<p>Hi, I'm a college student and need your opinion!</p>
<p>A large portion of news is about business, economics, and politics, right? I really want to read the NY Times or Times but I always stumble upon these topics and feel that I don't really know what's going on or have a good exposure to relate to and be motivated to read without falling asleep! My family isn't the type to talk current events around the dinner table. And it's all the more important for me to be able to read these things well as I'm already in college. However, being an engineer doesn't allow me to take as many of those courses as I can. Is there anyone else out there that knows what I'm talking about? Reading and enjoying the news is something I see as very valuable in helping one become a well informed person.</p>
<p>I'll try to take those business, econ, and polisci courses in college but that might take too much time. Did any of you guys try reading basic guides on your own? Did you you try to force yourself to read the news often until you became familiar with it all?</p>
<p>You don't need to force yourself to read the news. Politics is very enjoyable. It's almost like a sport. Economics, I can see how one could find that boring, but business stuff is usually enjoyable too.</p>
<p>No one can keep up with everything. I'm a subscriber to the Economist, and I only read the articles that really interest me (I skim everything else).</p>
<p>Keep in mind though, that poli sci and econ courses don't tend to be current events courses, and the readings are more theory and analysis.</p>
<p>If you have the interest, pursuing further exploration on your own should be no problem at all. That is what many of us in those very majors did before we got to college. The problem, at least in your case, seems to be finding something that interests you. I can tell you that even us news junkies who read dozens of sources a day miss stuff, so aiming to be abreast of everything is unrealistic. So the trick is to find one or a few topics that really interest you, and explore them. </p>
<p>For example, if you're interested in oil politics, there is plenty to follow, ranging from the current Russian invasion of Georgia, to the status of drilling legislation in the US. Or, if you're interested in South Asia, you could take a look at Nepal's latest election, and the history leading up to the very surprising outcome; the forthcoming resignation of Pakistan's unpopular leader; or the post-bombing Hindu-Muslim tension in Gujarat. If you don't yet know what your interests are, start by reading any major newspaper (Washington Post, Daily Telegraph, Jerusalem Post, ect) and see if anything catches your eye. If it does, look for more related stories across a broad range of source. Even for those of us lacking much in the way of foreign language skills, the options available in the age of the internet are impressive.</p>
<p>I also used to fall asleep reading business, econ and poli sci stuff in newspapers and magazine. But that was because I was trying to read everything at once. First, just read articles that have something to do with a particular subject you like--you're bound to find at least one article in every couple of mags or newspapers. Keep reading something interesting every week, and gradually you'll see that the other stuff near the article you've just read are kinda interesting too. You'll come to find that the NY Times business section is actually very interesting. In general, getting interested in stuff like this is very gradual.</p>
<p>I personally felt that taking a class in politics and economics helped me understand news articles and relate more to what they were saying. I found that my intro macro economics course gave me a great foundation for reading economics and business news. As I was taking the course the Bear Sterns crisis was happening too so I was able to see how the stuff going on in class was also important to daily life. For politics, my high school AP government class gave me enough of a background on how the government and different agencies work, a general idea on how laws are passed, and other things to give me enough background to understand basic election stuff. Those were only two classes and there is a lot that I don't know about business and politcs. However, those two classes allow me to understand a lot of the basics so I can actually enjoy those articles. If you're the type to be able to pick up an intro econ or polysci book and read it for some background, you can get a better foundation and understanding for the subjects without having to take a whole class.</p>