Monday Musings - 5 Star Morning Edition
"All the news that's fit to print" has been the catchphrase of many a morning read. And as that other saying goes: Everything old is once new again, and our local papers have followed the beat of that particular drum and become *new* again.
Well, actually, they're STILL the same two papers we USED to have, but with a better look to them.
CAUTION: EDUCATIONAL ALERT (yeah, you might accidentally LEARN something here)

After a 4 year building project and renovation, both the Journal-Gazette and the News-Sentinel have proudly unveiled their *new* editions, and it's not to shabby at all. Having worked in the printing field eons ago (seems like yet another lifetime), I have to admit that they "done good" with this. The overall look of the paper is what first catches your eye.

The papers are actually a tad SMALLER in size, but haven't sacrificed type quality in the process. And don't you JUST HATE IT when a typeface becomes small enough to ONLY be legible under a magnifying glass?
I know as I get older, I don't like it one bit. And having done proof-reading, that gets real old real fast.
It's nice to know that offset printing has not fallen by the wayside. If anything, our papers have given the trade a nice, healthy (performance) shot-in-the-arm. Their new press (which is a monster at about 63 feet TALL and twice as long in length) can spew out papers to the tune of 90,000 per HOUR. That's a far cry from the "old" days when 10K (an hour) was doing something, and considered fast.

Then again, it IS a roll-fed press, and that paper literally FLIES through the impression rollers. I've seen the forerunners of presses like this one, and this puppy is like a Shelby Cobra when we're talking about raw speed.
But with digital technology, we're ALSO talking about a lot less photos that are "out-of-register". You've seen those pictures in the paper that "looked" blurry, right? NO, you didn't need glasses, and no, they weren't blurry. Someone just didn't match up one of the FOUR colors during the run. The result is a picture that ONLY becomes clearer when you quickly jiggle the paper...go ahead, try it...it works...LOL!

The feel of the paper is better as well. The paper is a bit less flimsy, so I can only think that the "formula" has changed. Oh, you didn't KNOW that different formulae were used in paper-making? Well, it's true. Everything from the paper one wipes one's....posterior with, to the closely-guarded secret ingredients that go into the Treasury Department's "folding money" (which I am still not at liberty to divulge, but still changes every year). There are as many different types of paper we use daily (that we just take for granted), as there are sneakers at Foot Locker (and perhaps a few more). I just hope this new paper's absorbency works as well under the cat's LITTER PAN...!

So..with all this high tech in place, do I feel that newspapers are still destined for the "circular file"? I don't think so. I spite of the advent of the Internet, and the speed at which news CAN travel into our homes, we will still have some need for the "written" (or in this case PRINTED) word. It's nice to HOLD something tangible...something to read on that carpool trip to work, or something to swat an annoying fly with. Try hitting a mosquito with a LAPTOP...doesn't work all that well, and can get REAL expensive if you hit it OR miss.
Newspapers (fortunately) will remain with us for some time, until someone manages to develop a floppy acetate electronic version that can be uploaded daily with archive referrals stored in it's memory. Of course, that WILL cost you some change, but everything comes with it's price, doesn't it?

At least the paperboys will have an easier time of it with smaller papers....all the better to more accurately "hit the mark" when tossed onto your steps. You think NASA had something to do with this streamlined look for the papers?
I can't imagine having some freckle-faced 10 year old on a bicycle with a sackful of papers in the wind tunnel at gale force 2 velocities...that's just downright weird! But anything IS possible.

Now...if they would change the television program guide BACK to the way it WAS, and make those damn TV grids able to be understood by someone withOUT a doctorate in engineering from M.I.T. I've ONLY got a 131 I.Q., for heaven's sake!

And NO, I won't get into being more fair & balanced with the reporting, either...that's for you journalism majors (and fellow bloggers) to debate...LOL!