All the News That’s Fit to Print (Online)

The Holy Grail

My day started off badly. I had a 9am appointment to speak to a health insurance advisor and they stood me up.

So I decided to head to where I work in midtown Manhattan. Bryant Park, to be precise, 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. (You can’t get any more midtown Manhattan than that!)

Now, normally, I buy The New York Times in the morning so I can read it before I go to work at 11am. There are two newsstands within one block of my apartment. (They’re both owned by Iconic Magazines.)

I see now that that’s an anomaly.

I spent about 45 minutes frantically searching midtown Manhattan for a copy of The New York Times. (Did I mention that I was in midtown Manhattan in New York City, the largest city in the United States? Indeed, where The New York Times is printed?)

I could not find a copy.

I did see several newsstands. They were either completely shut or they didn’t have any newspapers. (Yes, we now have newsstands that don’t actually sell any newspapers!)

Now I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this (in fact, I already have), but I like to read the print edition of The New York Times. I like to look through the entire physical paper and decide what I want to read.

Some of you will say, “But everyone reads it online!”

Yes, but who decides what to put on the front page of their website? Not me!

I know some editor will decide what they think are the most important stories, but some stories are sure to fall through the cracks, especially if I’m not looking for them.

Like on Friday, for example, there was a review of a new movie called Late Fame, which I would not have known existed if I had not seen the review in the print edition.

Would the online editor of The New York Times have deemed that important enough to put on the front page of their website? Surely, there was some major studio release that would have warranted more attention.

I know I’m a dinosaur—and proud of it!

In a similar fashion, I know that there’s a whole universe of TV shows out there for me to watch, but I like to channel surf until I find something I like. That’s just how I operate.

I did finally find a copy of The New York Times at a deli in Chelsea. But now the news would be one and a half days old, as a friend of mine helpfully pointed out.

But the important thing is that I get to decide what I read—even if it’s a day and a half old.