Sunday mornings and the newspaper....a thing of the past?

Oh, how I look forward to Sunday mornings...nothing beats waking up to a good cup of coffee and the Sunday newspaper.

Doesn't anyone feel that way anymore?

With recent news of layoffs at major newspapers, it appears that my Sunday morning ritual may soon be a thing of the past.

Phil Rosenthal, a Chicago Tribune reporter, posted an article today, announcing the Tribune's plan to cut 80 newsroom positions by August. Just five days prior, the Los Angeles Times, announced they were going to cut 250 jobs, which included 150 from the news staff, as stated in an article by Michael A. Hiltzik, a Times staff writer. Both the Tribune and the Times are owned by Tribune Co.

How is a newspaper going to exist with such a shrinking news staff? The immediate answer is to cut the size of the paper. The Tribune will be cutting the number of pages by 13 to 14 percent each week, while the Times stated they were decreasing the number of pages printed by 15 percent.

Cut the size of the newspaper. Cut the staff. Cut the stories. Cut the ads. Oh wait...the ads. The ads are another major cause for shrinking papers. Advertising in print, is becoming a thing of the past for many companies. Consumers seem to find it more appealing to see the cherry-red Merecedes-Benz driving across their computer screen with full sound effect, than they do looking at a still, sometimes black and white, picture in the papger. Ok, I must admit that is a little more appealing to the senses.

Advertising is the backbone of newspapers. Without companies advertising in papers, the newspapers are taking a big hit. The money coming in to cover the cost of running and publishing a newspaper is diminishing.

In our world, we need to know the news as it happens. We don't have time to wait until the next morning when a newspaper is delivered. If there is a fire across town, why not click on the streaming live video, rather than to read about how big it was tomorrow. This need is having devastating effect on newspapers and quite possibly making them a thing of the past.

In the meantime, while newspapers are still around, I will open my door, grab my Sunday newspaper off of my porch, and sit down to read it with a good cup of coffee.