Daily, Sunday, and weekly newspapers have  been a part of the home life of most American families.  They are familiar to all of us and we do not think of them as anything wonderful.  But, if you stop and think, the newspaper or news is a daily miracle – a marvel of machinery, news coverage, business organization, and fast and clear writing.  The sad part in America is they represent many differences in policy and great range in ethical standards and excellence all geared to the ideology of the owner in today’s terms.  We should keep in mind the fact that their great differences make many generalizations unsafe.  The newspapers on the stands and those delivered, television, and computer which come into our homes with such a wide scope of reading material can exert a great deal of influence.  In earlier days, the newspaper tried to give both sides of any story, instead of presenting only one viewpoint which seems to be the order of the day.  The purpose of this slanting of the news is to continuously suggest ideas, beliefs, and ways of looking at persons and events in order to form our attitudes toward all of the important things of life, especially political.  Therefore, always challenge any story or event in your own mind before going into lock step with the crowd.

The newspaper was always the first thing that arrived each morning at our house.  During the work week we were always up and preparing for the work day before the newspaper arrived. Our ears were peeled to the roar of the newspaper carrier’s car engine or hear the peddling of a bicycle and then we heard a slap on the side-walk when the newspaper hit the concrete sidewalk.  Our ritual was to be ready to leave for work before the newspaper arrived so we could pour that cup of coffee and glance quickly at the newspaper.  There were days we did not hear the car or the bicycle or the slap on the walk. This occurred on days when a replacement carrier missed our house and we would have to call the newspaper office and it wouldn’t arrive till later in the morning, after we left for work.  Today, we don’t have a newspaper delivered.  Oh, how times have changed.  Now we turn on the computer or television and pour our cup of coffee to hear the latest news. There is something missing by not having that hard copy of news because we scoured all of the pages to see what was happening throughout the world – clipping the coupons, reviewing the obituary to be sure our name wasn’t listed, or my relatives or friends, some happy news, and some sad news.  How I miss the aroma of that coffee and opening the newspaper and scouring it from end to end during the off days on Saturday  and Sunday morning.

kommonsentsjane