• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

I need a new newspaper to read after the Independent

Status
Not open for further replies.

miami

Established Member
Joined
3 Oct 2015
Messages
3,164
Location
UK
With the independent shutting up shop I'm in need for a new newspaper for my occasional readings. I quite fancy a right-wing paper. When I started reading the Independent I had just voted tory and had returned from unsuccesfully defending invading Iraq at our university (someone had to - I hate a one-sided debate), and succesfully defending allowing the BNP come to campus for a debate (the fascists wanted him banned from uni)

However as I've grown older and wiser my views have shifted leftwards. (I'll still defend that BNP spokesman's right to make an idiot of himself though), so it's about time I fixed that.

So what newspaper should I start to read?

The guardian doesn't really help with my desire to get conflicting viewpoints
The telegraph isn't journalism, it frequently buries stories on behalf of it's owners
The mail is a hate rag
The other tabloids are unlikely to fill me

The last time I read The Times was on a plane to Washington the weekend before Marie Colvin died, was impressed by her article, but the fact it's owned by Murdoch makes my skin crawl.

Or should I just give up on the idea of a newspaper and instead subscribe to a periodical? The Spectator? The Week? The Economist? New Statesman?

Looking for indepth international news and lots of analysis across the piece.

Any suggestions?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Busaholic

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Jun 2014
Messages
14,029
With the independent shutting up shop I'm in need for a new newspaper for my occasional readings. I quite fancy a right-wing paper. When I started reading the Independent I had just voted tory and had returned from unsuccesfully defending invading Iraq at our university (someone had to - I hate a one-sided debate), and succesfully defending allowing the BNP come to campus for a debate (the fascists wanted him banned from uni)

However as I've grown older and wiser my views have shifted leftwards. (I'll still defend that BNP spokesman's right to make an idiot of himself though), so it's about time I fixed that.

So what newspaper should I start to read?

The guardian doesn't really help with my desire to get conflicting viewpoints
The telegraph isn't journalism, it frequently buries stories on behalf of it's owners
The mail is a hate rag
The other tabloids are unlikely to fill me

The last time I read The Times was on a plane to Washington the weekend before Marie Colvin died, was impressed by her article, but the fact it's owned by Murdoch makes my skin crawl.

Or should I just give up on the idea of a newspaper and instead subscribe to a periodical? The Spectator? The Week? The Economist? New Statesman?

Looking for indepth international news and lots of analysis across the piece.

Any suggestions?

If you can forget the Murdoch connection, I would go for The Times. I'm no right winger, but I've read it for forty years or so and the standard of journalism is very high, including some interesting columnists. You are not talked down to and, believe me, they can lay into the Tories when they choose, as they did with Lord Ashcroft, and if you exclude the leaders, which I don't read anyway, you could read most issues without any perceptible political bias showing. They conduct some great campaigns (the Rochdale child prostitution expose was down to them). Murdoch still primarily thinks of himself as a newspaper proprietor and doesn't skimp on journalistic resources, alone among proprietors. Of course, he is able to use Sky etc to subsidise the paper, but that's great imo.

The journalist from The Independent I shall miss most is Matthew Norman, a very wise and witty man, who absolutely will not work for Murdoch, not that he'd ever be given the chance after some of the things he's written over the years!
 

GatwickDepress

Established Member
Joined
14 Jan 2013
Messages
2,284
Location
Leeds
Cute. You think you're politically wiser but toss "fascist" around like confetti at a wedding.

In any case, I don't think you'll find a single newspaper that'll meet your requirements. I tend to get most of my news from a variety of online sources these days - this has the advantage of pretty much unlimited content, but obviously it can be a massive time sink seeking out alternate viewpoints yourself.

If you really want a newspaper, I'd say go for the Times, like Busaholic suggests.
 

GrimsbyPacer

Established Member
Joined
13 Oct 2014
Messages
2,256
Location
Grimsby
Read the 'i' newspaper. It's by the same team as the independent, it's got a good layout and isn't very biased. It does have errors though, example today's anniversary section is for April 22, andPoland is labeled as Slovakia on page 2.

But the i is still the best paper in my opinion. The New Day is utterly useless, I felt cheated after reading the free copy on the first day, it lacks news and accuracy.
 

Clip

Established Member
Joined
28 Jun 2010
Messages
10,822
Cute. You think you're politically wiser but toss "fascist" around like confetti at a wedding.

.


Im not sure they understand irony with their perceived 'intelligence' but you have it spot on from their post.


Read the sun, OP, then come and complain about it here being not what you want to read. A bit like the independent became less independent over the last few years
 

ExRes

Established Member
Joined
16 Dec 2012
Messages
5,759
Location
Back in Sussex
My suggestion is that, without a single doubt, you should read the Daily Mail

The Mail is always guaranteed to start an argument on here which is exactly what your post has done/been designed to do, need I say more?
 

DarloRich

Veteran Member
Joined
12 Oct 2010
Messages
29,182
Location
Fenny Stratford
My suggestion is that, without a single doubt, you should read the Daily Mail

The Mail is always guaranteed to start an argument on here which is exactly what your post has done/been designed to do, need I say more?

but surely there are better toilet paper options out there?
 

Butts

Veteran Member
Joined
16 Jan 2011
Messages
11,323
Location
Stirlingshire
If you were in Scotland The Herald and The Scotsman would be an option, but I doubt they sell many copies in Manchester.
 
Joined
11 Sep 2012
Messages
748
Location
uk
As a current newsagent and a reader of the Independent in my younger days, I have been a Times reader for a number of years simply because it contains in depth news and more content than is in the Independent of late.
I also read the 'I' if I'm off out for the day as it also contains enough to keep you well informed without being too time consuming.
 

Clip

Established Member
Joined
28 Jun 2010
Messages
10,822
If you were in Scotland The Herald and The Scotsman would be an option, but I doubt they sell many copies in Manchester.

From memory of my time in Scotland the Herald was awful. Still I dont now so the walthamstow guardian will suffice for garbage
 

ExRes

Established Member
Joined
16 Dec 2012
Messages
5,759
Location
Back in Sussex
no you don't want glossy paper. It will smear. I've got Alistair Campbell's diaries if you like ;)

Damn, I thought I'd found a reason for the existence of Rob Brydon, thanks for the Campbell tip by the way, what about the Blair biography though?, there must be a hell of a lot of unwanted paper in that pile of, actually that takes us back to the reason ..............
 

Busaholic

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Jun 2014
Messages
14,029
I only didn't suggest the 'i' because it is unclear that it will exist much as the paper it is today for long, once ownership is transferred from The Independent at the end of this week. So many journalists are leaving the Indy and Sindy that I fear for its future, not that I shall abandon it before its future direction becomes clear.
 

Butts

Veteran Member
Joined
16 Jan 2011
Messages
11,323
Location
Stirlingshire
I only didn't suggest the 'i' because it is unclear that it will exist much as the paper it is today for long, once ownership is transferred from The Independent at the end of this week. So many journalists are leaving the Indy and Sindy that I fear for its future, not that I shall abandon it before its future direction becomes clear.

Part of the agreement was they still get access to the Indies web based version and journalists / resources.

I don't think Johnston Press will change a winning formula as "I" unlike it's former stablemates actually turns a healthy profit. Also JP produce The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, Yorkshire Post and a myriad of local titles including the fabled....

Falkirk Herald :p
 

trainmania100

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2015
Messages
2,566
Location
Newhaven
Use a smart phone ;) all the news in one ;) has the metro too
Greener too because doesn't use any paper - then again if your a driver you might need the paper for the bush
 
Last edited:

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,532
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
You mention periodicals...the Economist isn't bad, but as the name implies it always comes at things from a very financial perspective (I don't mean it's the FT, but I mean that it only ever seems to evaluate opinions on the basis of which is financially the best value).

The German periodical Der Spiegel is excellent, but I don't know if there is a UK equivalent, and reading something like Time would just annoy me as it's too US based.
 

TheKnightWho

Established Member
Joined
17 Oct 2012
Messages
3,184
Location
Oxford
My suggestion is that, without a single doubt, you should read the Daily Mail

The Mail is always guaranteed to start an argument on here which is exactly what your post has done/been designed to do, need I say more?

I rarely agree with you, but when I do...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You mention periodicals...the Economist isn't bad, but as the name implies it always comes at things from a very financial perspective (I don't mean it's the FT, but I mean that it only ever seems to evaluate opinions on the basis of which is financially the best value).

The German periodical Der Spiegel is excellent, but I don't know if there is a UK equivalent, and reading something like Time would just annoy me as it's too US based.

The FT is actually quite good for most news, too, since it tries to lay its biases quite bare in articles, rather than the usual spin of most papers.
 

GrimsbyPacer

Established Member
Joined
13 Oct 2014
Messages
2,256
Location
Grimsby
Use a smart phone ;) all the news in one ;) has the metro too
Greener too because doesn't use any paper - then again if your a driver you might need the paper for the bush

I have a "smart" phone, it's utterly rubbish!
I try to read the local news... I get a pop-up covering the page saying I win a phone, the touchscreen makes the little cross impossible to poke so I get redirected to Virus dotcom.

I try to read a national newspaper site online, I scroll down a paragraph, and it jumps back to the top annoyingly.
Then some random video advert starts playing, with embarrassing noises as I try to shut the stupid phone off.

The internet news is always in less detail, harder to find (look out for tonight's odd looking Moon news, and it will come up with last months), impossible to cut out to put on a crazy wall like in films, can't be shared easily, you get error 404 etc as it can be recinded unlike in the papers (remember the super injunction against a Man Utd player and a Scottish paper reported it), it relies on having wifi which isn't great in most places, it uses up all the data allowance if too mouch is read, you can't read it all day as you'll need to charge.
Smart Phones are not good, the only reason I put mine nack together after smashing it was that my sister got it for me as a present.
Papers don't use electricity, rare earth metals, microwaves, loud ringtones which have all been cited as damaging the environment.
The paper is biodegradeable, phones aren't and they will all be thrown away when a new version of the phone which is even more Google centric is released.
 

deltic

Established Member
Joined
8 Feb 2010
Messages
3,201
Economist is by far the best UK paper if you want international coverage - FT also has considerable international coverage but obviously much more business focused.
 

ChiefPlanner

Established Member
Joined
6 Sep 2011
Messages
7,768
Location
Herts
Get a subscription to the Hackney Gazette or the South London Press if you want a really depressing read of a journey. .....
 

ilkestonian

Member
Joined
6 Dec 2009
Messages
382
Location
The Potteries
Another vote for The i.

Only 40p so I don't feel too guilty if I don't get chance to read it all.

And no way can I justify forking out over a quid a day for a newspaper, which is about the only option short of the red tops etc.
 

Busaholic

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Jun 2014
Messages
14,029
Another vote for The i.

Only 40p so I don't feel too guilty if I don't get chance to read it all.

And no way can I justify forking out over a quid a day for a newspaper, which is about the only option short of the red tops etc.

When I lived for a short while in Amsterdam in 1969, on very little money, my friends thought I was absolutely mad going out to buy the airmailed Sunday Times for the equivalent of £1 each week - it probably cost 2s (1Op in pre-decimal money) in the UK at the time, which in itself would have been considered expensive, but I wanted/needed a weekly fix as to what was happening in my home country.

£! or £1.20 per day is very little to pay for being better-informed. You can't buy a cup of tea in a café for that where I live!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top