New York City has three major daily newspapers—the New York Times, the Daily News, and the New York Post. The Times is the country’s unofficial paper of record, exhaustively covering the national and international scene. But it also contains good information on happenings around town, especially in its Friday Weekend sections.

You’d be coming away with a skewed view of New York, however, if you didn’t also pick up occasional copies of the Daily News and the New York Post. Both tabloids, with their in-your-face headlines, do a much better job of covering local news than does the Times. The Daily News is also a good source for crisp, pithy features and reviews of local events. The New York Post’s Page Six gossip column is must reading for many New Yorkers, and many of its reviews are excellent. Both papers also feature a daily movie schedule, which the Times does not.

When it comes to “alternative” papers, the weekly Village Voice is the granddaddy. Though best known for its leftist politics, the Voice’s strongest suit is its cultural coverage and events listings, which are among the city’s most comprehensive. The Voice is free of charge and can be found in red boxes on street corners, or in bookstores, music stores, clubs, and delis.

Free neighborhood newspapers containing good listings and reviews are also plentiful. The best of these papers, giving the Voice a run for its money, is the New York Press.

Among magazines, New York, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York cover the city extensively. New York is mostly lightweight mainstream patter, with entertaining articles, good reviews, and a solid events listing. The New Yorker is renowned for its acerbic, and usually deadly accurate, listings and reviews. Time Out New York features excellent round-up articles and a phenomenal listings section—the most comprehensive in the city. More consciously hip is the monthly Paper, which covers the ever-changing downtown nightlife scene.