<uncharacteristically-long post alert>

I've been thinking about the daily newspaper lately, and what I want out of it. This has been triggered by the fact that the Sunday Herald has been delivered gratis for the last few weeks (in the mistaken hope that I might subscribe).
Firstly, I was raised in a household where the paper was delivered in the morning, and it was given due consideration at some stage during the next 24 hours, usually in the evening. This was a time when there was little *real* difference between a morning or evening paper; you chose your flavour and paid your sub. (I guess there were some greedy people that took both, but they where probably sick news junkies). So it was the Herald or The Star, the Dominion or Evening Post, etc. depending on where you lived.
More recently, I have been happy to subscribe to a provincial daily, delivered in the evening, containing *todays* news, and I could then digest it that evening. I didn't (and still don't) see any point getting a morning paper, as there is simply no time in the morning; getting off to work, or being at work. OK, so the Dominion or Herald crossword is a staple for many a morning smoko, and the rest of the paper is scanned in the smoko room while getting a cuppa; but the *real read* occurs for me when I get home.

So, now I get puzzled at the way the press is developing; obviously I don't seem to fit their "demographic".
First, the main centres have given over to the morning papers, with evening editions dissapearing and being restricted to the provinces. Why? Do city people take longer to get to work? Sipping lattes and checking the morning news on the terrace? How about on the bus or train? Public transport commuters aren't *that* big a market surely!
Suits me fine, I get a national daily at work laying on the smoko table, and my very own evening paper at home. But it all seems back-to-front.

Now there is a new trend developing. The dreaded weekend edition. A single paper to try and retain interest for two days, has turned the Saturday edition into a weekly magazine, trying to compete with the Sunday papers. ... and then they gave up and produced a Sunday edition as well, trying to look like a separate paper.
Big fat deal! Doesn't affect me, I don't buy a national daily.

However, THE REAL DISTURBING BIT is that the local rag has now tried to get in on the act. They now produce a "Weekend" edition on Saturday MORNING. Like that's really just a second Friday night paper isn't it?
No! It's got virtually NO NEWS (that got used up in last night's edition). This thing is cluttered with second-rate opinion columns written by second-rate journalists (or worse: celebrities pretending to have something to say).
If I want that sort of stuff I would read blogs (ahem); or for a better class of literature, subscribe to a weekly magazine (no, NOT Women's Day!).
So what do I want?
I want a newspaper ... with news in it. If they can't deliver that, then perhaps I can get a five day subscription and skip the weekend fluff.
... and while I'm on it: How about not sending me those massive Motoring and Real Estate dropout sections ... I'd even pay a bit of a premium for such a "greenie subscription". So maybe I can combine the two ... same price, less crap.
Now I think it's time for a letter to the editor ...

So the Sunday Herald's free deliveries didn't induce me to buy, it has had the opposite effect.