School forcing me to buy NY Times, what should I do? [vanity]

[sdk7x7]

I am currently a high school student at a public HS in New York State. This year (I'll be a senior), one of the requirements for my AP Gov't and Politics course is to pay a small student subscription fee for the NY Times. As a long-time reader of the Times, as well as a reader of TimesWatch.org and Coulter's SLANDER, I have recognized (and been disgusted by) the paper's clear liberal agenda.

The question is, what should I do? I am considering proposing to get USA Today or WSJ instead, but the former is not a great journalistic paper and the latter focuses more on financial issues than the news. The Wash Times would be a great option, but they don't offer daily delivery outside the DC area.

Any suggestions?

[hole_n_one]

Thanks all.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it?

[Cathryn Crawford]

Relax. He'll be fine. Don't freak him out. :-)

[sarasmom]

Who is the "him" you want to keep out of trouble, to your own degradation?

[Chad Fairbanks]

LOL

[Xthe17th]

Click here for the WT Weekly edition online, and here to subscribe - $59.95/year. Give your "teacher" some Wes Pruden!

[Cathryn Crawford]

The guy that started this thread, and asked for advice. Backtrack.

[RS]

Don't sweat the small stuff - suck it up and always rember how you got screwed by your school and the NY Times when you become Senator.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"Relax. He'll be fine. Don't freak him out. :-)"

I do tend to overreact to anything supporting the Times...

[Diddle E. Squat]

Good idea, but I'd make one change: Don't subscribe to the NYTimes, just read it at the library. Why give money to con artists?

[rwfromkansas]

Is this something the teacher has decided to include in his course, or is it something set in stone with the board of education?

If the former, suggest a different paper or ask if you can use a different paper. If the latter, you may have to go to the school board to get it changed.

[HAL9000]

Back in the olden days - before the Internet - I had about six newspaper subscriptions - including WSJ and NYT. It was expensive and the papers piled up faster than I could read them.

In politics, in order to defeat the opposition, you should study the opponent. So I'd suggest just subscribing to NYT. You are smart enough to sort out the facts from the spin.

[Sonny M]

I had the same problem. I had a teacher who forced us to subscribe to the New York Times. I took it, then proceeded to mock it everyday. I doubted its credibility, and eventually had my whole class making fun of the paper.

This might not be the wisest thing, but you could note, at least once a day, use the phrase, in regards to anything the Times says "yea, but it is the times, you do have to take that with a grain of salt". Proceed, to say you have doubts about there accuracy, and use the phrase, in regards to Times statements "alledged" or "Well, supposedly,".

Eventually, your class, will even realize how inaccurate, and hopefully, also realize how damn lazy the Times is.

Side note, why are you paying for the paper? They do have the Times online, and alot of high school, usually do subscribe to the paper anyway.

[Blue Scourge]

A bit off the topic...but what college do you attend?

btw, I'd just go with the paper, like everyone else has pointed out, it's a great opportunity to expose lies and half-truths to your classmates.

[Cathryn Crawford]

The University of Texas.

I think you guys are right on target, too.

[Blue Scourge]

Ahhh, nice school, I myself will soon be attending Virginia...or James Madison U.

[Cathryn Crawford]

Very cool! Is it quite liberal?

[mrustow]

I don't understand the problem. If I have to read the goddamned Times every day, why do you think you should get off the hook? If you can't deal with reading people you disagree with, you're no better than the socialists. However, if you are seriously opposed to the Times (as you appear to be), you have to read it, class or no class.

As for how you are to carry yourself in class, that's a judgment call you'll have to make on the ground. You might try politely bringing up, that you discovered that a Times story was misreported, or omitted essential facts, see what sort of reaction you get, and take it from there.

[Blue Scourge]

JMU is actually very conservative...UVA is about 50/50, of course that is the student body. The professors I've seen and heard for the most part seem to lean left... should be fun ;)

[Xthe17th]

Better yet, just buy this and hold it up in class:

Journalistic Fraud, by Bob Kohn "It didn't start with Jayson Blair: how the New York Times routinely slants the news and twists the facts to promote the Left's agenda "