IN DISAGREEABLE times — e.g., now — nostalgia can be a narcotic. It is, however, reasonable to look longingly back to when newspapers were full of advertisements for department stores, grocery stores and automobile dealerships.
And news, much of it distressing: The world is a fallen place, and, as journalists say, we do not report the planes that land safely. Still, newspapers mattered more, and functioned differently, when they were substantially supported by advertisements for local businesses, rather than, as many increasingly are, by readers’ digital subscriptions.
George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com.
