Reading a physical newspaper seems outdated since most consumers get their news through online subscriptions or social media. However, one Black woman is bringing back the old-school trend by creating a series where she reads the news and encourages others in her generation to do the same.
According to BuzzFeed, 23-year-old sociology and education graduate student Kelsey Russell launched the “New York Times Updates” series on TikTok, where she reads the news and documents everything she learned.
Her interest in news began after receiving a subscription to the daily newspaper.
“I got a subscription to the Sunday New York Times physical copy for my birthday,” Kelsey said in the first video of the series. “And in order to bring back the newspaper, I’m going to literally document, every day, what I learn.”
@kelscruss like I knew about da bombs but the cluster bomblets?!??! #fyp #syrian #newyorktimes #ukraine #russia
Russell’s creative take on reporting news to her viewers has transformed her into a budding internet sensation. Her first video garnered more than 1.7 million views; the clip is one of 14 videos of the series she posted to her account.
The Gen Zer also has other videos where she reads USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and her local newspapers like The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, per BuzzFeed.
In another video, Russell is determined to bring back “print media” and encourages other Gen Zers to be more mindful about their reading content.
“My name is Kelsey, and I am buying print media again, and reading what I learn and sharing it in my very unique way, to get Gen Z to buy more print media because we’re so dumb and illiterate. It’s really that simple,” she said in the video.
@kelscruss the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of my academic obsessions #fyp #lgbtq #hivawareness #hivaids #silvertsunami #nytimes
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Russell said she felt “dumb” despite being in a graduate program but wanted to further educate herself.
“I really just felt so dumb,” she laughingly said. “I’m in a grad school program and felt like [for] a lot of the things that I was learning, I needed more social, political, and economic context to understand.”
Russell said her goal is to learn more about current events and hopes other young people will follow the trend.
“The newspaper is drama… it’s literally gossip,” she explained in another video. “But the other reason [I think it’s important to read the news, besides gossip] is that our generation is extremely overstimulated, and has no concept of emotional regulation.”
@kelscruss Replying to @Annalyse its gossip but we can change the world too!!! #fyp #genz #newspaper
Russell also believes “investing” in print media can help her generation.
“Investing in physical print media honestly can help our generation become stronger, smarter, and really change the world in the ways we want to,” she said.
