I am now grumbling about the FAZ!
Today is already the second time this year that the FAZ of Sunday sits in my letter box next to the weekend SZ (on a Saturday). Of course, the last time was exactly one week ago, on Christmas Eve.
Somebody is taking it too easy here – at least that is how I feel!
There used to be a time when newspapers were as important as trains. Is there still a train service on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve? Is this how the editor admits that newspapers in paper form are no longer necessary? After all, at the current rate of things happening, the word printed on paper is no longer competitive. Actually, I find more and more canned trivial texts in the dailies.
Or is it that the FAZ wants to make life easier for its employees? As far as editors are concerned, I find that hard to believe. Don’t they work around the clock, anyway? Or is it about the printers or the logistics? The poor newspaper delivery persons?
I think not. In fact, I believe it is more because they want to protect their new marketing strategies. I will start grumbling about it in a minute.
What I am talking is the so-called “baker’s shops” in front of which there tend to be long lines on a Sunday morning. Inside, a few industrious employees warm up deep-frozen bakery products that have been produced for a pittance by people living in neighbouring countries to the east and then carted to Bavaria in trucks. The finished products are then thrown into shelves without any feeling. From there, the customer can pick his own rolls and pretzels with iron tongs and put them on his tray, before going to the cashier’s desk and paying all the stuff. Of course, he will have to pack everything himself.
And on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, all those “baker’s shops” are closed, at least in rich Upper Bavaria. Incidentally, the same is true for the few “real” bakeries I always prefer. They all, however, usually sell huge amounts of Sunday papers, such as BamS, Welt and FAZ on a Sunday morning. Actually, without the bakery products, the Sunday papers would rot in front of the shops. I witnessed it myself on a certain occasion when baker Schlank of Putzbrunn had his shop closed on one particular Sunday because of a wedding. Nobody in Germany is courageous enough for self-service.
In the future, I will refrain from buying printed dailies on paper. After all, it is certainly about time, since I am now not only regularly using various Apple and Android devices, but am also an enthusiastic Kindle owner. And the first thing I will do today is suggest to Barbara that she should cancel all subscriptions for paper newspapers (except “brand eins”). One exception from the rule is always permitted.
And since I am such a grumpy old man, I will use my very next article for complaining about the title page and contents of said SZ!
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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