please empty your brain below

'the most miserable footpaths in Stratford' sounds like a new series of posts.
[10] Long term Guardian reader
[11] I like the broadsheet format because it's the ideal size for putting under my cats' dishes so they don't spill their food on the floor. It also gives them something to read while they're eating.
1, 2 and 6.
It’s symptomatic of the way that paper was run back then. Spend today and forget about paying for it tomorrow. The decision to go Berliner was extremely foolish.

I get the Observer each week and the smaller format will be a shame.
Just a quick question, is the Guardian online content not the same (or written to the same standard) as what is published?

Also [12] I subscribe to a weekly, you get good long print objective journalism with the benefit of being able to assess how things have developed.
I've been in there. I briefly worked for the ink supplier and got a tour of there and the old News International plant at Wapping. This was about 18 months after the Guardian's plant opened and during building of NI's new place at Broxbourne- the latter were buying presses from the same supplier as the former and wanted new inks formulated for cleaner operation.

It's a shame it's lasted so short a time, but with steadily declining sales it was always a mad idea to go to a format no-one else was using. The job losses are never welcome but relatively tiny- the plants were very robototicised.
I buy the "New European" each week plus a weekly Cricket newspaper. Stopped buying a daily paper when the Metro, City AM and Evening Standard became freely available.
I like to do the crosswords with paper and pen.
[10] Apparently, no one under the age of 40 buys a paper any more.
(10)

Buying a daily paper at least insures I get out of the house each day.
1, 6
1 - online only within 5 years I'd bet.

5 - *much* better paper-like 'experience' without the inky fingers (unless your butler irons it for you first DG) plus you're supporting the paper in a way that's more consistent and reliable for them though sure, a decent tablet is not cheap.

and a bit of 6 for sure!
6
4, 7 and 8 - perhaps most of the population don't see the point of keeping up with events that they have no control over, thanks to the vastly improved inter connectivity of the planet you can get updates on bad news that you cannot do anything about in ever better quality, remember the girls in Nigeria, did Assad go, people still drowning in the Mediterranean, plastic in the oceans, historic child abuse, current child abuse, NHS in crisis, care of the elderly, that oil tanker that sank yesterday, cost of rail travel, cost of housing, latest computer scare, latest food scare, latest non-native insect scare, Russia, Trump, Brexit, reduction in the size of chocolate bars.... etc.
More flats it is then in Stratford.

If the PM can give 1bn to the DUP, why cant they build a dedicated council estate /flats or affordable housing, in the old school Peabody format in that all had a responsibility to look after the estate on a rota. Ahhh perhaps its because that would be the catalyst to bring prices down!

I would hope that some industrial stays there, after all we need manufacturing etc in town, a bit like what is happening on the former may and bakers (Sanofi) site at Dagenham east
I've never bought a paper regularly, although like many of us, I grew up in a home with a daily delivery (first Indy, then Guardian). I do like getting Private Eye. But otherwise, there are only very specific cases in which I'd want a physical paper; if I were on holiday or somewhere like a drowsy county cricket game. Interesting to be in the generation that will most strongly experience the transition.
10
Been a daily Guardian reader for some sixty years and not likely to change now.
Subscribe and read the G daily online in Australia.
I buy a physical copy of the Guardian every once in a while, but I start to read it, I realise that I’ve already read many of the articles in the last 24 hours online. They’re a victim of their wonderful and easy-to-use website.

These days the only reason I buy a copy is for the crossword when I’m travelling.
I used to buy a paper, but I got fed up with the "celebrity" stories & sport (Not interested in either) Politics was far too depressing and media always has its own axe to grind.

Being a geek/nerd, I found the science & technology coverage to be too dumbed down so I haunt websites which can have grown-up and intelligent reporting.
5 and 6, definitely

It's a pity the Berliner format has been abandoned : it was attractive, serious and stylish. I wish other papers in the UK had adopted the format.

I give the Guardian the ten years max before it's the property of a sovereign wealth fund of a vicious and foul and semi-fascist petro-dictatorship that pretends unconvincingly to be a friend of the West. Either Azerbaijan or one of the constituent parts of the UAE, most likely. Maybe it will be renamed the Emirates Guardian!
Back in the days of my LU commute, I bought a paper daily. I had papers delivered at home at weekends, until the arrival of easy access to digital news. For the last 15+ years I've bought a physical paper only occasionally. I feel (partially) responsible for the decline of print.
5
I used to get the Guardian (though in my youth I used to buy the Morning Star believe it or not), then switched to the Indy as it took a more robust view on the Iraq war, then when the Indy became rubbish I gave up.
I do pay money to support the Guardian though reading the columnists I often wonder why.
I also second the 'Its a nuisance not having old newspaper round to wrap up broken glass and to put down on the kitchen floor when your dog has an upset stomach'
After The Independent stopped their printed edition, I switched to the i, which maintains many of the Indy's features, including the Concise Crossword, where the top two or three Across clues always form a new word or phrase.

On weekdays, Yusuf delivers the i. Sam takes over on Saturdays and brings the Observer on Sundays. Oh yes, and round here we have pints of milk delivered in glass bottles three times a week.

It's what's called civilisation.
Also, 'most miserable footpaths of London' sounds an excellent feature
[6]

[nn] Get a free newspaper once a week from Waitrose
Those of us who have an old-fashioned fireplace or a trendy woodburner rely on newspapers for lighting them - nothing else works.

Perhaps after brexit we can also wrap our fish and chips in them again.
Re the forlorn footpath....like you DG there was a time when I set out on intrepid trips into off-the-beaten-track places. At some point, I became aware of an internal refusnik and the legs would refuse to carry me down certain paths. I have no idea what my unconcious self was noticing but, I can't help feeling you will also find yourself there before long.
Afraid whilst I'd love to read a newspaper, it's just easier to dip into the Guardian website for short chunks when time allows.

It's a difficult time for newspapers. Going free online really hasn't helped (I do give cash to the Guardian) but I suspect there will be more print closures over time.

That said I don't think print is dead. Like magazines, some products will survive. But it's going to be tough.
I get vouchers for the Daily Telegraph (sorry DG but the sports coverage is still the best) but am finding it harder and harder to find a local shop that accepts them. The chap by Watford Met station is stopping from today saying that WH Smith, who seem to have a distribution monopoly in the area, take forever to pay him for the vouchers so that he loses money. This tallies with other small corner shops in west Watford. I suspect the same situation is happening across London and that it's impossible to make money from selling newspapers. Very sad.
I used to buy a copy fairly regularly, but they're a victim of the success of their own web site. I do occasionally throw a few pounds at them when they're begging, because I feel bad for them. I know the Scott Trust isn't going to go under soon, but they've really got to get the losses under control.
(9) and (10) I buy the Telegraph every day.
A certain fairly well known supermarket chain gives us a 'free' Guardian if we spend £5 or £10 on Saturday. I hope the paper gets enough of the proceeds to make it worthwhile.
We also prefer doing the (quick) crossword on paper, but print them out on the backs of junk mail.
What about (13): the environmental cost of cutting down the trees, transporting tons of dead wood and ultimate disposal?
As for others. old newspapers are an essential part of the household economy but our local weekly or freebies can provide that.
When you get on a train, walk through the first class carriage to pick up a free newspaper.
If ONLY the Guardian really WAS a bloody pinko newspaper, rather than being owned by a dodgy hedge fund concealing it's real agenda!
10. The FT did not last long at East India Dock Road either.
RogerB,

I suspect the newspapers get very little cash from well-known-supermarket deal. But I think it technically counts as a purchase (with 100% discount) so readership figures go up so advertisers pay more. Remember it is advertising that makes the money not the cover price - otherwise the Evening Standard would have folded (sorry) years ago.
10. Been a Guardian reader since first year at university.
What on earth does Brian mean about the owner being a dodgy hedge fund? As I understand it's owned by a non-profit trust.
Besides, anyone who's ever read the Scott Trust's core mission statement will know that the Guardian can never be *that* pinky-leftie.

"To secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity: as a quality national newspaper without party affiliation; remaining faithful to its liberal tradition; as a profit-seeking enterprise managed in an efficient and cost-effective manner."

Emphasis on "liberal tradition" and "profit-seeking". It's supported the LibDems as often as the Labour Party.
PoP: Thanks for the clarification.
10. All online news is fake news.
"What the hell have they done replacing their iconic logo and icon with the new monstrosity"
6 & 9

'the most miserable footpaths in Stratford' Photographed mid-January.
[14] It's never been the same since it dropped the word "Manchester" from the masthead.
I go with Marco's 12. Weekly print for me of all that's been happening in the World with the added benefit of a set of crosswords to last the week ( as I'm not that good at cryptics but enjoy them).
[10]. But it's so obviously the 'i'. Its price slips under my don't care limit, and its puzzle page is great.

But with a small element of [1], since there is no longer much point in killing trees to get news and comment 24 hours after you've already seen it online.
1, 6, 14

I feel the only thing worth reading in the free papers is the letters section. But I never get one, I only read them if they are left on the train/bus, as I find it a waste to kill trees (as the previous comment puts it)

I prefer to get news from multiple sources in an attempt to reduce bias, which means that I'd have to buy multiple papers, and spending £20 a day is not worth it.

I don't like getting my hands black.
6 9 10
I got the Guardian every day until about 8 years back. No time to read it. I like the tabloid design, reminds me of the old logo - I never liked the gloomy blue thing. I might see if I can get back into the Guardian habit, but maybe the freebie route is the only way forward?
[15] Used to buy The Times every day but stopped because I didn't like the tabloid format and the way it dumbed everything down. Occasionally buy a paper (Guardian, or perhaps Times or The i) but feel guilty about mostly relying on the excellent Guardian website: I really must send them a few bob and stop being a freeloading cheapskate. I doubt that going tabloid will improve The Guardian but with luck they'll stay solvent, and at least they've scrapped that wretched all lower case masthead.

The free papers only have illiterate churnalists that recycle celebrity dross, reality TV and Twitter, and because they threaten 'real' papers they are bad news for democracy and holding the Government / Establishment to account.

Quite fearful for the future if / when there are no real newspapers. Another problem is the grossly unfair competition from the BBC and its bottomless pit of licence fee income: perhaps struggling papers should get a slice of it, but would that compromise their independence?
10 The Times
I'm 65 and retired, plenty of time to read it and do both crosswords and the easy killer sudoku (no other paper does killer). Can't be bothered to spend up to an hour on the difficult killer any more.

That logo is not cyan and magenta, it's blue and red (but I accept colours might not have survived photo.
I've always been a news junkie and after rejecting my parents' choice of the Telegraph, I started using my pocket money to buy the Guardian most days from the age of 14. That carried on, rarely missing a day (even on holiday abroad I'd often buy it if I saw it).
But in recent years I increasingly realised the articles I was seeing in the newspaper were the same ones I'd read at my desk online at lunchtime or on the app on the bus home.
So in 2015 at the age of 41 I finally stopped the habit of 27 years. I still support them financially, but surprised myself how quickly I got used to not reading every day. Now it's just an occasional thing (like this morning).
Newspaper printing ink can be a nasty environmental pollutant and also a danger to human health - I know it triggers my asthma.

Shame they didn't drop the paper edition altogether - the tabloid looked quite unattractive this morning so I suspect this will be the end result eventually.
1, 4, 5, 6. Used to read The Times on my daily commute, gave up some years ago after it became a tabloid. Listen to podcasts now, while playing something mindlessly electronic. I probably ought to switch to reading the online subscription versions, which are great, but I think I get enough news without paying.
[10] I buy the Times, sometimes using the 'free' Waitrose offer.

@RogerB: must be a time since you used the offer, as the minimum spend is £10 each day now. But the good news is that i) the newspaper cost counts in the £10 and ii) you can use your paper voucher in part payment, which is really good on a Sunday, as the marginal cost of the voucher is £1.50 presently but worth £2.70! I do wonder who subsidises who on this deal.

@JoHo: really surprised you have given up on the 'Deadly' killer Sudoku. It is my personal anti dementia activity and although the typical par time of 54-56 minutes can defeat me, only a fortnight ago I set a PB of 12 minutes!

Finally: problem with the Guardian is that as fast as the previous MD (a close neighbour of mine, actually) cut costs, the then editor was spending money like water in the USA. The move from the Berliner size is very sensible and hopefully will contain losses to a manageable level. I am no fan of the Guardian but the more papers, of any political hue, including the DM, that we can keep going the better. As a fellow school pupil said 60 years ago, what else will we wrap our fish and chips in.
Used to be solid with the Guardian but went off it under Rusbridger, when it went post-something or other.

Too many smart-alecs barely a half my age writing cultural crap.

Indy and I until Brexists took too much of a share. And not wasting time on ranting letter-writers and puzzles means many more books getting read.

Now sub to the New European (also changed from Berliner to tabloid) and buy FT Weekend. Some terrific writing on a surprisingly wide range of subjects in the latter. And they are pro-EU to the core! (Just ignore the Spend-It glossy).

Seriously miss the proper paid-for Time Out. Current freebie version is dire.
As a kid (35 years ago) we took the Guardian daily in the house. As an adult I've never bought a daily paper, though I did buy the i when it launched and abandoned it when it rose in price to 40p.
On instruction of Husband was going to write 14, but Timbo beat me to it.

My Mother (87) gets the Daily Telegraph every day, one of a what must be a handful sold in Glasgow! It used to be delivered from the newsgent's owned by the jolly muslim killed by a maniac not too long ago. My brother now has to get it for her.
@Milo Bell

10. All online news is fake news.

Does that mean that this blog is fake too?
The Berliner format was a huge and costly mistake - it should have bitten the bullet then and gone 'compact'. Berliner seemed to have all the drawbacks and none of the advantages of both formats. I still miss the pre-Berliner masthead which I thought was neat and stylish.
Another interesting analysis by DG.
Don't forget the enormous effect on the other dailies following the introduction of the free 'Metro'.
The editorial quality of 'Metro' is very poor, but the mere fact it is free means the railway station supply is exhausted by about 08.30 and supplies are gone from every bus after their first journeys. People do not seem to want to read the 'news' but the fact that McDonalds put a whole strip of 'cheap meal' vouchers into Metro on seemingly a random day each week causes much grabbing of copies, quick search for vouchers, and grabbing of further copies if it is voucher day. and this in a seemingly civilised city ( Bath, west country )
This activity must keep Metro 'circulation' at an artificially high level.
Looking forward to the print version of the Daily Diamond Geezer

dg writes: Stopped 7 years ago, sorry.
[16] I like that feeling when you buy something well-known, and know that it was made just round the corner. Increasingly rare, these days.
[10] - Get the Telegraph on subscription. Don't agree with its political stance, but its sports coverage is still good, and it's got the best puzzle aection. I pass it on to my housebound mother when I've finished with it.
I read the Guardian online.
Remember those 'year 2000' films in the 1970s where people printed out their daily newspaper at home. Whatever happened to that idea?

It has been interesting to see how the G has embraced digital with surely one of the best news websites in the world whilst clinging on to print at huge cost. As several commentators above have said - it's only a matter of time for print. This saddens me because that really will be the end of an era of history and the loss of something very enjoyable.

I wonder why The Guardian Group don't look at some sort of low impact paywall. They have millions of readers across the world who, I think, would be wiling to pay a few pennies a week for access. That could add up to a lot of dosh.

I was looking for a classic grauniad typo in this piece but I couldant find one.
@ Gerry 11:21

The BBC has something called "Local News Partnerships" which is funding some journalists on local newspapers (two in Kent, for example).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/insidethebbc/howwework/partnerships/localnews
Whether this supports local papers or is a way of promoting BBC values is debatable.
[10] The Times. Just like it and have taken it daily for decades. Can't give it up and don't want to.

Hadn't thought about it ,but since you mention it I suppose [6]!!

"Killing trees" to make a newspaper. This is poor for DG readers.
The trees are grown as a crop just like wheat, barley, cotton, hops etc, etc.
Nobody would even think of saying "killing wheat to make bread".
When no paper is made anymore the growers won't plant the trees to replace the ones they've used; and just leave the plantations they have to nature I guess.
J at 12:33
Thanks for the warning. I don't seem to get out without spending at least £10 these days.
@DrD
"Remember those 'year 2000' films in the 1970s where people printed out their daily newspaper at home. Whatever happened to that idea? "

Failure of imagination - no-one expected that a device capable of carrying that much electronic data would be portable, nor that the bandwidth would be available to transmit it wirelessly. Hence the expected need to print the newspaper out at home and take it with you.
[8] Readings for looser's LOL
Get The Times on subscription and Telegraph from Waitrose on Saturday for the crossword. Half immediately goes in the recycling. Regularly spend over the necessary amount to get a free paper in the week but don't bother.
Foolishly I just updated the Guardian app on my phone. Just gone from having the look of a serious newspaper to something I really don't care about. Oh and yes we have a paper copy in the house. Anyone know if you can undo the Guardian app update?
9&10

Retired journalist. Now get the Torygraph (know your enemy), the Times and The Mirror.

I prefer reading a newspaper a la DG, online is just not the same. I'm also a Sudoku and crossword fan.
Metro is pretty useless (started as the proving project for Rothermere's son).

It does have a plus side though. Direct correlation in Metro uptake and a circulation dive for Dacre's Daily Bile. Result.

Had an anarchist mate decades ago who swore by the Tel. As said above - know your enemy - and the best racing section around.
6, 9
I've never regularly bought a morning daily paper. I did used to buy the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle and then the Standard when I moved to London. I gave up on the Standard not long after it went free. I found the politics even more obnoxious than before.

I had to vastly reduce my spending on printed media (magazines) when I stopped having a waged income. There is no way I can justify a daily newspaper in that context. I also gave up watching all TV news and political programming as the EU referendum campaign started. I simply couldn't face the torrent of lies and liars appearing daily. What news I do see is online and even then it's limited.

I do worry what a world without proper investigative journalism will look like. Independent printed news media and newspapers are an important part of a functioning democracy and essential in historical recording. I fear future generations will lose a lot from our reliance on potentially unreliable and manipulable digital information.
Bring back The New Day (said no-one, ever).
Almost forgot - we did subscribe to the Washington Post last year. Seems like a good investment.
(10) And I'm lucky enough to get it delivered to my door
I read whichever newspaper happens to provide the most paper on whichever day I happen to go to Waitrose. I pick it up mostly for use in my hens' accommodation, and from there to the compost heap.

It raises my blood pressure too much to actually read most of the content of any newspaper these days.

Until yesterday I had no idea of the existence of the Scott Trust. At least it should ensure that the Guardian is one of the last to stop printing, so the hens will be OK for a few years yet.
I'm glad there's someone else who realises that newspapers can be very useful for petcare. But actually I don't choose my newspaper entirely on that basis; I go to Waitrose about once a week where I have a choice of free Times or Telegraph (or others I wouldn't consider)and choose the Times because I prefer it, though it hasn't been broadsheet, and therefore cat-friendly, for ages.
If you don't remember the broadsheet Times, you certainly won't remember when the Guardian was the Manchester Guardian, and the Times only had adverts on the front page. End of off-topic para.
Fortunately for my cats, a friend gets the FT every day and passes on some old copies to me. This means that the cats can check their share prices while eating.
[2] I never buy newspapers, so I don't see why anybody else would.
Ah pet care and papers amber...

I've discovered that it takes me more time to clean out my hens when they have The Sun (supplied free by an acquaintance) than when they have The Mail (supplied free by a friend) or the Telegraph/Guardian (supplied free by Waitrose).

I refuse to have the Times (even free) as anything that is Murdoch Stable is against my moral ethics and values.

I am just so staggered by the appalling quality of the journalism in The Sun and the bias in the Mail that I can't stop looking at them (I was going to say 'reading' but the way I look at them can't really be termed 'reading').
Blue Witch: I can understand why The Times may be against your moral ethics and values, but having taken that principled position I don't understand why you would still take The Sun. I'm sure I don't need to remind you who owns The Sun. Is the difference that one involves being given a pile of papers by a thoughful friend, and the other means picking them up one by one yourself?

They may not be Murdoch, but The Mail and The Telegraph and their owners are hardly paragons of moral virtue. Not even The Guardian. No doubt we get the press we deserve.
[9] I use the free app, which is very good, and, well, free (for now). See buying a paper as a luxury.
I think the redesign is fine, except that all papers make the mistake of putting ugly/faffy/tatty trailer information above the masthead, rather than below it, or at the bottom of the front page.

Last week I found there is just one problem with Metro and McDonald's - you can't place orders with the vouchers on the self-order screens, so there was a big queue for one of the few humans beings and hardly anyone using the numerous screens. Doh!
10. I have always bought a daily newspaper, even though I have worked for 16 national and international newspapers, since 1980... Loved reading your post, a worthy read :)










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