Monday 6 October 2008

e vs $1.50

Today is decision day.

Subscribe to the new online Toronto Sun e-edition for $4.99 per month now that our not-so-satisfying 14-day free trial has expired?

Or continue to buy the print edition, which as of today will cost $1.50, plus seven cents tax, Monday through Saturday, up from $1, plus tax, 'cause we live far beyond the GTA borders?

A buck fifty, plus tax, is a hefty hike from the 10 cents paid for the daily Sun after its launch in 1971, but all things considered, it is still a bargain, as are the $1.50 Toronto Star and $1.25 Globe and Mail in the boondocks.

The price is right for the Sun's e-edition, but the trial period clearly demonstrated how the format is not 100% user friendly. Playing hide and seek with the sports section is a major annoyance.

So we'll stick with print for as long as it is available.

The print edition is there in its entirety when you want it - in the car, on a park bench, on the couch, in the loo, in bed, in a lawn chair, on trains, planes and buses etc.

It is always a second away for sports scores, the horoscope, movie times, the classifieds, editorial cartoons, comics, favourite columnists, TV listings, the crossword puzzle etc.

In a family setting, you can share the sections.

Sure, most of that can be done with a laptop or one of the many handheld gadgets on the market today, but old habits die hard and print media is a very old and very reliable habit.

Besides, you can't use an e-edition newspaper to wrap stuff, protect flooring while painting, pad the bottom of the bird cage, make newspaper hats and protect yourself from the rain.

So we will buy our first $1.50, plus tax, Sun today and not take it for granted. We will read it in cars that consume $5 per gallon gasoline, while drinking $2 bottles of water, eating $4 pizza slices and listening to $15 CDs.

On any given day, a Mike Strobel column, Andy Donato cartoon, Mark Bonokoski exclusive, Joe "Scrawler" Warmington page, Eric Margolis column or Peter Worthington op-ed commentary will make $1.50, plus tax, sound like Honest Ed's prices.

Did we mention it is $1.50, plus tax?

Sun Media still has a screw loose on that petty bit of bookkeeping. It annoys store clerks and customers to no end.

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