We dropped our subscription to the Chicago Tribune about 6 months ago.
The straw that broke the camel's back was the delivery person would get the paper in the ditch about 1/4 of the time (standing water if any recent rains, a bit of a stretch for me even when dry)). You can't drop the paper
on the driveway? I asked for replacements a couple times. Then I called, complained, and it happened again. That was it.
But also, the paper was almost all generic filler. A few gems from time to time that kept me hanging on. But most articles had so little depth, that it wasn't worth reading. Every once in while, they would do an 'in-depth' article, but I swear the writer was told to fill three pages. The writing was so tortured, it was near impossible to read. A 3 page article might have made a good one page article with proper writing/editing (but shouldn't a good writer be able to write clearly and concisely w/o an editor over their shoulder?). The article might be about a family dispute, and they would keep saying
"and then Johnson...", OK, which Johnson are you talking about? It just took too much work to decode everything. I want information, not a puzzle.
To an earlier poster - yes, I realize that
good journalists provide a real service by challenging politicians, industries, etc. But that function can be filled by other resources, it doesn't need to be only print media. In our area, the BGA (Better Government Association) is doing a pretty good job:
Better Government Association
-ERD50