After the attempt to sell of one of Seattle’s newspapers turned from plausible rumor to actual plausibilty, I’ve been very sad for Seattle. The Seattle P-I has always played a significant source of my news consumption over the years. I’ve always regarded the P-I with a special fondness. Though I grew up in a Seattle Times household, it was the P-I that got me into newspapers. My grandparents are devoted P-I subscribers. My grandmother has always made a habit of sending me interesting articles that she reads in the newspaper. My grandpa was the one who helped me through my first crossword puzzle doing a crossword puzzle in the P-I one weekend at their house.
The thought that the P-I may be drawing to an end is truly heartbreaking to me. The Seattle Times has always been the safe choice in local newspapers, but I always felt that the Seattle Times wished it was something more by focusing on national and world news, while the P-I devoted its resources to more local coverage. As a designer, I loved the P-I’s devotion to bold designs that stood out to the reader. As a crossword junkie, I greatly respected two different crossword puzzles in the newspaper every day (though to be fair, the Times has started doing the same thing when I was home in November). As a nerd, I loved how it’s flag reminded me of Metropolis newspaper, The Daily Planet.
I feel for everyone in Seattle who is worried about the fate of the paper. Not just the journalists – who are at risk of losing their jobs in this lackluster economy – but also the loyal readers, who depend on the P-I every day for its news coverage. I called my grandma after the news of the P-Is sale was confirmed. She said that she was so sad to hear the paper might not be around in a couple of months. When I asked what she was going to do she said “well we’ll just have to switch to the Times, now won’t we?” Then in true grandma spirit, she offered to send me the entire newspaper after the announcement was made. (“After your grandpa finishes the crossword puzzles, though.”) I instead asked for the front page, which I should receive sometime tomorrow.
Of course my grandma was holding on to one little light of hope that has already gone out for me. She’s still confident the P-I can find a buyer. “Maybe Bill Gates will buy it,” she said “he’s been helping everyone, lately.” Maybe he will buy it. But I’m not going to count on it. In the end it’s likely that the trusty globe will be no more in a couple months. And there’s no other way to say how I feel, other than it just really sucks.
