Atlantic City’s only newspaper throws in the towel on delivery

I had the great experience as a child of being a newspaper carrier.

It was 5th grade, and all of a sudden I was up at 4 a.m., walking half a mile to a local street corner where a newspaper truck pulled up and a burly man opened the door. back and tossed bundles of newspapers out of the back of the truck onto the sidewalk below. Two other children from neighboring neighborhoods would be there with me and we would each take our bundle. I opened mine and folded the papers, putting them in a large cloth bag that I carried over my shoulder. Then it would be about delivering the papers in person, no matter the weather.

On Sunday, the papers would be too big and too heavy for the bag. Instead, I would pull a large wooden cart behind me along the sidewalks of my route.

Children today have never had this experience and probably never will.

At least not in the Atlantic City metro area.

With the slyness of a thief in the night, the Atlantic City Press announced under an obscure headline – on page 4 of its print edition, that it was retiring from the newspaper delivery business.

All the teenagers (and girls) who once delivered papers by hand are long gone, but soon the middle-aged men and women who did the work behind the wheel of their cars and SUVs will be gone too.

With a title reading. “Enhanced print editions to come”, the Press announced that home delivery days will end on Monday, April 3.

What are you going to use to wrap your fish or line your aviary?

THE Press says it will still deliver to you – but only three days a week – and the delivery portion will go through the United States Postal Service. Yes, your postman will deliver your newspaper.

The article points out that the Atlantic City Press will continue to provide news through their digital platform. Of course, this digital platform requires you to pay a subscription fee to access their local news coverage.

(This is where I point out that the article you’re reading right now is completely free to you, through one of Townsquare Media’s local South Jersey websites. All sites require no subscription or fees.)

THE Press the article ends by saying: “Thank you for supporting the PAtlantic City ress and they are journalists.”

What does it mean? I do not click on an article to “support” the person who wrote it. I click for the same reason you clicked on this article – to find information I want to know.

I guess it was only a matter of time, because the newspapers – and the carriers – are quickly becoming “yesterday’s news”.