Somewhat OT: Times Co. threatens to shutter Boston Globe.

[Sean Smyth]

On Sun, 4/5/09, Dan.Strassberg <dan.strassberg@att.net> wrote:
> Even though I am
> comfortable with mice, keyboards, and high-resolution color
> displays,
> I find reading from a screen (even a laptop screen) just
> not the same
> as reading from a newspaper, magazine, or book. 

Dan, I am generally the same way you are (and I'm 30). Usually, I prefer to read a hard copy of something, especially if it's a long-form piece in Esquire (when I make the time to read it) or something similar. I've been known to print out online articles to read them at my convenience.

I did buy a BlackBerry on a whim about a month or so ago, and I noticed it's changing my habits slightly. For the first time, I find myself able to read long-form stuff from ESPN The Magazine (when linked through ESPN.com) on a media device (in this case, the BlackBerry) just fine; I find this usually happens when I'm on the Metro/T/other public transit. 

I do wonder if through BlackBerry/iPhone applications that we may finally see a way for so-called traditional media to cash in on a new-age product. Charge you $10 per month, automatically debited from your credit card (or even built into your monthly phone plan), for a Globe app that would include subscriber access to audio-visuals, which also would allow you access all content online? Maybe $3 per month for access to an exclusive smartphone stream of 1030 or WTOP? I'd pay it. Of course, I'm also in the media-information industry, so take that for what it's worth.