How Substack is changing my reading habits

The rise of independent journalism

The Sunday, September 8, 1963 edition of the New York Times had 10 sections, for a total of 576 pages of news and advertising.

Getting sent out to pick up the early edition of the Sunday New York Times was a heavy responsibility for a kid in the 1960s. Literally. The paper could weigh as much as seven pounds. Even worse, you could be held responsible for such sins as spending 25 cents to buy a paper that unaccountably didn’t include a copy of the Book Review, or some other indispensable section.

The paper would arrive at the candy store in my suburban town at about 9:30 on Saturday evening. The wise kid would check to make sure all the sections – especially the Sunday magazine, the Week in Review, Real Estate, Business and Sports – were in the hefty package. If the paper was missing one of the classified advertising sections, probably no one at home would notice.

This was the kind of formative experience that helped shape my reading habits. Reading the Times was a given. True, my father…