Let’s be real: the biggest reason people keep their subscription is Wordle and Connections. You are not paying full price for hard-hitting journalism. You are paying for the right to yell “BARN” at your phone at 7 AM.
Then, while you’re there, you accidentally read a story about, say, a giant sinkhole in a small town. Suddenly you’re smarter. The games are the honey that makes the medicine go down. Don’t fight it. Embrace it.
The “I can just read the headlines” lie
We all have that friend who says, “I just scan the headlines on the homepage for free.” That’s like saying you “watched” a movie by looking at the movie poster. You get the vibe, but you miss the plot.
A ten-centimetre headline doesn’t tell you why the stock market crashed or why that politician is sweating. The subscription gives you the whole story, complete with the weird quotes and the awkward details. It’s like having the director’s cut of reality.
