Who has time to read the paper?
My husband asked me the other day, "did you read that article on Kenton in the Oregonian?" It isn't unusual for him to ask... "did you read about [blank] in the paper?" He reads the paper in his office. Not having an office, I don't have that big stack of black and white to flip through, and - frankly - I'm jealous. I don't read the paper anymore. No longer commuting primarily by bus/MAX, I've lost that precious short window of opportunity to read an article or two. Not getting it on my doorstep, like we used to pre-kids, I don't have that growing mound of papyrus in the corner to leaf through when I have a "free moment". Not having the time to even respond to all my emails, I don't even gravitate to the online newspapers (and, I'd never bother to go to the Oregonian online. It's just awful!).
I know a friend who reads the Sunday paper as part of her Sunday morning ritual. And, I am sure there are others who do.
But, what I really want to know is: Who has time to read the paper? How do you do it?
Prior to my 2nd baby being born in July, I read the paper every morning at breakfast. I'd eat a little and drink my coffee while my toddler sat and ate his breakfast and most mornings I was able to get through most of my favorite sections of the paper. Enter baby in arms and I seldom find myself with time to sit and read anything for more than 5 minutes anymore. Prior to leaving town for the holidays, I cancelled our subscription and I'm not sure we'll start it back up again in the spring since we're just not getting the chance to sit and read through it anymore.
Posted by: Leah | January 20, 2008 at 06:33 AM
I do read the paper everyday but not always on the day that it arrived. I love the comics and it is my little treat to myself that I am not willing to give up. With a six and two year old, I can read the paper while they draw or play. I read it during naps or right after they go to bed. I also take sections with me so while they are busy at the park I can read. My issue is that I seem to be sacrificing reading books for my paper time - some day I hope to do both. Right now the paper is more managable with it's little pieces - also I like knowing what is going on in the world. I do not watch TV news - too scary for me and the kids. I love NPR but the six year old picks up on things I don't think she is ready for.
Posted by: Sarah C | January 20, 2008 at 06:46 AM
I absolutely must read the paper as part of my morning routine - on weekdays I waske up 15 minutes before the rest of the house (we have an auto coffeemaker so the coffee is ready), just so I can read the paper and drink my coffee peacefully. I really like to know what's going on in my community and in the world and I think you have to read some sort of media to do that. Plus, I love the special sections like the food section on Tuesdays and home and garden on Thursdays. I hate the Sunday Oregonian with all its ads - we get the NYT on Sunday and I savor that in sections over several days. If I'm trying to read during breakfast with my toddler, I just read out loud or explain to her what I'm reading about - of course she doesn't comprehend what I'm saying but she loves the conversation. My husband and I often read while hanging out with her - even at her age I think it sets a good example.
Posted by: rebecca | January 20, 2008 at 09:37 AM
The paper sits around the house throughout the day. I don't always get around to bothering with it, but I often find little spaces of time to read an interesting article while my 2-year-old is eating or while I'm nursing my 5-month-old. Maybe even while they're both playing on the floor together. It's rare that I get to read more than one article at a time, but I usually find time throughout the day to read anything that has caught my eye. It's easy to make time to read a single article when it has caught your attention - it can be squeezed in all sorts of places!
Posted by: Makeshift Mama | January 20, 2008 at 09:47 AM
I read the paper every day too as part of my coffee/morning ritual. The day doesn't feel like it's officially started without at least flipping throught the sections. I especially look forward to Food Day and the Science section. Personally, I find the quality of the Oregonian superior to the papers in the other cities in which I've lived.
Posted by: Blair | January 20, 2008 at 04:42 PM
I have always read the paper while I eat breakfast. I get my kids' breakfast before I fix my own, and by the time I've packed the lunches and made my tea, they're off with their legos and I'm reading the paper all alone.
Even when they were younger, I'd sit and read the paper while they ate. They got the idea very early on that mama reads at breakfast.
Posted by: Zinemama | January 20, 2008 at 04:54 PM
I too make time for the paper each day. My husband and I both read it while we tag-team with the kids. I can't start my morning without it. (The times when our paper doesn't come for some reason, we just sort of look at each other dumbly across the table.) The sections I don't get to in the a.m. I finish in bed that night--my ideal wind-down ritual.
Like others, I look forward in particular to the "special" sections of the paper: Foodday, InPortland, A&E, which I think are generally better-written than the other sections. Metro is good too for keeping up with local stuff. But I do feel like the front page is really thin. Every time I read the NYTimes (rarely), I think with chagrin about how much international news in particular I miss reading just the Oregonian. But I can't imagine carving out the time it would take to read two papers on a regular basis!
Posted by: MollyH | January 20, 2008 at 07:26 PM
I usually just read the funnies and The Edge during work when I happen to be in the break room, usually microwaving something. But I have a stack of Parent and Parenting magazines next to my bed right now getting kind of high because I have a stack of library books right next to them, and right now I am so burned out on reading that I am just doing crosswords in my 10 free minutes before going to bed!
Posted by: debby | January 20, 2008 at 08:33 PM
i also read the paper over breakfast with my two year old. we actually use it as a topic of discussion. he tells me what the weather is going to be like by checking for "sun" or "clouds" and we look for pictures of things he knows, letters, numbers, etc. while i read it on the sly. it's a fun way to have some quality time, learn something new in the morning and sneak in the headlines.
Posted by: virginia | January 20, 2008 at 09:04 PM
I read it every day over the first cup of coffee. Most mornings, we get up 30-45 minutes before our daughter, so after we get lunches made, we sit down together before we get her up. Once she's in her high chair, we can continue reading a little more.
We save time on breakfast by making extra pancakes, waffles & french toast whenever we make them on weekends, then freeze them. Pop one out as soon as I get up, it's defrosted by the time the kiddo is up. Add fruit, cup of milk & she can feed herself breakfast.
If I'm lucky, I get the rest of the paper read while she's down for her first nap of the morning (or after she's gone to bed at night).
But having grown up reading the NYTimes, this is news "lite."
Posted by: Susan in OR | January 20, 2008 at 09:27 PM
I will sometimes flip through while my baby plays in the morning or while I have breakfast during her first nap. Sometimes we bring the paper to bed with us at night - more for the Living section. He reads the comics and I work on the puzzles. Some days none of it gets read. I also try to skim the headlines online every so often, just so I'm aware of what's going on in the world. But I do feel less informed since my baby was born. Less free time for reading, for sure.
Posted by: Michelle | January 21, 2008 at 07:26 AM
We get the Sunday paper only -- I can't stand the piles and piles of daily papers for recycling and I don't have time to read them. It takes days to read the WW at this point! A coworker who also lives in Kenton told me about the Kenton features in the Oregonian.
I agree that Oregonlive.com is a terrible mess so I occasionally check the Kenton Neighborhood Association site (http://www.historickenton.com/ ) for Kenton articles -- they have links to relevant Oregonian articles on Oregonlive.
I read the WW and sometimes look at the Tribune at work (much smaller paper so I can get through the whole thing on my break). We have a subscription to the St John's Sentinel -- once a month in my mailbox is manageable. Most of the time, I don't really know much about what's happening in the city/region because I get my news from NPR but that will have to do until the kids get older. And there have been studies showing dramatic stress-reduction in those who stop watching the evening news and reading the paper so maybe I'm happier for it! Ignorance is bliss?
Posted by: AmyS | January 21, 2008 at 08:56 AM
I stopped getting the paper because its arrival on the front porch at 4:30 am wakes my dog who then wakes my 1-year old who then wakes me. Sleep is more important. the end. We still gets Sundays and suffer the consequences. But I take all week to read through it. I suppose I would read the Oregonian online but it's a terrible interface! My husband still reads the Seattle PI online because it has a great front page, but we moved here three years ago!
Posted by: lorawhy | January 21, 2008 at 11:35 AM
I agree that the Oregonian online is awful. I was really excited about the blogs on there when we first moved here. I though it would be a great way to learn about neighborhoods, etc. Then I realized that so many of them aren't updated regularly. Pretty boring and lame.
Posted by: anon | January 21, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Oh, and I want to add that when I say I read the paper, I mean the NYT! My parents who live a few blocks away have a subscription and every few days we stop by and pick up the last few days worth of papers. Because even a 3-day-old New York Times is worth ten of this morning's Oregonian. In my opinion.
Posted by: Zinemama | January 21, 2008 at 04:36 PM
My day feels incomplete if I do not read at least Metro and Living. The best days are when I ride the bus to work - I can read the entire paper and listen to music. But sometimes I read at my desk at lunch. Other times when the kiddo is eating or watching a show or playing. And if it has been a long workday with night a meeting and I had to drive, it is the paper and a glass of wine before bed. I get the NYT on Sundays, but am considering dropping the subscription. I also try to get up a bit earlier than my son does so I can at least hear the headlines on NPR.
Posted by: Courtney | January 22, 2008 at 04:11 PM
I sneak the paper at work or after little one's bedtime. When I was a kid, my dad incessantly had the paper in his face at dinner (he was gone off to work by the time we were up for breakfast), & it drove the rest of his family bonkers. As an adult I understand that he thought it was his only chance to read the news, but he couldn't read and keep up w/ dinnertime conversation at the same time, so he chose the paper over the patter. As a result, I won't even allow myself to be tempted by the paper during mealtimes.
Posted by: anon.2 | January 22, 2008 at 04:27 PM
I always read the paper at night (and since I can't curl up with my computer, I do prefer to read my news in paper form) after the kids are in bed, so I can enjoy it in peace. Any really important news bites I'll likely absorb through friends/co-workers/radio so I don't mind waiting to get the full story until later. Plus, I mostly read it for local news and features, which is what the oregonian is so excellent at covering. Far better than any of my previous local papers. It doesn't make sense to compare it to the NYT, which is a national (dare I say global?) publication with the resources to go with it. I think it's important to know what's going on in my city, county and state, and for that the O can't be beat.
Posted by: anon | January 23, 2008 at 10:33 PM