A few months ago The Register announced that it would no longer have employees doing newspaper home delivery but instead would contract with the Los Angeles Times to do it. While consolidation of like functions into a single operation is probably a sound business decision given the death spiral the printed media seems to be in, it marks another sad chapter in the change to American culture.
Seems like it was not too long ago that neighborhood kids delivered the paper, using bicycles or even walking on foot. That job helped instill a work ethic and sense of pride in many an adolescent in years gone by. That person collected the monthly subscription fee in person, and they became a part of the community fabric. Subscribers would often remember them at December holiday time with gifts of cookies, other baked goods, cash and a big personally delivered thank you.
Then the pursuit of “efficiencies” led to the demise of the so called paperboy (there were a few papergirls too!) to be replaced by employees, directly hired or under contract, to make those deliveries. Those people used cars, handled much larger routes and got the job done, but they were pretty much faceless except during the Holidays when a customer would find a Seasons Greeting card tucked in a newspaper coupled with the carrier’s name and address. Undoubtedly that produced some monetary gifts of appreciation mailed o the carrier. Subscription fees now arrived in the form of a bill in the mail, and subscribers mailed a check to a faceless media bureaucrat at some P.O. Box rather than handing it to the paperboy at the door.
Today with the morning paper came an envelope with the carrier’s name and address on it. In that envelope was a note that read:
“Dear Customer: I am sad to inform you that as of October 18, 2009 I will no longer distribute the newspaper for you. The OC Register notified us that due to the current economy they were forced to lay off all of their personnel, which included me. For many years this employment provided economical support to me and my family. I would like to take this opportunity to say good bye and thank you for your kindness. You are appreciated.”
We will still be getting our morning paper. But, a certain number of hard working people who delivered The Register will now be unemployed. The strain on them and their families is inevitable. As for the newspaper subscriber, it seems life in the neighborhood has moved further up the scale of impersonal service delivered by faceless people. I miss the paperboy and all the personal interaction that came with those kids. I’ll send our terminated carrier a check of appreciation, but I will do so while being in a funk about “progress” like this.
Verysad. This is like Macy’s giving Gimbels’ their customer names.
Only those from the east coast may relate to the rivalry between these two department stores in the heart of NYC.
And while the LA Times carriers deliver your paper they might insert a flyer with a discount if you switch to their paper
This change is sad and ironic in so many ways…. The Register and Times have been bitter competitors for decades, so for the Times to take over the distribution of the Register seems almost other-worldly. And talk about confusion! The Register has also been distributing my Saturday Wall Street Journal and the Times distributes our Daily Pilot each day except Monday. I’m trying to imagine the Times carriers trying to keep all these variables straight as they pitch the papers at Oh-Dark-30 each morning. I join Larry in thanking those dedicated Register tossers who now find themselves out of a job like so many others… sad, indeed.
Oh boy. The days of the paper rout. The worst part was that we had to collect the money ourselves. That aspect at least should have been handled the paper. I cringe everytime I drive by a hill that I used to fly down not stopping at the intersection with a full load of papers. Thank God a car never took me out.
So sad!
1965…I, 10 years old, showed up (in a Sunday suit!) for my “interview” at the Daily Sun Post to be a delivery boy. I was intent on getting the job. I had heard that you could earn up to $30 a month, about a $1 a day for delivering newspapers. YAHOO! I got the job. My route was in Dana Point, all the coastal side residences of Coast Highway. I started with 23 subscribers. BUT, I wanted more! Within a year, I had “cold-called/sold” EIGHTY more subscribers and had a route of over 100! I won the “carrier of the year award” at the ripe-ol’ age of 11. OMG! What a potentially scary scenario! I was walking up to ANY home, putting forth my sales pitch, and never wondering if the folks would try to hurt me. AND, every month, as #3 Andy remembers, there were the dreaded AT THE DOOR demands for monthly payment! OMG! Little kids sent out to collect money owed! Guess what? I LOVED ALL OF IT! Those three years taught me MANY LESSONS OF LIFE! AMERICA NEEDS TO ALLOW FOR YOUNGSTERS TO LEARN IN THE WORKPLACE! If you do any sort of cursory examination of the formative years of most of the dynamic leaders and industrialists of the last century in America, you will see that the vast majority were “gainfully-employed” during their childhood years. I truly believe that “child labor laws” need to be reexamined/eliminated to allow our youth to get off the video games and into profitable ventures.
I wept when I saw the note from my former Register carrier that he would no longer be doing the deliveries. SO SAD!
And, since the changeover a few weeks ago, my paper is delivered an hour later than it used to be…hmmm…is the TIMES purposefully trying to upset Register subscribers?
Newsprint is indeed probably going to disappear all too soon.
So sad.
Wilson teacher –
Thanks for the thoughtful post.
Good to see all the postings regarding Post register news paper. But providing news paper deliveries is the best one to be used. I prefer only the home delivery news papers.
It’s been 5yrs since I got lay-off by the register newspaper. Today 9-19-14 I get a flyer from the paper to apply for a route.This was a great job and might reconsider applying.