Print newspapers may be disappearing like the home telephone, but not after Election Day. Remembering the frenzy for old-fashioned papers the morning after Barack Obama’s historic win in 2008, newspapers are printing extra copies and setting up temporary retail stands this year, regardless of whether the nation elects the first woman or reality TV star as president. The Los Angeles Times is also selling a commemorative printing-press plate of the front page.
Many people now rely on Facebook and apps for news, but a screenshot doesn’t have quite the same romance as a newspaper’s front page. “We like to hold on to things that remind us of the experiences we’ve had,” like campaign buttons, theater programs or shells from a visit to the beach, said Naomi Baron, an American University professor who studies the interplay of language and technology.
A physical version of a newspaper recounting a life-altering event like 9/11 or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is an extension of those keepsakes that a website or app can’t replace, she said. “Paper has a certain kind of look and feel and smell to it that digital equivalents don’t.”
Even so, after a long, sour campaign season, demand for a front page may be more muted than in 2008. Ben Redington, a 34-year-old graphic designer from Wichita, Kansas, likes buying papers after major events, such as the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series win in 108 years. But he doesn’t care for either Clinton or Trump and has no plans to buy a newspaper Wednesday. (He didn’t buy an