The New York Times Doesn't Shrink From Adversity

Despite Few Ads, Today's Print Edition Still Pretty Hefty

Those of us who still crave the print edition of The New York Times pay a premium for what is now a privilege. Home delivery clocks in for the metropolitan area at a turn-and-cough $72 a month (though, you can get it down if you call customer service and see if they have any specials, as I do periodically).

Dean Baquet and Co. have not let us down. It would be tempting, as many media outlets have, to scale down the news hole as advertisers have fled. But this is the Times. And in times like these, we need the Times more than ever.

Today's 52-page edition has two full-page ads on the backs of sections, a couple of jewelry ads on A3, a half-page real estate ad on A5 from a broker anxious to offload a couple of estates in New Jersey, a small movie ad, a few classifieds and that's it. There are a few house ads, as there always are, but otherwise it's all the news that's fit to print and then some.

True, the Times has made a few coronavirus concessions. The two weekend arts sections have been consolidated into one for the last month. No loss if there's nothing new opening. And the sports section is now down to a couple of pages. But you'd have expected that. Instead, there's more room for obits, COVID-19 related or otherwise. Unfortunately, there's been quite the parade of farewells, including today Mort Drucker, the great Mad magazine artist and arts patron Anne Bass, who gets a delightfully detailed writeup by Deborah Solomon.

Granted, it won't take you as long to read the Sunday Times as it normally would. The Travel section is content challenged, as is Real Estate and Arts & Leisure. But there's still enough to justify unfurling from your fetal position to read as you take comfort from knowing COVID-19 won't endure, but the Times will.