Have you read a Newspaper Lately?

Once the habit is formed there are few activities comparable to sitting down first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee and the Daily Newspaper. I have started my day since I was in my mid-teens in just that manner. My family would sit in the living room on a Sunday Morning (after church) sharing the news, “The Peach section” was the color of the sports pages which was the second most cherished section according to our clan. The first most sought section was the Comics, they were in color! The daily publications have come a long way.

Publick Occurrences was the first newspaper printed and distributed in North America. Richard Pierce printed it and Benjamin Harris the editing on September 25, 1690. (Link)

The Boston Newsletter printed on April 24, 1704, subsidized by the English Government making it the first paper to be continuously printed for a limited circulation.

Our Bill of Rights consist of 10 amendents adopted during 1791 of which the Freedom of the Press is merely one of 4 rights guanteed to us by our founding fathers. The text is as follows:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” source history.com

Some people are of the opinion Newspapers are “dead” and will never be resurrected, that may be so, but it is still to our advantage to read them. We actually read them all of the time, passively online, whether it’s a Cable Network presentation or an online subscription included as an option to a local subscription.

When traveling it’s worth it to make a point of bringing to the room the current daily local newspaper. They offer a way to become acclimated to the culture of the town being visited or passed through. Normally the puplications are not a comprehensive “catch up” vehicle but a few tidbits may be discovered making the paper worth its while and the stay in town more interesting.

The Daily reports on local sports, and upcoming sporting events that may be of interest and close enough to attend the contest. Cultural activities, Local Real Estate, Events, Street Fairs, and Celebration are all listed, none of which would be known if not for the paper.

Receiving a heads up on traffic problems, road closures, problems with Air travel and regional weather are delivered every day to help to keep our lives organized.

Newspapers improve our language skills, the more we read the better we understand sentence structure, punctuation, and grammar. When one is being read we unconsciously soak in knowledge not only of the subject matter but flow, rhythm, and meanings of each sentence, paragraph, and page. If English is a second language or it is a struggle to read newspapers they help us understand the definitions and use of complex or unknown words.

The same information is not able to be gleaned from national publications as from the local newsprint. I am often surprised when I’m on Flipboard, CNN, or any of the others online when a city or township close to me is mentioned. Does it surprise you?

Newspapers have the ability to raise one’s self-awareness helping to explain how we fit into the society, they keep us connected with our communities bringing along with them every day to our doorstep a sense of being a real part of life.

Jacques Lebec Natural Self Reliance