Sunday Papers

Listen while you read: Again, just the album cover

Mother doesn't go out anymore
Just sits at home and rolls her spastic eyes
But every weekend through the door
Comes words of wisdom from the world outside

If you want to know 'bout the bishop and the actress
If you want to know how to be a star
If you want to know 'bout the stains on the mattress
You can read it in the Sunday papers
Sunday papers
. . . 

Sunday papers, don't ask no questions
Sunday papers, don't get no lies
Sunday papers, don't raise objections
Sunday papers, ain't got no eyes
. . . 

~ Joe Jackson

Another old one, almost thirty years old! My, my! This hit for Joe Jackson appeared on 1979's Look Sharp! And Joe Jackson was sharp! And yes, I did get to see him in concert at the Capital Theater in Passaic NJ.

There's a reason I chose this song today. (Actually, I first chose Carbon / Silicon's "The News" and had all the lyrics down before I realized that I already did that song back in April. Yep, I'm at that point where I have to check all my past posts so that I don't repeat any songs.)

Change is hard. I have been reading New Jersey's standard newspaper, The Star Ledger, since I was a kid. Back then, it was called The Newark Evening News. Sitting on my front porch every afternoon, I waited for Carol, our paper girl, to deliver the paper to us. Back then, I only read the comics and Ann Landers and my horoscope, but it was an important part of my day. As an adult, I've subscribed to The Star Ledger for what, four decades? I switched from print to digital a few years ago, and that was hard! I also read The Palm Beach Post online.

Recently, The Star Ledger, while raising its subscription price, tried to upgrade its interface, an attempt that met with more bugs and interruptions in service than was tolerable. I called to complain more than once, but tried to be patient. Meanwhile, my credit card had been "compromised" (again!) and I was issued a new card with, of course, a new number. I tried to access my Star Ledger account to upgrade my credit card info, but I got an error message telling me I didn't have an account! Well, screw it. I'll read The Palm Beach Post.

I have a hard time letting go. And while I want to support legitimate press, The Ledger has become skimpier and skimpier and has eliminated op/ed columns by journalists I love to read, like Eugene Robinson and E.J. Dionne. And since the coverage is mostly on New Jersey's urban areas, I found myself skipping over most of the stories. (Remember, I live in "the vast wilderness of rednecks and retired hippies.") I'd been thinking of canceling my subscription for awhile now, but, as I said, I have a hard time letting go.

Yesterday, I got an automated call from The Star Ledger, advising me that they tried to bill my account, but my credit card was null and void. Please call, they said. No, I replied.

I'll get used to this. There are many sources for news. The trick is in finding the ones that are true to journalistic standards of honesty and integrity. I have a pretty good handle on which ones are "fake news." I just figure that if DT says they're fake, they're not.

Well, I got nothing against the press 
They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true