I Love to Read the Newspaper
I love to read the newspaper every morning. I guess that’s not true for a lot of people. From what I hear, most people get their news from television or the Internet. And of course I do that too. But quite frankly breakfast is just not the same without my newspaper.
The first thing I do after I bring it from the driveway (where half the time I have to get down on my knees and retrieve it from under my wife’s car) is scan the front page headlines and then turn to the sports section. I’m not a huge sports fan but I like to keep up with the local teams. Basketball has always been my favorite sport so the Suns are my favorite team but I also enjoy the Diamondbacks. And I try to enjoy watching the Cardinals, but that is often so frustrating and heartbreaking that I’m kind of relieved when football season is over. For some reason I’m not into college sports. March Madness is not a big thing for me and I rarely watch a bowl game. I know – I’m definitely out of touch with the mainstream.
After the sports section, I turn to the front page and work my way through to the political columnists. I don’t read every article. I scan headlines, sometimes read the first paragraph or two, but unless something catches my interest I move pretty quickly through the national and local news. I’ve gotten pretty fed up with local news, although the newspaper generally does a much better job than the television news, which is pretty much just police reports, weather and filler. I like the fact that the Arizona Republic newspaper generally offers a nice balance of conservative and liberal views, although I have to admit that I just can’t read Cal Thomas.
I save the Business and Entertainment sections for my lunchtime reading. That includes the comics which has a great balance of the new (Zits, get Fuzzy) and the old (Garfield, B.C., etc.) I never read ads. But I know a lot of people do, otherwise I wouldn’t pay to advertise my church events.
I think it’s very important as a community leader (and that’s what I think a pastor is, among other things) to be up to date on what’s happening in the world. I want to be able to discuss issues with a breadth of knowledge that comes from reading and understanding both sides. Which is why I enjoy reading the newspaper every morning.
Blessings,
Steve