Cato Institute co-founder Ed Crane long advised staffers to read the New York Times, including me. Many would give him quizzical looks owing to the newspaper’s left lean, but that was part of his point.
Not only would reading it daily place libertarian Cato readers in the other team’s “huddle,” Crane recognized that the writers and columnists at the Times were very smart even if incorrect about certain things. He felt the Cato staff would learn from some really bright people while seeing through the slant, plus arguably the best way to understand your own thinking is to read that of the opposition.
It took about fourteen years for me to turn Crane’s advice into action, but in 2017 I finally got a subscription. Crane was and is right. The New York Times is easily my favorite read of the day, and this includes the Wall Street Journal. There’s an obvious slant at times, but there’s so much information and so much learning.
Has the reading brought on indoctrination into the big-government fold? If readers can detect it, please show me where. If anything, reading the Times has enhanced my pro-freedom, pro-market writing. If this is doubted, please purchase and read my 2021 book When Politicians Panicked. An economic case against the disastrous lockdowns, the endnotes in the book are dense with Times’ citations. Information gleaned from the New York Times substantially improved my relentlessly critical case against government at all levels.
New York Times obituaries are one of the best, most interesting aspects of the newspaper. In May of this year, I read the one for former Times editor, Max Frankel. It was a very interesting look at a fascinating life, and the obituary referenced Frankel’s memoirs. The Times of My Life, and My Life with The Times was published in 1999, Frankel died in 2025, but it’s never too late to read an excellent, always interesting book. Regardless of your ideological lean, Frankel’s memoirs will be an education. You will think and see things more clearly.
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