We got back from Chicago on Saturday after a great vacation with Barbara’s sister, Mary, and her husband, Eric. I’ll have more to say, especially about our visit to the Obama Presidential Center. Today, though, I want to lament the demise of print newspapers and offer some suggestions on how both publishers and airports could make for a better flight.
We flew out on Tuesday. Before boarding at Logan, I visited several Hudson News stores looking for a Wall Street Journal. There were no papers at all — not even USA Today. We got on board, and I was able to connect to Southwest’s wifi service for $8. Given the price of a newspaper these days, that seemed like a reasonable tradeoff. It cut out briefly a couple of times, but I was able to make my way through most of the content on the iPhone app.
On Saturday, I got up early and hit a couple of 7-Elevens near our hotel. Nothing. Needless to say, at one time I’d have been able to grab a free paper at the hotel, but no such luck. Once again, Hudson News stores at Midway were bereft of papers, but I figured I could just pay for wifi. I could not — no service was available. I looked a photos on my phone, stared into space and dozed off briefly. Fortunately, it was a short flight.
Now, you could say I should have brought a book, and yes, I guess I should have. But I didn’t realize it would be impossible to get a paper. It seems to me that at least a few people in airports would like newspapers, especially given the spotty wifi on airplanes. Since Hudson News is occupying space by virtue of a contract with a governmental entity, you’d think it might be required that they carry, say, three national newspapers.
At one time in the not-too-distant past, an absence of print newspapers wouldn’t have been a problem, at least not if you had a Kindle. Amazon used to offer a wide range of papers, and you could buy a single copy for a few bucks. Since the entire edition was downloaded to your device, you didn’t need connectivity. It was a great benefit, and I don’t understand why Amazon ended it.
I do have a solution, though. Why can’t newspaper apps have an option to download that day’s paper? The Boston Globe does, so next time I’ll save it for the plane. But why not The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal? It seems like a natural benefit to offer to paid subscribers.
More: After I posted this, I learned from Bluesky user @nationalsliker.bsky.social that The Wall Street Journal offers a separate iPhone app for the print edition that lets you download that day’s paper, which I’m going to try on the train later this morning. (The Washington Post offers the downloadable print edition in its iPhone app if you click on the search tool.) And commenter John Caddel reports that the Journal sends him a daily email of the paper in PDF form.
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Feel your pain. But wsj does have an option to get a copy of the days paper electronically. I get it emailed to me every day in pdf format.
Almost every paper has an option to download an e-edition PDF if you’re a subscriber. But the New York Times inexplicably requires you to pay $19.95/month for a separate replica edition from Press Reader. It’s always irritated me. They’re not giving you any extra content, it’s the same articles (fewer, really) in the newspaper format that long-time readers are used to. But if you subscribe, you won’t get access to their app or website, and if you pay top dollar for the all-access apps, you can’t see beyond page 1 of the print edition.
The Times’ Press Reader edition is actually free to paid subscribers, but it’s terrible and almost impossible to find. I suspect you’re being told to pay because you entered through Press Reader. You have to do it through the Times, but it’s a multi-step process, and it’s just awful.
Wow, this is awful. I normally flight out of Newark, and I’ve been able to get papers there, though usually only the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and maybe USA Today or the Financial Times. In fact, on my last flight from Newark, on a Sunday, I treated myself to the Sunday New York Times ($6 + tax).
I’ve had bad luck with wifi on planes, so much so that I don’t bother to pay for it any more out of my own pocket because it’s either unavailable or barely works. I miss the days when I could get newspapers at a hotel (and have actually booked hotels based if they still offer this luxury). I don’t like to use my phone on an airplane and so prefer to read a hardcopy of something.
I’m really surprised you couldn’t get a newspaper at all, in those airport areas in major cities and in convenience stores around where you stayed. I noticed that CVS are beginning to not stock newspapers, but I do usually see a few in supermarkets and Dollar Trees (Dollar Tree has the local regional paper).