The Benefits of Reading Online Newspapers

Every day, it is a joy to open up the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The LA Times and a couple of other important fish wraps, but with a twist.

I read them on line!

In a bid to end the misery of hauling a weeks worth of paper, including the massive Sunday paper to the recycling, the on line alternatives have provided some wonderful additional benefits: the newspapers past issues are also available.

There is something about reading a well written, comprehensive, and well edited story about a major news issue, then finding other sources in order to get the whole picture. As an example, there was a controversy over a $100 million bonus for an AIG executive after AIG took billions in bailout funds. The resolution involved a “Pay Czar”.

It was not difficult to access the online “morgue” for the paper and to find an earlier article about the “Pay Czar”, who he is, and what he does. That article was well written and comprehensive. It was not difficult to go back to the original article with a new understanding of the whole complicated situation.

There is no way that the job would have been as easy without quick access to good journalism, good fact checking, good editing, and good website format. There is also no way that the job could be done by just using a search engine, then trudging through page after page of unrelated blogs, empty forums, and websites that promise information but which are actually just set up by entrepreneurs who repeat other writer’s articles in an attempt to get income from an overload of advertising.

Television is a hideous way to get news. By the time we run in to a room, toothbrush in hand, to find out what the story is about, the news DJ has moved on to the opinion part of the report. This is the part of the news report that comes after the headline, as far as television is concerned.

A good printed treatment of the top news stories of the day, beautifully constructed by seasoned veterans of investigation and writing, supervised by a steely eyed editor, is a thing of beauty.

As an added bonus, the on line versions of newspapers can present many more quality photos than any printed newspaper could ever allow. As a result, an hour long visit to “Paris Fashion Week” or to the latest visuals for breaking news, in high quality and in full color is possible.

Yes, there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee, a warm croissant, and a fresh computer screen…


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