Back in March I blogged about the shrinking Washington Post. Well the shrinking continues. I received my Sunday paper and apparently they are phasing out TV Week unless you call or fill out a form to opt in.

I did a google and found out that this started earlier this year in Northern Virginia. They’re now targeting Prince Georges County subscribers. Here’s what I found at the Washington City Paper:

Up to now, the Washington Post has taken some pretty standard steps toward shrinking itself, consisting of shuttering some sections and taking aim and duplication. Now comes some genuine innovation on the reductionist front: An opt-in scheme for the paper’s redundant TV Week insert.

According to the plan subscribers in Arlington and Alexandria must notify the Post that they want to continue receiving TV Week. If they don’t take that step, it’ll stop coming. Partial motivation for this step is protecting the environment, as the memo states, in what’s easily the most creative of the reasons for this move.

And here is the information to readers of TV Week:

The Post is rolling out a new system March 1 called “Opt-In” for home delivery subscribers in Arlington and Alexandria. Opt-In lets readers decide whether they want to get TV Week with their Sunday package. We began communicating with readers this past weekend about this change, which makes sense on several levels:

• It delivers TV Week to every Post subscriber who wants it while reducing The Post’s costs.
• More and more subscribers can get listings on their TV sets because of the growth of digital television.
• It’s the green thing to do, as printing fewer copies means saving trees, ink and more — plus, it means less recycling to haul to the curb.

Subscribers have to contact us by Feb. 23 to say they want TV Week. There are two ways to opt-in:

• Call 202-334-WEEK (202-334-9335) and tell us you want to continue to get TV Week.
• Clip out the coupon printed in the Arlington/Alexandria zone of their TV Week and mail it in.

Starting March 1, only those Alexandria and Arlington subscribers who have told us they want TV Week will get it, as will any reader who buys a copy of The Post sold in stores or from a news rack. The daily Style section will continue to provide television coverage, as will www.washingtonpost.com/tv.

So if a person opts in what happens if the delivery person screws up and gives you a paper without TV Week?

Call me a forty something old schooler but I prefer to have TV Week in my hand so I can see what’s on tv for the week.  I don’t like the idea of having to go to the internet all the time to see what’s on tv.  I do use the guide on my cable for recording purposes and to find shows on channels not listed in TV Week, but I like the convenience of having TV Week sitting on my coffee table.  So I decided to opt in.

I guess the next thing the Post will do is turn into a tabloid size newspaper since they’re on a reduction frenzy.  Or maybe they’ll turn into an internet only paper like the Seattle PI