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I’m considering dropping my subscription to the Wall Street Journal in favor of Ground News. However, before pulling the trigger, I’d like to know what all y’all think.
Here are the nuts-and-bolts considerations: I’m paying $507 annually for the digital WSJ. (That used to be $607 for the physical print edition, but delivery service became so poor I finally had to give it up.) A premium subscription to Ground News is $100 yearly.
I don’t really care for the digital experience of reading the “paper” online. I’m an old man, and I love the tactile experience of holding the paper in my hands, aligning the pages with a sharp, crisp snap of my wrists, and scanning the whole page at one sweep before choosing what to read first. The digital version is an anemic, half-hearted counterfeit of the original print edition. Also, the news coverage in the WSJ has been trending “center-left” for quite some time, although the editorial policy continues to be “center-right.” If I could get a subscription to the WSJ weekend edition in hard copy that would be delivered to my home reliably, that’s what I’d do. Sadly, that’s not an option. (I’ve asked…)
I learned of Ground News via the Ricochet “Three Martini Lunch” podcast. It is a news aggregator service that features a description of the left-right bias of the source material. I started noodling about on its free homepage, and am considering dropping the WSJ and giving Ground News a try. But I know I’ll really, REALLY miss the WSJ Weekend Review section. (Seriously…it’s the best…that and Dan Neil’s automotive column.)
Mrs. Hoplite was previously only indifferently aware of what the WSJ subscription was costing us. Now she’s keenly tracking it, and a potential savings of $400 has a real attraction to us both.
So…thoughts?
Discussion (48)
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Sounds like your mind is made up and you are just asking for permission. Go ahead and try it. It's only a C note. If you don't like it, you can migrate back to the WSJ.
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The WSJ has become mostly another establishment rag. I also hate the pure online experience.
I'd say make the change.
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$500 is too much.
I get the daily 1440 newsletter, and an ad there led me to Tangle, which does the thing of presenting both left and right views of an issue. So far happy with both. I used to have a digital subscription to WSJ back in the James Taranto days but I left not long after he did.
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I started to subscribe to the WSJ because I find there is no substitute for in depth long-form reporting from organizations that have significant national and international reach for many issues. I felt that my understanding of most issues was becoming way too superficial due to just browsing headlines and reading short posts on-line. I am trying hard not to lock myself in an echo chamber by only reading sources that are ideologically aligned with me. The WSJ is not as far left as the NY Times or Washington Post so I chose to subscribe and I am not sorry that I have. I'm looking into Ground News based on your post. But I don't think it replaces the WSJ.
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I am currently a subscriber, but I would not pay 500 bucks, especially considering the left-ward tilt in the news section. If you want, give it up for a period of time (I'm not sure how long, 4-6 weeks?) and you will get cheap offers for at least a year. That's where I'm at now.
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