I miss having The Citizen delivered to the end of my driveway each Wednesday morning. I miss reading the well-chosen editorials, local news stories and the obituaries of interesting people who were now going to be missed by loved ones each night right before bed. I miss working the crossword puzzle.
I feel out of touch with my community without your paper. In a world filled with screen-time and articles warning about viewing it right before bedtime, I was able to enjoy The Citizen without guilt because it was on paper. Reading the news seems disjointed and unorganized on my phone or lap top — skipping from section to section, instead of going through your well-thought layout.
I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner, before you stopped producing the paper, to let you know how much I appreciated all the work you put into making a great paper for the citizens of Peachtree City and Fayetteville. You truly were a wonderful part of my week (Two times per week at first and then one and now none.)
I miss you!
Dawn Sullivan
Peachtree City, Ga.
[The editor replies: Thanks to you and all the many more who have emailed or called with expressions of puzzlement, concern, disappointment, descriptions of the tactile joy of a print newspaper, and bittersweet wishes for success in our online adventure. We at The Citizen have indeed been deeply blessed in having such an appreciative readership these many years.]
Yea, me too. I miss the print version of The Citizen as well. There is something rewarding about picking up a newspaper that was created, produced and delivered to my driveway by many people (many of whom I know) with much effort. My daughter worked for Jimmy Booth at his paper and later another in FL and I learned just how much effort goes into creating something that many of us just took for granted. Huge effort and it seemed in a way just for me when it was delivered.
Most printed things will be going away because of the “progress” of the internet and other technology, in fact most of us old-school lovers of newspapers with morning coffee will be going away ourselves as time marches on – as I was reminded by Jimmy Booth’s memorial service last month. Most of us who had grandparents whose life span was during the 20th century have heard about a century that started without indoor plumbing, cars, airplanes and electricity in every home and ended with TV, the internet, space exploration, cars that self-park and more. Amazing as that may be, the 21st century is starting out on track to bring even more dramatic change into our lives. Most will celebrate that and enjoy and even embrace the new technology and that’s fine and to be expected.
At the same time it might be worth noting that newspapers changed very little (in comparison to other things) over the 18th, 19th, 20th centuries and part of the 21st in the sense that they keep us informed by reporting first hand what goes on in the community by people who are part of the community. If all politics is local as the old Irish pol said, then certainly all newspapers worth reading are local as well. I am sure The Citizen even in its new electronic format will continue in that spirit.