Newspapers are part of the family

Re: “Final print edition of La Presse to be published on Dec. 30” (Montreal Gazette, June 2)

It seems management at La Presse thinks “a fully digital product shouldn’t be too painful” because “when weekday print editions ceased, most readers quickly adapted.” Reality check: Many readers who appreciate reading the daily news in a printed version were forced to adapt to the digital edition. They had no choice.

As a newspaper reader since I was 16 years old, I would very much miss the printed version of the Montreal Gazette, were the Gazette to follow La Presse’s lead. The daily paper contributes to important social interaction among family members, which is sadly lacking these days. Dad would bring in the paper and dole out the various sections — front page for him, home section for Mom, entertainment for me, sports for my sister.

Some scenarios that would not happen with the digital version:

Sharing the news with family members — passing a page over to show the editorial cartoon, a new structure being built, a picture of someone who passed away, etc. Passing around a laptop or tablet, not so pleasant!

Folding the paper to a particular section and then going to the bathroom to read and relax — not so easy to do when you’re holding an electronic device.

Sticking the paper in your beach bag to read by the lake — no worries if it gets wet or sandy!

Finally, the large format allows for multiple articles to be shown on each page, along with advertisements — much easier on the eye than trying to scroll on a small screen and seeing only small sections of an article at a time.

In my mind, a small, hard electronic device compares very poorly with the flexibility offered by a printed paper.

I sincerely hope that the Montreal Gazette will last as a printed edition for many years to come.

Susan Proctor, Montreal