew exponentially when the internet became the sexiest thing on earth. Newspapers, like DVDs and blu rays with the arrival of streaming, become the second best way to get the news. They’re a lot like movie theaters, but Tom Cruise won’t swoop in and save newspapers. I mean, he could but the man is quite busy.
They’re leaving on a jet plane, and we can’t do a damn thing about it. That’s the sad thing. As Bob Dylan once sang, times are a changing and those changing ways don’t slow down. Once they pick up speed, it’s hard to get in front of something new and easier. Grocery stores and places like Walmart and Menards are being beaten softly but surely by Amazon and other shipping methods.
As someone who grew up during the 80s when the newspaper business still had plenty of juice, it’s hard adjusting to things you grew to love as a kid being taken away as an adult. We’re a picky species and also are prone to habits. If only someone with “fuck you” money could come along and rescue everything.
The plans moving forward are the Post Dispatch being printed in Columbia, MO and shipped out to St. Louis customers. For the first time, subscribers in Mizzou will get the news first. Late scores and developing stories will get pushed. Remember when the sports baseball section had a “late” or “night” next to the teams inside of a final score? That’ll be the norm moving forward, because the paper has to go to press hours earlier for a stable delivery. A storm like this would delay news by days.
That’s the new way, unfortunately. Old businesses flying by night like modern day jackals attempting to evade natural causes. If I could buy a paper per day and make it stay afloat, I’d do it. This coming from a mobile subscriber.
The Post Dispatch’s print edition isn’t completely dark yet, but it’s getting there.