Ged Carroll blogged about media that he pays for and then Stephen Waddington followed, so I thought I’d add to what could become a meme and list my personal essentials:
The Guardian – no matter how in to ‘online’ I am, nothing beats a physical newspaper. It’s so much more enjoyable and easier to read and browse. You can quickly scan stories that you wouldn’t normally be interested in and would otherwise never read. The Guardian’s my daily, but I also sporadically enjoy and buy the Times, Telegraph, Financial Times and Daily Mail (brilliantly produced and a brilliant insight in to how totally bonkers some people actually are!). The only serious paper I’d never buy is the Independent, which personally I find dull beyond belief.
PR Week (via CIPR membership) – PR Week goes through phases. In the early 90s it was good, it then hit the doldrums for several years, but over the last three to four years has become great and is now an essential weekly read.
Yorkshire Post – still one of the UK’s most important and influential regional papers with strong investigative reporting holding local councils, businesses and universities to account. It covers the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber.
Yorkshire Evening Post – the evening newspaper for Leeds. I’ve got to admit that because of staff cuts it’s not as good as it used to be. But it’s still essential reading and a good example of how essential it is to cherish our local newspapers.
Rothwell Record – a full colour, glossy magazine for the small town of Rothwell and its surrounding villages (including Carlton where I live). If it isn’t in the Record, it probably hasn’t happened. It has a £1.20 (I think without a copy next to me) and lots of adverts, mainly from local businesses offering essential services like plumbers, pubs, builders, carpet sales etc. It’s a tremendous community resource and gives a full page to the local neighbourhood policing team – which means local people know how important PCSOs actually are, despite the constant inaccurate reporting about them in most of the national press.
I agree with you.
Although I have high sped broadband and I can read news online, but it won't beat the satisfaction that i get from reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee.