they say only idiots never change opinions. In that case i must be some sort of genius, because I do it all the time. Take freebie newspapers for instance. Back in Paris I used to think they were kind of a disgrace, a shoddy excuse for articles which did not contain the sort of beyond-the-facts journalism found in establishment stalwarts like Le Monde, Le Figaro (*shudder*) or Liberation. Since their content would take you about 15 minutes to read on Yahoo! News I never saw the interest of reading them instead of a good book or a magazine, and definitely not a "real" newspaper.
And now that I've adopted a new commute in a new city, I have to admit that I'm not so gung-ho against the idea of freebies. Although in general their quality still leaves a lot to desire, they're not all that bad. I have to admit that The London Paper is very pleasant to read, if a tad hollow. It's very breezily written with mostly local news and some columns which add a lot of personality to take it beyond the taken-from-Reuters style those papers often have. But since it's distributed after 4pm, when you're on your way home, that's often the kind of content you are looking for anyway. As for the morning part of my commute, having only 5 Tube stops (on the Central line no less), I barely have time to read more than a few articles. So if I get Le Monde or The Guardian it means I have to split my reading between the morning ride, my lunch break and the bus trip back home. But by getting Metro I know I'll be able to get a bird's eye view of what's going on in the world. Or at least, the way it is seen from an average British newspaper's POV. So I alternate depending on my mood (and mental fatigue on the way to the station).
So although I haven't entirely changed my opinion on this matter, I now see these publications as being of some use for certain situations. They probably will never be on par with the venerable old guard of journalism, but if the two can find a way to co-exist (aka paid newspapers can find a way to keep existing) why not? It is my belief that reading, no matter what the material, makes people less dumb, and humanity potentially more secure. And yes, that includes the Sun too.
And now that I've adopted a new commute in a new city, I have to admit that I'm not so gung-ho against the idea of freebies. Although in general their quality still leaves a lot to desire, they're not all that bad. I have to admit that The London Paper is very pleasant to read, if a tad hollow. It's very breezily written with mostly local news and some columns which add a lot of personality to take it beyond the taken-from-Reuters style those papers often have. But since it's distributed after 4pm, when you're on your way home, that's often the kind of content you are looking for anyway. As for the morning part of my commute, having only 5 Tube stops (on the Central line no less), I barely have time to read more than a few articles. So if I get Le Monde or The Guardian it means I have to split my reading between the morning ride, my lunch break and the bus trip back home. But by getting Metro I know I'll be able to get a bird's eye view of what's going on in the world. Or at least, the way it is seen from an average British newspaper's POV. So I alternate depending on my mood (and mental fatigue on the way to the station).
So although I haven't entirely changed my opinion on this matter, I now see these publications as being of some use for certain situations. They probably will never be on par with the venerable old guard of journalism, but if the two can find a way to co-exist (aka paid newspapers can find a way to keep existing) why not? It is my belief that reading, no matter what the material, makes people less dumb, and humanity potentially more secure. And yes, that includes the Sun too.
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