Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that in the old days people read newspapers and magazines because there was no other way to spend time in a bus/subway/train/waiting_room without engaging with other people. So newspapers were entertainment (and status signals) to a much higher degree than journalists wants to admit. Being informed was only a small part of the job that reading a newspaper did. This is why Facebook could take over such a large…
I don't remember news papers being a status symbol exactly, what I remember is that it was rare for a household to have more than one subscription. Multiple magazines, sure, but not newspapers. I remember categorizing my friend's parents by their choices. "This is a National Post household" or Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail.
How many people have told you they subscribe to the NYTimes?
Even now, it comes up quite a bit.
But in the olden days of people reading the paper on the train, it was a topic of conversation much more. How many papers one subscribed to, which one, etc etc.