DROPPING THE TAMPA BAY TIMES LIKE a ROCK

 FLORIDA  

Opinion by:  
E. Eugene Webb PhD

This week I cancelled my longstanding subscription to the Tampa Bay Times.

I've been a subscriber to the Tampa Bay Times probably for close to two decades. I have worked with them through changes, elimination of the print newspaper, development of the online system, and movement to the E newspaper which I deeply enjoyed.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail that the Times was changing its login system for subscribers to a new application which tracks everything you click on and look at in the newspaper.

That was kind of the last straw for me.

The Times announcement didn't indicate that this application was limited to just watching what you clicked on in the newspaper so they can further fill up your inbox with useless emails, but it might even actually be watching everything you click on. I don't really know, but all of this was just too much for me.

I really enjoy the E newspaper I read it every morning, or I did. While the reporting and editorial quality have gradually declined over the years and given the fact that we have moved to the east coast of Florida I just felt like it was no longer relevant. And, I just had that haunting feeling about another app plowing around in my computer and sending me a bunch of useless emails.

Things are tough in the newspaper publishing business; newspapers are looking for every possible revenue stream they can find and these apps and the information they provide are just another source of revenue for the newspaper.

It might have made a little difference if the Times had given me an option of a free subscription or this new invasive little app that watches my every move.

It's been a few days since I cancelled my Tampa Bay Times subscription, frankly, I thought I would have some serious withdrawal symptoms.

So far, I'm doing just fine.

So, before you click that new app and sign up just remember if you agree to that thing, you have just added one more entity looking over your shoulder probably all the time.

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