Jim Karpen Tips

April 2001

The New York Times is often referred to as the nation's newspaper of record, and certainly it does have a remarkable scope and authority. From what I can tell, their web site, the New York Times on the Web, contains virtually the entire content of the print addition, as well as searchable archives. You need to be registered to access their web site, but registration is free.

When doing research I've often found it indispensable to be able to search the archives. Some of the content is free, other archived articles cost a modest fee. Typically you can search all of the recent content for free.

I'm excited about my most recent discovery: their free e-mail newsletters, which include the latest headlines, news alerts, and weekly newsletters. Their main offering is Today's Headlines, which is a comprehensive e-mail that carries the top headlines from the main sections in the New York Times, delivered each morning.

You can also choose to subscribe to daily e-mailings that offer a more complete selection of headlines from the various sections of the newspaper, including Business, International, Technology, Arts, Sports, Opinion, and Front Page.

They also offer a selection of 10 feature-oriented weekly newsletters. For example, Your Money contains analysis and information for the personal investor. The Baseball Report has columns by Times writers, rankings, answers to questions, and trivia. The Film newsletter offers a roundup of the latest movie reviews, film-related articles, new video releases, and more.

But the one that interests me most is Books. Lately I'd been dissatisfied with the book reviews in the news magazines that I subscribe to and had been feeling a bit cut off from the intellectual currents. I'd even been thinking of subscribing to one of the excellent publications that reviews books. Now I'm hoping this newsletter will fill my need. It has news, features, and highlights from book reviews, as well as links to author interviews, first chapters, and best-seller lists.

The New York Times has also recently launched College Times, which is geared toward college students and faculty members. You can use their new directory to browse through articles organized by over 200 academic disciplines. I'm interested in archeology and anthropology, so I clicked on that subject link and was pleased with the resulting list of inks to articles.

Perhaps the most useful new feature is the ability to sign up for e-mail alerts. You specify the keywords, and the Times will e-mail you an alert whenever an article appears that contains them.

A special section for students includes recent news from colleges and universities, as well as book and film reviews.

© 2001 by Jim Karpen, Ph.D. (#261)