a challenge

[rm]

As I think most people reading this know, my pay-the-bills job involves reading newspapers and entering dozens, and sometimes hundreds of codes into a database for each article. These codes reflect the topics covered in the articles and center mostly on companies, politics and the economy of the U.S.

I read approximately 50 or so newspapers a week this way, with extreme attention to detail. Every single article in the Wall Street Journal, and most to all of the business sections of papers such as The New York Times, The Toronto Globe and Mail, The Financial Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and so forth. I also work on magazines sometimes, everything from Institutional Investor to Forbes to Newsweek.

My point is, no matter how much news you read, unless you work with me, I probably read more.

And my point is, it's worse than you think. The job situation, oil and gas supplies... whatever you're paying attention to, it's worse than you think.

I am not really a pessimist by nature, although I often make dire predictions about my own life in order to have the strength for the less dire, but ultimately very stressful shit that does happen.

You say that you know it's bad. You say that you're voting for the right guy; you say you are trying to educate people and get out the vote, so why do you have to read all that depressing stuff? It stresses you out, it doesn't solve anything, etc.

Knowledge is a weapon. And a good understanding of economics, American and world markets, the weird jobless recovery, the threat of stagflation, are some of the only ways to convince those that seemingly can't be convinced that we're in serious danger here. Danger that is as much of our own fiscal making as anything else (just one example: read the article about Wal Mart and it's suppliers in the December 2003 issue of Fast Company).

So here's my challenge: Read a newspaper. Yes, a domestic one. And yes, a printed one (sorry the web makes it too easy to skim and skip sections). Cover to cover. Every day. For two weeks. Then tell me about it.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well, I read it too at work, so it's not what I want to know. It sounds like the challenge is already irrelevant to you, since you are reading way more news than the average person. Mostly I'm wanting to see my American friends get a handle on what's going on in the world beyond the blindingly obvious and scary enough.

[ekatarina.livejournal.com]

Okay.

I have found a lot of people think I am odd for reading a paper everyday, but I almost feel naked without it.

And, as someone with a lot of experience, do *you* like the Globe? I have to say that I think Ethics 101 has had some good ones these last month.

Katja

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think their financial section is easier to understand without sacrificing detail than almost anything else I've read. And I like their opinion type pieces a great deal -- their standard news journalism doesn't do much for me one way or the other, which is perhaps as it should be.