MY eyes fell on the yellowed newspaper pages the minute I pulled open the drawer of the old dressing table.
I forgot the task in hand (unpacking holiday gear) as I leaned closer to read the stories, ads and captions on the page. Just reading because it was there to read, never mind the lure from outside of a golden day, a perfect beach and the tide just right – we had checked into a beach shack at a remote spot. Long ago and faraway.
This is still a vivid ‘snapshot’ in my memory album of reading experiences. A momentary celebration of literacy and the attraction of an old-fashioned newspaper page – even if the texts and pictures had nothing to do with the here and now.
In honour of that moment, I still line my drawers and shelves with printed pages so faces and headlines greet me from under the socks or saucepans and plates.
Another vivid memory dates back to Cape Town days, when a friend’s elderly relative arrived from the Karoo farm with a vintage school suitcase containing meticulously packed plaasvleis (chops, ribbetjies etc) all thickly wrapped in newspaper.
Old fashioned insulation which had kept the meats frozen throughout her lengthy bus trip.
During an extraordinary adventure into the Richtersveld many years ago, we had the privilege of going into a one-room home at Lekker-sing. The tiny, wrinkled lady of the house, dwarfed by her starched bonnet, was just so proud of her rickety sideboard. The edges of the shelves had been decorated with ‘lace’ cut from concertina-folded newspaper.
The text printed on the paper enhanced the fancy cutwork.
Memories like these remind one that newspaper has been part of the fabric of our lives for what seems like forever – humble, recyclable, non-toxic and biodegradable (in the compost box or wormery). And the work is far from done – today newspaper could help to stay the incoming tide of waste plastic that is promising to drown us.
Maybe we will start to appreciate newspaper more now that we can no longer take it for granted as an inexhaustible resource.
A paperless future is not science fiction as digital media becomes more user-friendly and paper media costs spiral at every stage. The cost of everything keeps going up: trees to feed paper factories, labour and transport, containing environmental damage, security and taxes.
Speaking at a coffee morning in Cradock this week, Willem Jordaan, editor of Die Burger, said that, in spite of all these challenges, Media24 would continue publishing its newspapers on paper for the foreseeable future. But, in line with global trends, the media giant was putting a huge amount of time and effort into online publishing.
The Eastern Cape was leading the field in this respect with the regional edition of Die Burger switching to digital form from Monday until Thursday from July 20.
This would guarantee an inexpensive, easy to access up-to-the-minute news and ideas resource that would not be affected by fuel price hikes, strikes or transport problems. (As long as we all have solar backup to charge our phone etc with).
Jordaan said that their research showed women made up a sizable proportion of their existing online digital readers and also that (on average) women appeared to me more flexible in response to change and innovation.
Tjokkie du Preez is a case in point.
She said, “I need my daily quiet time – time reading the newspaper.
“It’s me-time. But my husband always got Die Burger first and I had to wait until next day. With digital we can both read at the same time, wherever we happen to be – even on our phones.” She and her husband need respite in their busy days, running The Palms, venue for the coffee morning with Die Burger.
Along with the exciting new digital bundle of daily reading, Jordaan assured his guests that we would still get our fat broadsheet bundle of Die Burger on paper every Friday along with a Naweek bylaag with enough reading to see one well into the week. And enough fresh and crisp newspaper for countless uses round the home and garden.
Jordaan assured us that the Eastern Cape Express newspapers (including our own Mid Karoo Express) would still be printed on paper and delivered to convenient pick-up points in our towns free of charge.
So we can look forward to getting the best of both worlds from Media24 – easy to read digital news and magazines, and a weekly bundle of news on paper.
There is much to be grateful for as we embrace the change.