The Better Well

The printed word in periodicals and newspapers are at a critical point just now with the advent of the various advertising methods on television and the internet.  The advertising pays the bills and keeps these publications alive and as they are forsaken for the electonic methods, the publications struggle to stay even marginally profitable.  Some decisions made by the publishers are glaring mistakes.

For many years I treasured a periodical for its humor, educational tools, good stories, and its ability to keep me abreast of new developments in a multitude of different disciplines.  This magazine carried a lot of advertisement which is the life's blood of any periodical.

Because it had been such a great tool and a continuing education for me, I was proud to introduce this magazine to my family as a gift and recommend its use by everyone in their household.  Both the young and old could benefit.

Slowly this magazine lost its way.  Instead of good stories that could be enjoyed by the whole family, publicatons transcended to  telling of the infamous escapades of the whoremongers and whores of Hollywood.   In so doing the stamp of approval was being placed on drunkeness, immorality, and illigitament births.  For these reasons, this magazine no longer desrves my respect or support.

I do not hold myself up as a paragon of virtue but I can no longer see my way fit to presenting this magazine to my family and friends or recommending it as a beneficial publication.  In this instance the magazine is the loser.  

Newspapers, on the other hand, still publish the most complete and detailed news available from any source.  The news from television and radio only give a glimpse of world happenings and, in many cases, present their encapsulated news in such a manner that you will only see that which they want you to see and, as a result, think what they want you to think.

In order to compete, newspapers have resorted to smaller size print paper and less courtesy  printing.  Merchants track the coupons coming into their store to determine the effectiveness of their advertising dollars.  As we read the newspaper, we are much better informed about world events and, as we use the coupons from the advertisements in the paper, we are telling the merchants that we value the paper and want to keep it in our home.  Thus we benefit by enhancing our knowledge and saving a few dollars while the periodicals are given a new lease on life.

Not all publishers decisions will be good and some periodicals will vanish from the market as many have in prior years.  We  need to retain  our good publications and, especially, our newspapers in order to make informed decisions on a daily basis.  We also need to encourage our young people to read and take advantage of the information that is only available in our newspapers.