Submitted: The Two Sides Team November 22, 2012
Many readers in the mid-Atlantic region report a new appreciation for print media in the wake of Sandys mayhem.
November 11 2012, Dead Tree Edition
Many readers in the mid-Atlantic region report a new appreciation for
print media in the wake of Sandys mayhem. Among the observations they
passed along are:
- The best photos are still created for print media. Iwan Baan rented a helicopter to capture the stunning image that graced the cover of New
York magazines post-storm issue. No one goes to those kinds of lengths,
or expense, to produce a photo that will only appear in digital media.
- Print works just fine when the power is out.
- Prints battery doesnt die.
- If you own a printed product, you dont need a wifi connection to access it.
- This came from a New York reader: “When I awoke to what looked like a
war zone Tuesday [Oct. 30], I thought I was completely cut off from the
outside world no power, no Internet, no phone, no battery-operated or
hand-cranked radio (since rectified). But when I ventured outside my
apartment building, I spotted a newspaper box with an amazing sight:
that days edition of the New York Daily News. It had obviously
gone to bed too early the previous evening to have all the news of the
storm, but I eagerly dug in. At that moment print was clearly the
superior technology for conveying news.” - A New Jersey resident wrote: “We didnt get enough rain Monday night
[Oct. 29] to cause any flooding, but by the next morning most major
roads were blocked by downed power lines and utility poles and
practically the whole town had no electricity. The whole region was such
a mess that the local daily newspaper didnt even try to publish that
day. Our street was eerily quiet most of the morning until we heard the
familiar whirr of a motor. There was our letter carrier coming up the
street, delivering mail as if nothing had happened. It was days before
UPS and FedEx got their deliveries to our area straightened out, and my
neighbor was still complaining a week after the storm about not being
able to access the books and magazines she had bought for her e-reader
(Hows that Kindle workin for ya now, sweetheart?). We received
several magazines by mail after the storm and never missed a mail
delivery during the week the power was out. - And another Jerseyan: Our Republican governor pointed out that we
seem to be getting a ‘Storm of the Century’ every couple of years. NOW
do you believe in global warming? Yep, the storm should be a wake-up
call that it’s time to move beyond simplistic slogans like Go green, go
paperless and Paper is all natural and dig in to the serious work of
making our media choices more earth friendly.