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Why Builders, Conlroctors, & Homeowners Use MicroPro' Pressure Treoled Wood Producls

. The Osmose. MicroPro. Technology is the first treoted wood process to be certified under Scientific Certificotion Systems Environmentolly Preferoble Producf (EPP) progrom bosed on Life-Cycle Assessment.

. lorg Term Field Testing shows thot MicroPro treoted wood provides effective protection ogoinst fungol decoy ond termite ottock.

. Building Code Compliont. ICC - ES Reporfs, ESR - l98O & ESR - 2240

Lighter, more Noturql Wood Appeoronce. lmproved Pointing ond Stoining quolities. Better Corrosion Prolection for code-opproved fosteners ond hordwore, ond Approved for Aluminum Conloct.** ince 1934, Osmose has produced quality, tested, reliable wood *"Jffl?;;3;*" reservatives such as MicroPro. We fully stand behind our roducts and bsck them with industry leading warrsnties. *

. End Uses include interior ond exterior Above Ground, Ground Conlocl, ond Fresh Woter lmmersion.

For more informqlion visil www.osmosewood.com

Serving building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 1 3 Western states-Since 1922

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VOLUME 87, NO.12

Serying l3 Weslem States, Includlng Alrlka and H.waii

(Sister publiation Building Products Digest seves the East) PUBLISHER Alan Oakes (ajoakes@aol.com)

PUBLISHER EMERITUS David Cutler EDII0R David Koenig (dkoenig@building-pr0ducts.c0m)

AS$0C|ATE E0|TOR Karen Debats (kdebats@building-products.com)

COIITRIBUTI 1{ G EDITO RS

Dwight Cunan, James 0lsen, Cada Wddemar, Jay Tompt

A0 SAIES MAI{AGIR ChuckCasev (ccasey@building-prod[cts.com)

ClRCUtATl0t{ Heather Kellv (hkelly@building:products.com)

ADMIl{I$IRATIOII OIfi ECTOR/SECRETARY Marie 0akes (mfpoakes@aol.com)

How to Advertise

Conlact our adverlisino ollices 101 nl0s: WEST, MIDUTEST, SOUTHEAST: Chuck Casey, Newport Beach, Ca.; (949) 852-1990; Fax 949-8520231 ; Email ccasey@building-products.com l{0BTHEA$I: Paul Mummolo (N.J.); (732) 8998132; Fax 732-899-2758; Email mummolop@ c0mcast.net

Energy rovings key to selling siding, roofing qnd insulofion

How to Subscribe

Contacl Healher at (949) 852-1990

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Extra! Extra! Read

Newspapers are no longer important to Americans, Warren Buffet remarked recently. In many cities you soon may not be able to read all about it. Or, if you can, your choice of newspaper may be seriously changed. All we see and hear today is that the newspaper industry is going away.

That assessment may be over-blown, but there's no doubt that a shift is taking place. Today, there are about 1,400 dailies in circulation (and that may be the root cause of the issue). Slightly less than half of all adults read a newspaper every day.

I would be the first to say that the advance of technology is wonderful. In fact, I spend at least half of each day on my computer, much of it online. But it's not where I want to read my news in any volume. I want it all in one place where I can choose what I wish to read about without searching through hundreds of pages or having to load multiple pages to read one story. I will no longer read many stories that in the newspaper would have caught my eye, but now won't because I'm shown only a headline. Is this progress? It is time to stand up for print before we succumb to this supposed progress gone awry.

I must admit that at times I have been as harsh a critic of our press as anyone, but I cannot imagine not reading a newspaper at some time in the day. During the work week, I arrive at the office and read the business journal (which I also have loaded on my Blackberry and find absolutely frustrating). At lunch, I read a large non-local newspaper. At home in the evening, I read the regional. Getting up on a Saturday and Sunday morning

all about it... or not

and reading the paper cover to cover with my cup of tea (yes, as a Brit, the habit has never changed) is one of the pleasures of the week. In fact, when I am out of the country traveling, by the third day I'm trying desperately to buy a U.S. paper at an exorbitant price. CNN doesn't do it for me. And yet, we are some time soon going to see newspaper after newspaper go the way of the dinosaur. And for what? We will miss hundreds of news items if this happens.

There is a place on the Internet for news. I read all the fun stuff there. I follow what Britney and Lindsay are doing (like them, I too must have too much time on my hands). I enjoy reading instant headlines of late-breaking news items or seeing up-to-date market news. But I don't just want to read about the top l0 pieces of news. I want to read about hundreds of pieces of newslocal, regional and national.

More importantly, I want to read good journalism and what is behind those headlines-and that is what will be most missed if we allow this to happen. Online is not where I want to read or will even find serious stuff that matters. For the most part, it is plain vanilla written by low-cost journalism students, due to the fact that the Net has always been seen as a way to cut costs. Most of the cost and hence most of the quality will be taken out to produce these e-versions. As real journalism fades away, will we really know the origin of much of the news in the blogosphere?

When reading on the screen, I tend to skim more (and these flip books are useless). I get fed up with crashes and waiting for pages to load. When newspapers go away, it will not be the same experience. Where will I read easily in one place about the sports scores, the local sale at Macy's, the church event, the time of the movie, as well as what really is in that state budget? Where will I see dozens of conflicting articles on what the Fed should be doing, or why we should be in Afghanistan with a higher troop count? It will be the biggest hassle I can imagine.

There is no vehicle that I have seen as of now that suggests we would be better off not having newspapers. We are being told it is better, but it isn't.

Now we know that our newspapers are heavily sponsored by advertising, and that is the real issue. Advertising has gone down because readership has gone down, and that is what they must solve. I have personally listened to investment bankers who espouse that everything has to move to the Internet. For those MBA's, the model shows that getting rid of paper, mailing and other growing distribution costs will make businesses very profitable. What they do not understand is that advertisers are unwilling to pay the same price for advertising on the Net. Indeed they want to pay much less, and long-term it will make media companies less profitable, as revenue shrinks drastically. And like so-called progress in everything else, quality standards will continue to decline.

So the question is who is nor buying newspapers today? Clearly, much of that lies in our youth no longer reading the paper. Maybe the situation was brought about by how our children are being educated and how we have allowed them to spend all their time surfing the Net. We have become a nation of headlines, not of investigation of real issues. We are samplers of sound-bites in arenas where personality and celebrity override common sense. We must view journalism and newspapers as absolutely essential to our communities. For good or bad, there is a power of the press that will be lost if this movement continues.

Now some will argue there will be other ways to get the good stuff published. I doubt it. I may be classified as old school, but it will be a tragic day when we see the end of our daily read.