I want the news; I want it on paper

The first time I read something about newspapers going to computers, it made me uneasy.

“It’ll never happen,” I said. “Who’d want to read their newspaper on a computer?”

It happened. Our newspaper went on the Internet’s World Wide Web May 1, 1996. But, happily, we can still have it delivered to our front door.

I love newspapers. I have loved newspapers since I learned to read the Daily Oklahoman that was in my Daddy’s mailbox every morning in Woodward County.

I like them all — little ones, big ones, conservative ones, liberal ones. I buy a newspaper wherever I am and, when we traveled cross-country, the back seat was littered with them.

I think I was lucky to get to work on a newspaper for 25 years; to be a newspaper editor for 18 years.

I read the paper every single day, except Mondays and Saturdays when, sadly, it’s no longer published, even if it’s midnight before I get to it. I’d sooner go to bed without brushing my teeth than without reading the paper.

But the key part of the word “newspaper” is “paper.” You get the news on paper that you can take any place and read any time. Now you can do that on your iPhone or your iPad — but it’s not the same.

One of life’s greatest pleasures is to read the paper out on the patio with a second cup of coffee. My favorite place to read the Sunday paper is an easy chair during the commercials of a Dallas Cowboys game and when I’ve gone through each section, to work the crossword puzzle. Can I do that on my computer, phone or, if I had one, iPad?

I am a newspaper clipper. I clip stories about the legislature and congress, local history stories, stories about interesting people, places and things, books to read, movies to watch, things to do and eat that will make me healthier.

I clip recipes I don’t make, helpful hints on housekeeping I don’t use and home remedies I don’t try. I clip articles I want to talk about and articles I think my family should know about. Because I clip a lot, I have stacks of clippings everywhere.

What would I do with all that empty space if all those clippings were somewhere in the computer? Instead of picking up a stack to mull over comfortably on the sofa, I’d have to hunch over a hot computer again.

Without a newspaper, what are people going to use to line birdcages, wrap up garbage, spread on the floor for the puppy and wrap dishes in when they move.

Reading the news on your phone or computer or iPad is OK, I guess. It may be the only way for 30-somethings, Generation Xers, kids still in kindergarten, etc. But not for me. I want to be able to read my paper flat on my back, lying on my stomach, curled up on the couch, in any room, any place outdoors. When I’m through, I want to throw it on the floor by the bed, wad it up in a clump, toss it in a bag for recycling, stack it in a corner for later, spread it on the counter for a messy task.

Try that with your computer, your iPhone, your iPad.

Mary McClure is a former newspaper editor who lives in Lawton.