Scan, read, reflect, repeat. Then get irate and give us a ring. This is the simple yet oft-forgotten basic process to effectively read a newspaper article. We seem to get complaints, not too often though, regarding specific sentences in articles, when it seems clear to us that the complainant just doesn’t seem to have either read the article, or simply read the article without an open mind. 

What follows is a breakdown of this process and hopefully a little respectful guidance for some readers:

1. Scan the paper looking for articles you may find intriguing.

Scanning will provide the reader with a cursory understanding of a particular week’s content without getting bogged down with information you find uninteresting. This first step probably won’t take too long given the paper is generally 24 pages in length and will enable readers to prioritize what they’d like to read at their morning coffee, lunch hour, or laying on the couch after a filling dinner. 

2. Read the entire article, at least once, especially if something doesn’t seem correct before getting in a huff and launching into a tirade.

Reading an article more than once will not only assist you in gathering information, but will enhance your understanding of a specific topic. Re-reading is especially important if you intend to write us a letter or give us some (constructive) criticism over the phone. 

Most news articles are to be written in what I’ll term plain language, although I occasionally have been known to use multi-syllabic words. Sometimes I just can’t help myself, especially when the word sounds good. I know that when I’m reading something, whether a newspaper article or book and I’m tripped up by a word, I’ll look it up, or write it down and look it up later. Maybe it’s due to some geeky tendency, but that’s what I do and it seems to work for me. 

Read more than the title or headline. It’s just meant to draw you in, not to tell the whole story. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read a headline I didn’t agree with only to find that the story was pretty darn good. Had I not read on and looked at the actual content, I clearly would not have understood a particular issue. 

3. Personally I always find it beneficial to reflect, even momentarily, on something that I have just read, before making a conclusion regarding the veracity of a statement or before forming an opinion. Let’s call this the 10-second rule. 

If I write something that really draws the ire of any individual, which I have most definitely done, instead of flipping out, count to ten, calm down and read the sentence, paragraph, or whole article again before launching a verbal assault over the phone or quietly accusing us of misrepresentation. 

4. Keep in mind that it’s not always about you. 

Just because you think that something is written about you, that may in fact not be the case, especially when it comes to an opinion piece such as the Last Word. You’re not Copernicus and the sun doesn’t revolve around you. 

Realize that it is possible that you may not know what you’re talking about or are wrong, even if you fundamentally disagree with something that is written. Look for other sources of information, so that if you think you’re right, you can prove it. 

We are human, despite what you may think, which means that we’re not impervious to making mistakes. Misunderstandings can occur between humans and it’s always a good idea to check corrections in next week’s paper. 

The best way to keep reporters accountable for their work is by writing a letter to the editor. If something angers you, makes you so upset that the vein in your forehead is about to explode, channel that anger into writing us a letter explaining why we screwed up. I don’t take it personally, neither should you. 

5. This one really gets me. If somebody is directly quoted, quotation marks surround the sentence or word, but people don’t really seem to understand this fundamental literary fact. If something is written with quotation marks around it, we didn’t just make it up, we didn’t say it, it’s not supposition or conjecture and is likely accurate and not a misquote given that most conversations are recorded. 

A statement taken out of context is a related complaint, but not the same and should be addressed with a letter to the editor. 

In thinking about this piece, I came upon an article written by Walter Cronkite, one of the most trusted and respected journalists of the 20th century, on the topic of how to read a newspaper article. According to Cronkite, “newspeople have a responsibility. And so do you. Ours is to report the news fairly, accurately and completely. Yours is to keep yourself informed every day.”