Last weekend, after perusing Eastern Market and getting an iced chai latte from that coffee shop who's name escapes me, I went to a book store two doors down and ended up finding some of the best metro reading at very affordable prices. Although I can't recall the name of the bookstore (if it even had one), I do know that the shop owner is wonderful in his own special way and makes the trip well worth it even if you're illiterate. That begs the question, however, why/how are you reading this blog?... I digress. Read More »
Our friends over at ThinkProgress brought this up earlier in the week, but it turns out that we're smarter than conservatives -- or at least we read more. A full 34 percent of conservatives haven't picked up a book in the last year, while that number for liberals was only about 22 percent. The average number of books per year was kind of a wash, eight for conservatives versus nine for liberals (although I wonder what the distribution of Dan Brown books is).
This reminds me of what I learned in my wonderful voting behavior class in college. The people at either end of the reading scale tend to not change their minds very much about which party or candidate they support. This is because if you read a lot, you tend to either read things you agree with or immediately discount the things you don't agree with. Those that don't read a lot or are generally uninformed about public affairs tend to have a sort of blind loyalty to one party. The people that change their mind lie somewhere in the middle.
I am not a regular news kind of person. I can go days without knowing the details of the outside world. Internet news? It’s okay. And I don’t trust prime time news hours, so that is pretty much out. But I know that part of dealing with politics and creating change is knowing what is going on in the world. After speaking with several co-workers who are in progressive politics full time had a regular list of reads.
CNN and Google alerts were pretty popular. The New York Times was on the list, as is easy to imagine. But, a new, yet regular name that kept coming up was The Politico. Although new, the newspaper has seemed to quench the thirst of those looking for daily forms of alternative media sources. As recommended by the vice president of the progressive organization I work for, I read The Politico pretty much everyday. They usually have a paper Monday thru Thursday. But, there are days when I go to the blue dispenser next to the other newspapers, it has been empty on occasion at 8am. Other than that, the articles are really edgy and focus on progressive, Democratic politics. They also have job postings at the back for those interns looking to stay in the District. Interested in left wing political news on your way to work? Pick up the Politico.
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