As much as I love and enjoy a lot of new tech, it has also essentially wiped out my job. It’s been more of a slow burn toward the end of my job, and at this age, it makes it very difficult to start over, or start something new. Not that I’m old, but being in my 40’s makes change feel intimidating and stressful with maybe a sprinkle or two of excitement. So many more things to think about when you make a career change at this age than when you’re a young adult. You have to make a certain amount in order to pay your bills and take care of your family… and Godwilling have some money for fun or for saving. If you’re my age or older, you might also notice that it’s harder to learn new things because you’re so set in your ways. You’re molded into who you are by now, and nothing is really going to change that. You’re also likely more tired than you used to be, ha ha. So these things all enter my mind each day as I think about what is next, and what can I do that will allow me to work along side the technology rather than being replaced by it.
So, I work in the newspaper business…. what are newspapers? Ha ha. It’s kind of the same joke people make when someone mentions how they used to record shows on their VCR, lol. But yes, newspapers are still a thing, but they do not appeal to younger generations for the most part. When you can get all the news you need on your phone or tablet, why would you want to have a newspaper. I’ve been with this company for around twenty years, and it was still going strong up until I’d say around 2014. We started noticing a subtle drop in numbers. Then when covid took over the world, we saw a bit of a resurgence in subscribers. Things for the company didn’t necessarily get back to normal numbers, but it seemed like folks were more interested in reading the paper for that timeframe. While many folks had to stay at home and not work, or work from home, our workers still worked seven days a week, and our carriers were out there delivering to businesses that stayed open, and to residencies throughout the coverage area.
Once the dust settled, we began to see a decline in the numbers again. The company that owns the company I work for also started pushing subscribers to get their news online rather than receive a newspaper at their homes. As I’m sure you can imagine, some subscribers moved to online only, some took the offer to receive a newspaper and have access to the online portion, and some just flat out canceled their subscriptions. This resulted in a lot of jobs disappearing. Most of us who are left are essentially just counting down the end of the newspaper era. It’s honestly sad to see—outside of what it’s doing to people like me, and the job market because newspapers were such an important staple up until the rise of the machines. So, this leads to many of us in the field in search for what to do next. Like that song from the 80’s—”Video Killed the Radio Star,” smart phones and the internet killed the newspaper market.
jonsolosebastian.org 