Towards a paper-less newspaper

Mike L · 11-29-2009, 11:41 AM

After twenty years of having my daily newspaper delivered to my door, I've decided to stop reading paper-based news and to look for an electronic equivalent instead. I'm posting this in the hope that it will be of interest to other forum members who might be considering the same move. I’d also welcome any advice and comments on the various options available.

My paper of choice is The Herald - one of only two national newspapers available here in Scotland. I pay around £450 (US$750) per year to have it delivered to my breakfast table. I resent having to pay so much money, especially as I never read more than half the paper (I discard the sports, motoring, appointments and lifestyle sections, and rarely look at the TV/radio or classified ads). I also dislike having to carry all that newsprint to the recycle bin every week. Another gripe: The paper occasionally arrives late, in which case I don't get time to read it.

So some form of electronic delivery seems like a good choice. What are the options?

Newspaper's own website

The Herald's website (www.heraldscotland.com) carries the same stores as the printed edition, but like too many newspaper sites, it's not designed for easy browsing. The home page shows the main headlines. You click the headline to read the story, then click back to the home page and repeat the process for the next one. To read something other than a main story, you have to drill down into one of the special sections (business, sport, whatever), then click back up the hierarchy to find the next article. What's really needed is a button that simply takes you forward one article at a time.

Pros: Easily available. Free.

Cons: Difficult to browse. Also, this particular site is plagued with intrusive advertising, flashy animations, ticker tapes and other annoyances that make reading a pain.

Newspaper Direct

This service (www.newspaperdirect.com) offers electronic delivery of over 1,400 newspapers in 92 countries. The interface is just right. You view a facsimile of the printed edition, and zoom in to read each story just as it's laid out on the page. Or, you can hover the mouse over a headline to see a popup window showing a summary of the story. You can navigate pages in sequence or by clicking on thumbnails. You can also save the paper to a file or print a custom version.

Pros: Great interface.

Cons: Costs money (£100 or US$165 per year [after a 30-day trial]). And you have to go out of your way to cancel the subscription; if you don't, it's automatically renewed. (You can also purchase single copies, but these cost more than the printed version.)

Wireless delivery direct to my Kindle

This might be the best option for many people, but not for me. That's partly because I don't have Whispernet access, and partly because no Scottish papers are available on this service. If my paper does become available, I'd probably subscribe to it, and read it via the Kindle for PC application (or transfer it my Kindle via USB every morning).

RSS feed to Calibre; convert to ebook format

This involves setting up Calibre (www.calibre-ebook.com) to automatically fetch the newspaper content each morning and then convert it to Mobi format, which I can read in either the Mobi Pocket or Kindle for PC application (or transfer to my Kindle via USB).

This approach provides the best option for browsing. The stories appear consecutively, with no need to click up and down a hierarchy in order to navigate. You just "turn the page" to go from one story to the next. You can select the sections you want to receive, and you can even combine sections from different publications. One irritation: In The Herald, each article is followed by several pages of links to other articles; you have to keep skipping past these pages, which is tedious.

Pros: Free. Automatic (I can set up Calibre to download and convert the paper before I get up each morning, and have the news waiting for me on my laptop on the breakfast table).

Cons: The initial setup takes a bit of effort (Calibre comes with many newsfeeds pre-configured, but the one to The Herald is broken).

I still have a couple of weeks to run on my subscription to the printed newspaper. After that, I'll have to choose an option for electronic delivery. Right now, I'm inclined to go for the Calibre option. But I'm still open to other suggestions.

daffy4u · 11-29-2009, 12:00 PM

I only have my Sunday paper delivered. I want the grocery store coupons and I like to peruse the sales circulars (I hate shopping but I like browsing online and via circular).

rhadin · 11-29-2009, 01:24 PM

I have 2 newspapers delivered daily (The New York Times at $600 a year and my local rag, the Poughkeepsie Journal, at $250 per year) plus weekly "newspapers" like The Economist, which is the best bargain in the bunch at $110 per year. Like Mike, I, too, have been trying to shift to an electronic format, but without success so far.

I tried Calibre's feeds for the New York Times, but it just isn't the same as reading the newspaper. I'm not young enough to easily change layout formats (I can go from print to e easily, but I want my Times to look like the Times

).

In addition, reading the newspaper on 6-inch screen has been less than satisfying. consequently, I am waiting until I get a larger screen e device before making thw switch, and when I make the switch it will be to one of the services that provides the newspaper in e form but in p layout, something like newspaperdirect..

Superlucky · 11-29-2009, 01:36 PM

I get The NY Times with calibre and read it on my 505. I actually prefer it in this format. No inky hands, portability and no having to flip through the paper to finish the story you're reading and then flip back to start another. Plus, you can't beat the price.

evanmaastrigt · 11-29-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Cons: The initial setup takes a bit of effort (Calibre comes with many newsfeeds pre-configured, but the one to The Herald is broken).

If the recipe is broken, please report in the Calibre -> Custom Recipes thread. Someone might be able to repair it.

But to stay on topic: my paper of choice is the Dutch national daily 'NRC Handelsblad'. The subscription to their printed version costs Euro 328.50
But they also offer a 'Digital subsription' for Euro 84.50
For this you get the full edition (6 days a week) in either Mobi, ePub or PDF format, downloadable from their website. And it is really the full edition: the only sections missing are the 'family announcements' and the stock listings.

Did I mention that it is free of DRM :-)

Or that I also have access to their online archive, going back to 1991?

Me thinks this publisher 'gets it'.

GeoffC · 11-30-2009, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superlucky

I get The NY Times with calibre and read it on my 505. I actually prefer it in this format. No inky hands, portability and no having to flip through the paper to finish the story you're reading and then flip back to start another. Plus, you can't beat the price.

wow - do newspapers still offer that !

not experienced that, in the UK, for many a year .....

kennyc · 11-30-2009, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I only have my Sunday paper delivered. I want the grocery store coupons and I like to peruse the sales circulars (I hate shopping but I like browsing online and via circular).

I'm on the Weekend Only plan for the local paper - Denver Post, mostly just because I like to sit and read and have a leisurely breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Certainly with newspaper and TV news websites the p-paper is really no longer necessary IMO.

My browser home page is Google News (after many years of being CNN -- they changed the format recently and it's horrible IMO now).

Sweetpea · 11-30-2009, 07:41 AM

I have a subscription at our local newspaper. (about $350 a year). I don't think I'll be reading the newspaper on my ereader any time soon... I prefer paper in this case. Besides, we'd need two decent sized readers as we both read the news paper at the same time...

Jim Lester · 11-30-2009, 11:35 AM

For those that have NY Times subscriptions, have you tried the NY Times Reader yet? It'd be interesting to get your feedback.

Lloyd Simcoe · 11-30-2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Lester

For those that have NY Times subscriptions, have you tried the NY Times Reader yet? It'd be interesting to get your feedback.

Cool, it comes with the Times crossword puzzle that you can fill out online.

Superlucky · 11-30-2009, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

wow - do newspapers still offer that !

not experienced that, in the UK, for many a year .....

???

Are British newspapers different than ours?

pshrynk · 11-30-2009, 02:13 PM

I got the Chicago Trib for a while and the NY Times for a while, then decided that I needed a break from politics after the last election, so cancelled them. I'm thinking of going Politico, since they just cover national politics, which is really what I'm interested in. I could care less about the latest on the Michael Jackson soap opera.

GeoffC · 12-01-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superlucky

???

Are British newspapers different than ours?

I've not had inky fingers for many a year ....

Superlucky · 12-01-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I've not had inky fingers for many a year ....

Got that, but why do you not get inky fingers from your newspaper? Is the ink or paper different or something?

GeoffC · 12-02-2009, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superlucky

Got that, but why do you not get inky fingers from your newspaper? Is the ink or paper different or something?

no idea tbh - just something that has not been an added feature for a long time ...

thought I could remember when it happened, but memory cells not what they used to be ...

11-29-2009, 11:41 AM	#1
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Towards a paper-less newspaper After twenty years of having my daily newspaper delivered to my door, I've decided to stop reading paper-based news and to look for an electronic equivalent instead. I'm posting this in the hope that it will be of interest to other forum members who might be considering the same move. I’d also welcome any advice and comments on the various options available. My paper of choice is The Herald - one of only two national newspapers available here in Scotland. I pay around £450 (US$750) per year to have it delivered to my breakfast table. I resent having to pay so much money, especially as I never read more than half the paper (I discard the sports, motoring, appointments and lifestyle sections, and rarely look at the TV/radio or classified ads). I also dislike having to carry all that newsprint to the recycle bin every week. Another gripe: The paper occasionally arrives late, in which case I don't get time to read it. So some form of electronic delivery seems like a good choice. What are the options? Newspaper's own website The Herald's website (www.heraldscotland.com) carries the same stores as the printed edition, but like too many newspaper sites, it's not designed for easy browsing. The home page shows the main headlines. You click the headline to read the story, then click back to the home page and repeat the process for the next one. To read something other than a main story, you have to drill down into one of the special sections (business, sport, whatever), then click back up the hierarchy to find the next article. What's really needed is a button that simply takes you forward one article at a time. Pros: Easily available. Free. Cons: Difficult to browse. Also, this particular site is plagued with intrusive advertising, flashy animations, ticker tapes and other annoyances that make reading a pain. Newspaper Direct This service (www.newspaperdirect.com) offers electronic delivery of over 1,400 newspapers in 92 countries. The interface is just right. You view a facsimile of the printed edition, and zoom in to read each story just as it's laid out on the page. Or, you can hover the mouse over a headline to see a popup window showing a summary of the story. You can navigate pages in sequence or by clicking on thumbnails. You can also save the paper to a file or print a custom version. Pros: Great interface. Cons: Costs money (£100 or US$165 per year [after a 30-day trial]). And you have to go out of your way to cancel the subscription; if you don't, it's automatically renewed. (You can also purchase single copies, but these cost more than the printed version.) Wireless delivery direct to my Kindle This might be the best option for many people, but not for me. That's partly because I don't have Whispernet access, and partly because no Scottish papers are available on this service. If my paper does become available, I'd probably subscribe to it, and read it via the Kindle for PC application (or transfer it my Kindle via USB every morning). RSS feed to Calibre; convert to ebook format This involves setting up Calibre (www.calibre-ebook.com) to automatically fetch the newspaper content each morning and then convert it to Mobi format, which I can read in either the Mobi Pocket or Kindle for PC application (or transfer to my Kindle via USB). This approach provides the best option for browsing. The stories appear consecutively, with no need to click up and down a hierarchy in order to navigate. You just "turn the page" to go from one story to the next. You can select the sections you want to receive, and you can even combine sections from different publications. One irritation: In The Herald, each article is followed by several pages of links to other articles; you have to keep skipping past these pages, which is tedious. Pros: Free. Automatic (I can set up Calibre to download and convert the paper before I get up each morning, and have the news waiting for me on my laptop on the breakfast table). Cons: The initial setup takes a bit of effort (Calibre comes with many newsfeeds pre-configured, but the one to The Herald is broken). I still have a couple of weeks to run on my subscription to the printed newspaper. After that, I'll have to choose an option for electronic delivery. Right now, I'm inclined to go for the Calibre option. But I'm still open to other suggestions.

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11-29-2009, 12:00 PM	#2
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I only have my Sunday paper delivered. I want the grocery store coupons and I like to peruse the sales circulars (I hate shopping but I like browsing online and via circular).

11-29-2009, 01:24 PM	#3
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	I have 2 newspapers delivered daily (The New York Times at $600 a year and my local rag, the Poughkeepsie Journal, at $250 per year) plus weekly "newspapers" like The Economist, which is the best bargain in the bunch at $110 per year. Like Mike, I, too, have been trying to shift to an electronic format, but without success so far. I tried Calibre's feeds for the New York Times, but it just isn't the same as reading the newspaper. I'm not young enough to easily change layout formats (I can go from print to e easily, but I want my Times to look like the Times ). In addition, reading the newspaper on 6-inch screen has been less than satisfying. consequently, I am waiting until I get a larger screen e device before making thw switch, and when I make the switch it will be to one of the services that provides the newspaper in e form but in p layout, something like newspaperdirect..

11-29-2009, 01:36 PM	#4
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	I get The NY Times with calibre and read it on my 505. I actually prefer it in this format. No inky hands, portability and no having to flip through the paper to finish the story you're reading and then flip back to start another. Plus, you can't beat the price.

11-30-2009, 07:41 AM	#8
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I have a subscription at our local newspaper. (about $350 a year). I don't think I'll be reading the newspaper on my ereader any time soon... I prefer paper in this case. Besides, we'd need two decent sized readers as we both read the news paper at the same time...

11-30-2009, 11:35 AM	#9
Jim Lester Evangelist Posts: 416 Karma: 14682 Join Date: May 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Device: Nook HD, Nook for Windows 8	For those that have NY Times subscriptions, have you tried the NY Times Reader yet? It'd be interesting to get your feedback.

11-30-2009, 02:13 PM	#12
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	I got the Chicago Trib for a while and the NY Times for a while, then decided that I needed a break from politics after the last election, so cancelled them. I'm thinking of going Politico, since they just cover national politics, which is really what I'm interested in. I could care less about the latest on the Michael Jackson soap opera.

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