Inherit the what?

• Author: Lewis, David
• Position: The availability of choice to the consumer - Column

"Progress has never been a bargain. Sometimes I think there's a man behind the counter who says, 'All right, you can have a telephone, but you'll have to give up privacy. ...'" - From Inherit the Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Warning: This column quotes Inherit the Wind without mentioning evolution or creationism. Sorry.

A couple of months ago a representative of The Denver Post called and offered me the Post Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for $6 per year. The next Sunday, my Post arrived and, together with my subscription to the Denver Rocky Mountain News, I soon collected enough paper to construct a full-scale model of Douglas Bruce's ego.

A month went by and the Post called and offered to fill my empty days by offering me the paper free every day but Saturday. A warm feeling came over me, and I agreed.

Last night another Post rep called and said they would sell me the Saturday paper, too, for 52 cents per year. "You mean a penny a week?" I asked dimly. Life was good.

And, thanks to the recycling program provided by the City and County of Denver, I feel no guilt about collecting enough paper each week to construct a full-scale model of Bill Clinton's id.

Ain't the newspaper war grand?

Yes and no. It all depends on which side you're on. I'm on the side of subscribers. Having two papers duking it out in Denver means uncannily low subscription prices, and quality that falls somewhere between the New York Times and the shabby product turned out in many one-paper cities. Been to Phoenix lately?

A Denver newspaper consumer, I'm a lucky guy. I've got something you don't have in Colorado Springs or Crested Butte, Grand Junction or Gunnison. I've got choice every day.

Luckiness is a feeling probably not shared by former Post Editor Dennis Britton. Britton left the Post in late August not under his own speed. And a website - what else? - cheered him on his way. The website, titled the Dennis Britton GoHome! Page, raised some of the same issues as a slew of court cases this summer and fall.

(Editor's note: Now that Britton is history, the anonymous authors of Dennis Britton GoHome! have promised to reveal themselves and deep-six their web page at members.aol.com/empirvoice/dennispage1.html. Perhaps they have done so by the time you read this. Wanna take odds on it?)

Dennis...