How To Read the Paper
I’ve been reading newspapers regularly since it became mandatory when I was in PR. There, our president would not take kindly to someone unaware of a big headline or who wrote what Globe editorial. Today, I do it to be a more aware human and to serve clients better. (It sparks lots of ideas.) And I’ve learned how to do it better, too.
Here goes: First of all, get the paper. The paper paper. There is something about the tactile nature that just doesn’t translate. I think you’ll fall in love with the ritual and make it your own. I get The New York Times, only on Sunday. (And I don’t always even get to it on Sunday.) You’ll then develop your own rituals, but here’s what I do with it:
Get my mise en place ready. I read the paper with an open brown paper bag by my side to recycle as I go. And scissors and a pen to clip things for others.
Separate by section. I pull each section apart and stack them all up. If I’m going anywhere, I fold a section and take it “to go.”
I start according to mood. Sometimes I escape into Style. (Though it’s not a total escape because I do get client ideas there.) Sometimes I’m desperate for information about the world and I start with the front page. I read every headline, first paragraph, and last paragraph first. Then I go back and finish anything I want to get more from.
Once I start the front page, I go through that whole section cover to cover, pretty much the same way. If an editorial is especially thought-provoking or complicated, I cut it out and save it for a time when I have the right brain space.
I sometimes save the Book Reviews until I build up several weeks’ worth. Then I go through at once. Anything I want to read goes into my Books app on my iPhone under “want to read.” Some books I buy in print, generally used, or I recommend Mahogany Books, which is family-owned and I feel good about. Things I want to mark up (like Me and White Supremacy) or poetry books I want to keep (like Three Poems,' by Hannah Sullivan) I buy in print.
My favorite sections are Modern Love and Metropolitan Diary; both have been with me for decades. I cut these out and save them for when I want to relish them. Sometimes I bring a bunch on a trip.
As a business owner and often advisor to businesses, I give special attention to things like HR matters and interview techniques. I find Business more relevant than I used to.
The Magazine goes right in my “Saturday Box” where I store things for future Saturdays. I often get lots of typography and layout inspiration there that I save to share with designers on our team.
And the ads! The full-page ads, especially, are really interesting examples of copy and representations of how companies are thinking. I often share them on our HCC Instagram stories when they’re notable.
When there’s a really fun looking full page spread (sometimes even an ad) I roll it up, push on a rubber band, and save it in my wrapping paper bin to become gift wrap.
Finally, I annotate and pass on. Things my husband would like (politics, cats, food) or that I might convince my teen son to read and talk about (tech, sports) get their name or a circle. I cut them out and drop them somewhere they’ll get seen.
Would love to know how you read yours and what you read! Share here or on Insta.