After last week’s rather serious newsletter, I thought I’d write about something The Age offers that you may or may not know about. You don’t have to be a subscriber to The Age to receive newsletters (except for mine, apparently), but you might find some of them useful because they suit your interests.
The Age produces so much journalism, photography, video and artwork on all kinds of subjects – politics, business, world, sport, arts and culture, food, lifestyle and what’s going on in Melbourne and Victoria.
I read a lot of news, but it’s impossible to consume everything, and I am sure our readers need to be selective, too. We offer 18 newsletters on subjects from footy to foreign news and if you sign up, you’ll get a regular email with our best stories on that subject. If you find that your inbox is clogged with things you never get to, you can cancel at any time.
Not all Age readers love books – baffling, I know – but some really love books and interviews with authors. The Age’s books editor Jason Steger puts together The Booklist, a weekly delight. Last week’s featured Simon Winchester, the English journalist and writer whose work Jason describes as “the perfect example of the curious mind of a seasoned journalist investigating an area that has somehow piqued his grey matter”.
His new book, Land: How Hunger for Ownership Shaped the World, was Jason’s book of the week. It was reviewed by award-winning historian James Boyce, who noted that the idea for the book came from Winchester considering the “cruel irony” that it was Britons dispossessed from land in their own country who migrated across the oceans to dispossess Indigenous people of theirs.
Jason interviews a writer each week about their writing habits, there’s a “what I’m reading” column, often from a bookseller, and a bestsellers list.
If you’re more interested in outstanding television and streaming programs, The Watchlist contains reviews and interviews and a useful way to think about a particular program. For instance, The Watchlist’s look at the Allen v. Farrow documentary (four and a half stars) gives a simple outline of why you might be interested in watching this show and links to the history of this long-running saga.
My new favourite newsletter is Examine, hosted by The Age’s Walkley award-winning science reporter Liam Mannix. What became obvious during the coronavirus crisis was that Age readers didn’t just want coverage of the politics of the pandemic, but the science and health issues, too. Liam’s careful, factual journalism became a hit with our readers, and Examine emerged from that.
Each week, Liam highlights the best of our science reporting, interviews a scientist about what they are working on, and goes to a scientist to answer questions readers pose through the newsletter.
Another favourite is Money With Jess. Jessica Irvine has an ability to make me feel less stupid about my incompetence in matters of personal finance. She’s wonderfully, proudly stingy with money – or at least she hates wasting it. I enjoyed her recent piece that weighed up if it’s worth driving all over town to get 1 or 2¢ a litre off your petrol.
At the moment, her newsletter is taking readers through 10 steps to fix their household budget. And don’t worry if you’ve missed the first couple of editions, she includes a library of resources that make it easy to catch up.
The Age is proud of our foreign correspondents – North American correspondent Matthew Knott, Bevan Shields covering Europe, Eryk Bagshaw reporting on North Asia, including China, and soon Chris Barrett from South-East Asia. You can get world news on many sites, but there is something important about an Australian perspective on world events. Each week in What in the World, one correspondent gives an insight into their corner of the world, and how they went about finding and reporting on a story.
We know, too, that Age readers have lives and families and are interested in stories about human beings. They are increasingly interested in health and fitness, too. Our Greater Good newsletter has inspiring stories of people, not conflict. Live Well is about what the name implies – how to live a long and healthy life.
For all our newsletters, visit here … I would be surprised if you don’t find at least one that piques your interest.
Note from the Editor
The Age’s editor, Gay Alcorn, writes an exclusive newsletter for subscribers on the week’s most important stories and issues. Sign up here to receive it every Friday.
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