Breaking Up With The Local Paper

I finally pulled the plug on my local print newspaper subscription.

I'm not going cold-turkey - I am keeping a digital subscription, at least for a little while, even though the price-point is ridiculous at $9.99/month. I think that's what I am paying for my digital subscription to the Washington Post.

<insert rant about how most of the media world is seeing a surge in subscription rates, because suddenly the importance of multiple news sources, and the critical role journalists play in the check-and-balance of power and the search for truth, is getting a little attention and that should not just apply to the national scene. We need the local coverage - and LOCAL IS NOT LANSING AND DETROIT>

And to be honest, all my reasons for subscribing to the local paper at all have been gradually worn away. I'm active in my community, serving on local boards and committees, so I want to keep up on the local news. And although current owner Gannett introduced USA Today sections and articles we don't care about into the paper a while back, it's only recently that what little local news they bothered to cover essentially disappeared. 

There was a recent "editor's note" - that of course I cannot find online anywhere now - that blatantly stated (in 8-point type, so if you are over age 45 you may have missed it) that the only local news we'd be reading going forward would be "in depth" articles. The day-to-day and "breaking news" would only be available online.

I am reasonably certain Gannett's idea of day-to-day local news and my idea are radically different. 

And if you are going to try canceling or changing your subscription at home, kids, let me tell you, it ain't easy. First of all, you can't do it online. You have to call. In my case, the seriously nasally robot lady could not find my account, because it was tied to my old phone number (and had I known they were looking for my old number, my call would have been much shorter) -  and it turns out you can't change your phone number online, because there is no place to do that.

You also cannot transfer your print subscription to your new digital subscription. So whatever credit you might have on your account will be "sent back to your checking" whatever the hell that means. You basically have to start all over...although I have been assured that my login, to access the digital subscription, will remain the same. Somehow I think I will be quite surprised if that turns out to be the case.