Tightening the Belt

Fiorella doesn't mind her daily paper slimming down some. Newspapers have gotten bloated, as far as she is concerned--bloated and, uh, full of themselves (word play intended).

As a kid, Fio would read the Waco Times-Herald, through and through, even before the hyphen occurred. It was manageable--the sports report was just one page and often combined with business news. The Sunday paper would be whomping, though--maybe three whole sections.

When you think about it, newspapers started out as rag-tag scandal sheets. Then they became respectable, portentous, and self-righteous. Everyone and his dog got a by-line.

Fio doesn't want newspapers to disappear altogether, but it won't hurt them to lose a little of the avoirdupois.