As I picked up the paper today, I thought, “What shall I blog about? Oh dear, what shall I blog about?” Then I looked at the paper and realized it is the first day of the new format for the Utica Observer Dispatch and the Herkimer Telegram. Doesn’t that work out well?
Let me preface this by saying that I love newspapers. I know we can get our news from the television and the internet, but I like picking up the paper, spreading it open and perusing it. The television gives you everything in their time, and scrolling down the computer screen just doesn’t have the same pleasure for me. Also my eyes like the printed page better. Could it be the presbyopia? Or am I just old and set in my ways? Let’s not go there. Just suffice it to say, I get two newspapers a day and I like it.
For weeks now the O-D has been printing an article answering questions about the new format: Will we have the same amount of news? Why the switch? Why are you getting rid of Dilbert and Doonesbury? The last question was of some importance to me as Dilbert and Doonesbury are two of my favorite strips. Of course, I knew why they are getting rid of them: they took a reader poll and I predicted the two most intelligent but controversial strips would go. That is, the two strips that sometimes some people don’t “get.” OK, sometimes I don’t get them either, or think they’re very funny. But I usually like them, and in Doonesbury I am very absorbed in the stories of some of the characters. Like Toggle, the veteran who suffered a traumatic head injury and is now attending college and working as a sound engineer. He is dating Alex, Michael Doonesbury’s too-smart-for-her-own-good daughter. Imagine my delight when I saw the O-D had wisely moved Doonesbury to the Opinion page. I know the Rome Sentinel has always done that, and I kept saying to my husband that the O-D should follow suit. So a big woo-hoo for keeping Doonesbury.
As for the rest of the paper, I like the new format. It is a little smaller and so less awkward. The printing is of higher quality. There were no pages with black blobs or smears; all was easy to read. The format is a little different, too. The sections today were News, Community, Sports and Living. They still highlight local attractions and businesses, good for planning future blog posts. Today’s Living section highlighted farmer’s markets, one of my favorite things. They had a big article with tips for getting the most out of the markets and a personalized account by Cassaundra Baber about her experience at one. I was disappointed that they did not include a list of local farmer’s markets. They had a web site you could go to, but I would have liked to see a side bar I could cut out for future reference. Did I mention I’m a little old fashioned? Did I have to mention it?
Well, I think this has been my longest blog yet. I’ll conclude with a recommendation to read the O-D and/or the Telegram. Excellent publications in and about the Mohawk Valley.
Mohawk Valley Girl 