No blog I’ve ever done got more reaction than “Should I renew The N&O?” in February.

A lot of readers told me how to get out of paying $600 a year. Threaten to cancel, they said, and you can negotiate a lower rate. Several people, one an old N&O hand, said they did cancel – and didn’t miss it. Others vented about the decline of the print edition. And still others mourned. One wrote eloquently of the loss:

“When I came to Raleigh, the N&O was heroic. Undaunted by any criticism and powerful as a voice for enlightenment, for good government. They in so many ways shaped my view of the world. Now, the paper is gone. I would not have dreamed it. No, the N&O was eternal. The disappearance of the N&O is disturbing to me and does not seem normal. Yet, I know it is happening everywhere. What in the world is going on? Where in the world are we headed? I will not cancel my subscription. I will hold on until it is printed on the back of a wrinkled old envelope.”

Then I heard from a McClatchy executive named Phil Schroder, Head of Brand and Buzz and Group VP. He wrote:

“I read your recent blog post about the price of the N&O, and wanted to see if I could be of any assistance. I do understand that you are paying $600 per year, but as you well know, journalism is not free. Beyond the content that is offered in the print pages every day, we have actually expanded our content offerings in our eEdition recently, adding over 60 pages a day with Extra Extra and SportsXtra, giving you all of the latest national and world news, more opinion pages, and sports from around the globe.”

Phil asked what I thought would be a fair price. I told him I understood that new print subscriptions cost $199, so how about $199? He replied:

“The rates that you see are most likely some of our introductory rates, or those of newer subscribers that do tier up. Some of these customers may also not get the paper every day, which changes the price. However, we always want to work with our most loyal customers. How about if I get your rate to $400 per year?”

Well, I thought it over for weeks. Every day, I carefully looked over the print edition. I went to the N&O website, clicked through all the pop-up ads and looked at all the extra content.

In the end, I decided to take a big leap for an old print-head like me. I opted for a digital-only subscription, which costs $129.99 annually. It takes effect next week. After a lifetime of waking up to the N&O at my door, I’ll be a digital-only customer.

Why? Well, it became clear that McClatchy doesn’t value the print version. Why should I?

Now, I’m not weaning myself totally from print. The New York Times will still be on the sidewalk every morning. I’ll get my fix.

But I don’t know how a digital-only N&O will set with me. Will I really go online every day? Or will I get to be like the folks who give it up totally, thus contributing to the paper’s downward spiral?

If that happens, I’ll miss the comics. But several of you told me where to find them. I’m worried I’ll miss an obituary. They become important when you’re my age. Which is why they cost so much now.

There’s one thing I won’t miss. And I say this with great sadness. It’s the editorial page. I’ll no longer have to look at a space where – in place of The N&O’s strong liberal voice, the “tocsin,” the spirited and principled editorials written by Jonathan Daniels, Claude Sitton, Jim Jenkins and the rest – I now have to see John Hood and Peder Zane.

I won’t miss that a bit.