More Shit About Print Media

First, let's talk about why it might have not been the best idea to renew my magazine subscriptions as far out as I did.

Earlier this year, we had some happenings with my various magazines: Mad went quarterly, Advocate went monthly, and Genre closed up shop entirely. Now Reader's Digest has pared its frequency to ten times a year.

Now, the news is that after one year as a monthly magazine, Advocate has ceased to exist as a separate publication, and is now going to be an insert along with Out. Since I had renewed both Out and Advocate for several years (until 2013 and 2014, respectively), they have piggybacked my subscription until sometime in 2018.

This is, of course, assuming that this new Out/Advocate combination still exists nine years from now. The way print journalism is heading, I am wondering. And I know that I will never see my ten bucks from Genre again; their parent company completely shut down entirely last week, taking the Washington Blade down with it.

So if you want a list of my magazines and their expiration dates, I have no idea anymore.

And speaking of print media in trouble, let's talk a little bit about my favorite comic book disguised as a newspaper, The Washington Times. I have been reading in the Post about the major shakeups going on at the Times. Several members of the upper echelon of the paper have either been fired or resigned, and according to the article I read this morning, there is some speculation whether the Times will still be publishing by the end of the year.

This is a newspaper that was started by the Unification Church back in 1982, shortly after the folding of the Washington Star. I remember when the Times newspaper boxes first started appearing, there were stickers plastered on them referring to the paper as the "Washington Moon"; both a dig against the Star and against the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The Moonies have subsidized this paper since day one, and it has never turned a profit; Reverend Moon claimed it to be a religious mission to have a conservative newspaper in Washington, DC.

The Post seemed almost gleeful in their report that the Times might be folding. I, however, am not. You might be asking me why, since my politics make Dennis Kucinich look like Bill Buckley, would I be bothered by the conservative paper folding.

I have absolutely no problem with the presence of an opposing viewpoint. Unlike Fox News, the Washington Times makes no secret of (or apology for) its conservative leanings; if a news outlet is going to skew to the right, that is fine with me; this is America, after all. So when I open up this newspaper, I know exactly what to expect.

Also, the Washington Times serves as a good diversion when I am stuck somewhere waiting. From my times spent waiting for Diane at Target, to my time back in March when I sat on my ass for four hours in the waiting room of Justin's dental office while he got his mouth worked on. The Washington Times saved me from insanity then, and when I go for a kabob on any day other than Saturday (when there is no print edition), I pick up a copy of it and read it while waiting for (and eating) dinner. I usually do the crossword puzzle in there the next day at work. So Moonie paper or not, if this newspaper goes out of business, I will not be happy if it goes away.

Naturally (and with the changing of my color), we are going to talk about the latest about Guy. He called me at about 8:30 last night, and I told him that Gary had said that he had gone to bed. It turned out that he was taking a nap, and needed an excuse to get away from his guests from dinner.

While I was composing this entry, he called me again. It is now 2:30 as I write this, and I have been writing it since right before one pm. Actually, I have been composing it since about 8:30 this morning, when I started my walking. I have been known for doing this sort of thing while walking ever since I started this blog many eons ago.

I hope my bowling is better this week. I got a good night's sleep last night, so that excuse goes out the window. I also have to get my hair cut before I head out to the bowling alley. This will happen as soon as the mail arrives.

Eric Out.