Brian Hieggelke

Read Part 1

It's almost two weeks since I kicked the print newspaper habit and, truthfully, I'm not feeling any pain, or any more optimistic for the future of the daily newspaper. I still spend as much or more time reading news in the morning, but my consumption has changed fundamentally. I do feel a tad disoriented, like a brand-new vegetarian might feel after a lifetime of carnivorous behavior.

I've already settled into a routine. I start every morning with the New York Times, thanks to their email service. They're in my box long before I get started around 6:30am; the Sun-Times email usually arrives after I've finished. So I now take all of my national and international news from the NY Times, as well as most of my cultural coverage. After perusing Doonesbury, Dilbert and Boondocks online, I turn to the Sun-Times for local news and columns. I like the linear organization of the Sun-Times site; it makes for simple and (seemingly) complete navigation. Columnists are listed next to the main news well by name, but only listed if they have a fresh column that day. I read Feder, DeRogatis, Lazare and Zwecker whenever they're posting. From there I head to the Tribune and see what local news they've covered that the Sun-Times didn't have; usually not much. I check the weather on the Tribune, which is sometimes all I read on the site. Organized a bit like its broadsheet big brother, the Trib's site doesn't offer especially friendly navigation. Things I would always read in print--Blair Kamin, local arts and entertainment coverage, takes some effort to find.

I'm a headline reader now. Head and subhead are often enough. With print I would likely have scanned the first paragraph at the very least, and often got sucked into the whole story. Now that manual (click) commitment and the time it takes to load the page puts the burden on the headline package to really convince me. I usually just move on. The importance of the headline and teaser are paramount to web news, yet so many stories are given ambiguous one-line treatment that offers the reader no real information, and rarely warrants a click. And the craft of writing these little morsels is essential: I get the Salon newsletter every morning with the New York Times, but, as lively as the writing is in the publication, I find little to click through to from the newsletter.

So what's missing? I sometimes feel a lack of completion, that in spite of the time I'm spending, that there is important news I would have read before that I do not read now. And I often take note, as I walk by the newspaper box on the way to the train, to the modulation in type size of the very headline I've earlier read online. When the headline is especially big and bold, the story takes on more importance. That's a role editors play, using modulation to help readers prioritize the reams of information we're getting. And one they're not really playing on the web.

Read Life Without Newspapers, Part 1

(2006-02-26)

Also by Brian Hieggelke

Designer Toothpaste?
It had to happen. That tube of Crest or Colgate just doesn't quite hold its aesthetic charm next to those pricey jars of Erno Laszlo eye cream or Fresh sugar shea butter. With the surge in upscale apothecaries and bath and beauty boutiques, we've noticed a proliferation of toothpastes that look as fresh next to your sink as they taste. Why do you think they call it a vanity, anyway?
(2006-02-21)

Life without Newspapers
I decided to go cold turkey for a month and give up print newspaper subscriptions altogether. To try and get most of my daily news fix from the web, and see what happened. My last day would be Sunday, February 12, the biggest paper of the week, and the one that I once cherished the most
(2006-02-14)

Requiem for a Dream
Marshall Field arrived in Chicago from New England and got a job in the retail business in 1856. 150 years later, in 2006, he'll leave Chicago for good
(2005-12-06)

Hot Dish
Within an unusually narrow window these last few weeks, three dukes of Chicago's dining opened new establishments. Two are led by acclaimed chefs--Shawn McClain (Spring, Green Zebra) with Custom House and Michael Taus (Zealous) with Saltaus--and one by restaurateur Terry Alexander (MOD, Mia Francesca) with del Toro. It's enough to set off a foodie frenzy, if the new places live up to the reputations of their principals
(2005-11-29)

Costume conundrums
(2005-11-01)

Fan fare for the Common Man
(2005-10-25)

Ticket-Miser
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Car Free
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Tip of the Week
(2005-05-10)

Tip of the Week
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Osteria via Stato
(2005-03-01)

Made in China
(2005-01-25)

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