the Walnut Diary

Once the federal Liberals finally got rid of Stephen Harper I decided that my political contributions were no longer needed so I looked for other worthy destinations for a few do-gooder dollars. The Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail looked as though they could use some support. These subscriptions have continued for some years with the Globe‘s dollar-a-day levy occupying my time with its nifty crosswords and a neat back door into the news via the top stories running beside the puzzle. The Star has faded in my attention as its fees have crept up. Why I’ll probably cancel it soon is an issue of convenience, though. It seems whenever I log in to read an article, pop-ups asking me to subscribe disturb the experience, and its algorithm seems incapable of realizing that I am already logged in on the platform.

As a NationalNewswatch.com subscriber I tend to cherry-pick the authors I like to read. John Ivison’s articles drew me to reconsider the National Post. So I subscribed to the conservative paper, as well. It is cheap and far more polite to an online subscriber than the Star.

A bit over a year ago two of my favourite NP voices, Jenn Gerson and Matt Gurney began The Line which at length invited $50 for the annual subscription. Consistent with the principle of funding useful mental activity with my political contributions, I sent Jenn and Matt my money and have enjoyed reading their intelligent and balanced news analysis ever since.

Then Paul Wells, the keystone writer at MacLeans, departed with his tweed jacket smoking after some editorial dust-up involved in turning Canada’s trusted weekly news feed into a decorator magazine. He guested at The Line for an article or two and then made the pitch for a subscription. I clicked the box, received no payment instructions, but began reading his erudite analyses right away. Paul immediately responded to my query, explaining that Substack.com already has my billing information, and so after the first subscription will automatically bill me for subsequent box-clicks without other formality.

I resolved to be careful about random commitments on subscription sites, but concluded that a well-organized subscription department is not to be faulted in the news business. See above comment about the Star.

Of my annual $500 do-good budget the parts I am most likely to continue are The Globe and Mail, The Line, Paul Wells, and the National Post.