I Have Seen the Future at the NY Times

I have seen the future at the New York Times. And it’s not pretty for those of us who love real newspapers.

Now I’m no Luddite; I Tweet and Facebook like all you other addicts. I truly love my iPhone 4 and I read the Times as well as many other digital news sites via their very convenient apps. But there are times when nothing but the real thing will do.

Although it’s somewhat thinner these days – the Sunday Times is still the benchmark all other news outlets must match. I remember lining up at the nearest Manhattan newsstand waiting for 9PM on Saturday nights. That’s when the Sunday paper hit the stands – and you could take it home and sit on the floor with a glass of wine (and perhaps a boyfriend) and discover the weekend world. It was pure indulgence. That mess around you of sections read – or skimmed and kept for later – was a ritual I shared with all my friends and most of my fellow workers. It defined Saturday night in the city – when as often as not you read the Times first, and then headed to a midnight showing of a film – or down to some tiny cellar restaurant in Chinatown for the real deal.

And the future? It’s called Times Reader 2.0. Not, apparently, a totally new offering but now powered by Adobe Air. Bottom line, with 2.0 you can download the entire day’s edition of the NY Times to your laptop in – well – in a Flash. And take it with you to read whenever. Essentially what you can do on the regular website –but without the need for an internet connection –unless you want to keep your “paper” updated.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger said flat out there will be no more printed version of the paper at some time in the future? He didn’t say when, but with advertising and readership continuing to fall, that time is probably sooner rather than later. Times Reader 2.0 is free for two weeks – and then you’ll need a subscription – priced cheaply for now at $4.62 a week.

I’m gonna miss those Saturday nights in the city even more when newsprint becomes extinct. Something to look at in a museum. Under glass. Remember how it feels, folks. Especially when you’re eating that greasy New York hot dog with one hand and holding that nicely absorbent newspaper with the other. Try doing that with your laptop’s touchpad. Or – Heaven forefend – your iPhone.