I’m curious about what (if any) newspapers all you good folks read. Most of my journalism professors assure me that no one reads papers anymore or will for long, but I reject that notion. So I’m not interested in news Web sites you like.
C’mon, does anybody like to read newspapers? If so, which ones?
I’ll start with mine. I love The Wall Street Journal page 1 features and the Weekend Journal. I like USA TODAY for quick reads and their attempts to capture local color (plus I worked there). I also read one paper in my hometown and occasionally the L.A. Times on the Web.
“Now you pissed me off. You and I? We’re NEVER gonna be friends.”
Thanks, Missy.
To everyone: I guess what I’m really curious about is why people read papers. Do you find them interesting? Important? Relevant? Is there something in your particular paper you like?
“Now you pissed me off. You and I? We’re NEVER gonna be friends.”
The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS on the subway in the morning, followed by the NEW YORK TIMES, which is then finished during lunch (if I don’t happen to have a lunch meeting) and/or on the subway ride home. The TIMES crossword puzzle also gets done on the subway ride home.
The former paper is read for the local news, certain of the columnists, and the funny pages (hey, it’s America’s Great Art Form!). The latter because, well, it’s the NEW YORK TIMES. Very few other U.S. papers carry the latest from Ulan Bator.
I used to read the VILLAGE VOICE every Wednesday, but I switched to the NEW YORK PRESS a couple of years back. I decided I’d rather be irritated by stupid right-wing assholes than stupid left-wing assholes.
Actually - I hadn’t given it much thought about “why” I read newspapers. I know I much prefer it to the newscasters you would find on network news - it seems as though there is more opportunity for me to come to my own conclusions versus those of Diane Sawyer or Dan Rather’s. Also, I love the comics, and Quick Takes. Well, you asked!
As for the Daily Herald, I read it out of habit more than anything - I don’t think they have any real writers. Or they do and they are all named “Associated Press”.
Yeah, I read the Globe and Mail, and sometimes the local newspaper, the Hamilton Spectator. But by the time the paper gets to my doorstep, it’s not really news anymore… it has good features and columns though. The Globe and Mail, that is, not the Spectator. The Spectator I read 'cause there’s not much else to read in the school library…
Oh, and I get the Sunday NYT.
``All of your dreams will come true. All of my dreams came true, but now… I have a bunch of other dreams.’’ – Sonic Youth.
I read the Chicago Tribune mainly because the papers do a much better job of covering stories than the 20 second television blurps and I don’t have to sit through the segment on whether or not 60 watt bulbs might be aging my skin prematurely before hearing about something useful. Web news is okay, but again, for the real stories, the coverage the sites give doesn’t match up to the 2-3 page treatment the paper will give an important story.
In my opinion the Chicago Sun-Times is a total rag. The stories seem more fit for the tabloids than a real newspaper (a full page devoted to Linda Tripp’s plastic surgery?) and the “real” news isn’t given half the coverage it receives in the Tribune.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I think that pretty much explains why the Sun-Times is a one-section single-fold paper like the tabloida.
I, too, read the Tribune. Most of my reasons have already been listed, but I would like to add that I find it much easier to scan the headlines of a newspaper, and possibly the first paragraph of the story, to decide which articles interest me than to bounce back and forth between web pages.
Also, my computer takes up far to much space in bed.
[ul][li]A newspaper will have articles in more depth than you can see in television news. Every day they have a “Column One” piece that discusses an interesting topic not necessarily related to current news. (Today’s Column One piece was about the attack on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama in 1965.)[/li][li]The Los Angeles Times is the major newspaper in my area, and so they have the best international news items. (For example, I have a special interest in Western Africa, and most local newspapers will ignore that part of the world.)[/li][li]Regardless of all the advances made on WWW pages, a newspaper (or a magazine or book) is still much easier to read or browse than a web page.[/li][li]My local newspaper will have announcements of local events that you wouldn’t know about otherwise. (For example, a recent lecture by a Tibetan nun who was imprisoned for 20 years speaking about her escape to India.)[/li][li]How do you know which movies might be worth watching? What plays to see? The newspaper reviews help you best plan your leisure time. I buy many albums from artists that I would otherwise ignore from reading reviews in the newspaper. Though I have to admit that the classical album reviewer seems to enjoy praising albums that the local record megastore has never heard of.[/li][li]The funnies.[/ul][/li]Why I don’t like the paper:
[ul][li]Too much waste. I routinely recycle half the Sunday paper without even touching it.[/li]Couldn’t someone invent an ink that won’t stain your fingers?[/ul]
Sorry, but that’s where I am at. I kind of miss the Sunday morning version though. Kicking back with a cup of coffee and a cig reading at a slow pace. Who knows this summer I may invest in the Sunday edition so I can hang out on the patio on a warm summer day, enjoying my coffee and the birds singing rather than my hard drive singing.
I do remember kicking back late Sunday morning; watching Bob Vila, drinking my coffee and enjoying a restful day…hmmm maybe I will!
Also not trying to hijack, but while I agree with you all above that the Tribune is a much better paper, I kind of don’t have a choice - SO goes out and buys them in the morning and I take what I get.
And he HATES the Tribune. But then again, he also reads the Enquirer. And yes, considers it news.
Bet you’re wondering what kind of witty reparté (sp?) goes on around OUR dinner table, aren’t ya? grin
Edmonton Journal/Edmonton Sun… I read the first section for the news and then the sports section, mostly for the hockey info. On the weekends when I have more time to lounge around, I usually read them cover to cover.
We are, each of us angels with only one wing,and we can only fly by embracing one another
Sometimes I read the LA Times or Fresno Bee if I’m that bored.