We were dismayed to read that the News & Record is going to drop The New York Times News Service, including Thomas Friedman, who is surely the print media's most important and incisive commentator on international politics. Why are they doing this? To save a paltry $34,000 a year. Wow, $34,000. With a daily circulation of around 93,600 -- not counting Sundays 113,000 -- that comes to about 27-cents per person per year.
The News & Record should be ashamed of such an ill-conceived and scarcely justifiable decision. The paper will be notably worse for it. We urge you to reconsider.
Kenneth L. Caneva
Jane E. Sugarman
Greensboro
Comments (3)
Your local news stand sells many other newspapers that do carry Friedman. You can always stop buying the News-Record and switch to one of those.
Posted by Brian Harper | May 31, 2005 5:08 AM
Jane and Ken: Greetings, ex-neighbors. It's been a while.
As JR pointed out, if we were really getting our money's worth for the $34,000, things might be different. But because of the articles' length and lack of timeliness, we're not.
Here's something else to think about: When a lot of other newspapers were laying people off during the past two recessions, the N&R did not. Hard decisions like these are part of the reason. The community benefits in the long run, I think, but given that I'm one of the people who wasn't laid off, my viewpoint might be suspect. :-)
Posted by Lex | May 31, 2005 10:53 AM
Friedman may be a popular columnist and his Lexus and the Olive Tree work might be considered seminal by some, but his is commentary without empirical evidence. Nice work if you can get it. As another posted, newstands and big box book sellers carry The Times. You can also get the Times delivered to you daily here in The Sticks (my affectionate term for my beloved hometown) - or you can subscribe to the online version as many of us already do.
Posted by Joy Combs | May 31, 2005 12:36 PM