Dear Erika,

I believe reading the newspaper has become a lost art.

And I believe that’s because writing the newspaper has become, in many cases, a lost art.

Consider: I live in Rochester, NY. The Democrat and Chronicle is our main newspaper. But we also have The City Newspaper (a weekly publication focused primarily on the arts and culture scenes), and The Empty Closet, the state’s longest- running LGBT publication.

Then again, we’re also home to USA Today, or as I define it, The National Inquirer for marginally- higher intellects.

I can’t afford to subscribe to the D&C, so I read a watered-down version of it on the internet. Both the City Newspaper and the Empty Closet are free, so I read them in hard copy.

But back to writing newspapers as a lost art: when the previous editor of the Empty Closet retired, the paper was given a new look. It went from being a 60-page publication in newspaper format to a 20-page slick, multi-colored magazine. National and international news about the LGBT community was dropped, seemingly in favor of coverage of celebrities and drag queens.

I no longer read it, and am aware that many long-term subscribers have canceled their subscriptions.

This is what happens when a newspaper stops serving its community and becomes an opportunity for graphic artist wannabes to display their (mostly formulaic) “skills.”

I get my other “news” from National Geographic and The Smithsonian, both of which my landlord/roommate subscribes to.

They are both excellent examples of how a news publication can be both slick and glossy while remaining true to its mission.

Robyn Sinéad Sheppard

Written by

Genderqueer asexual curmudgeon. She/her/hers. Time-traveler. Essayist. "Ego sum, ergo sum scribere."

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