Farewell

 

My only surprise is the swiftness.

The Scranton Times-Tribune and its sister newspapers were sold a couple of months ago.  Its buildings in Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre are up for sale.

It was recently revealed that the new owners have as many people working from home as possible.  The rest will be moved into an office building about a block away.  The family that once owned the paper keeps the building at Penn and Spruce, sorry, Biden,  and the radio stations on the top floor.

There is old saying in broadcasting.  All that counts is what gets on the air.  The audience doesn't care if you're working in a shack or the Taj Mahal.  It's the same with newspapers.  The only thing that really matters is what gets in print, or now, on the web site.

It's still sad.  You can't help thinking about all the words and photographs that came out of here-- the good stories, the bad, the ads, the obituaries, the births, life, death...  It wasn't really Christmas Eve until the afternoon paper arrived, with that bulletin saying surveillance photos and radar spotted something that appeared to be a sleigh, piloted by a fat man in red, and led by nine reindeer.

It's just a building.  The only difference now is the mail goes to a different address.  This is prime real estate.  The owners won't have any problems repurposing the place.

Even though the radio studios up top are landmarks, maybe they'll get moved down a bit, to a floor with windows.  I don't know how the staff spends all day without daylight.  Bless them!

I wonder if the lighted "Times" sign up top comes down.  I wonder if the first floor lettering comes off.

Stay tuned!