MY FISHWRAPPER IS SHIFTING GEARS

 By Bob Walsh

                                           

The RECORD, aka the Stockton RECORD, is shifting gears on me.  Starting next month the actual hardcopy paper will be delivered by the postal service and not by specific carriers.  Somehow this is supposed to give BETTER response on local and special interest news stories, though the paper is a little bit fuzzy about the exact mechanism involved.

The RECORD is published by Gannett.  They have gone in this direction with other of their 200 + local news papers.  

Much of the news therein, especially local crime and political news, is already at least 1-2 days stale by the time it hits my doorstep.  I may have to switch to an electronic only subscription.  

It is sad but hardly unique.  Some time ago the last actual hard copy newspaper in Denver went to electronic only.  There have been major cutbacks on print newspapers in other major cities.  The newspaper business started sliding in November of 1963 and since the internet has come along they have been hurt really badly.

Market forces are a bitch.