A Month of Mail... countdown to mail-pocalypse

I’m a Guardian boy myself, and I pretty much always have been (bar a pre- Beano-subscription period in the early 1990s when I was partial to the ‘Funday Times’). As a fully paid up liberal lefty I have certain views on life, and I have certain views on where I gather my news from (this being largely The Guardian and BBC Radio 4). While being interested in the worlds of science, politics, ‘slebs and the like, it would not be unkind to suggest that my news palette is somewhat limited.

It is with this in mind that I am taking up a challenge, a re-imagining of myself, a questioning of my political leanings, I am confronting my prejudices and undertaking an exploration of the dark side of the Tabloid press.

For one whole month, beginning this Friday, the 1st of October I have decided to source my news only from the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.

I know a little about these papers, I occasionally browse them when nothing else is available (free newspapers in airports are so frequently the Mail, when is it ever a good idea to give some delayed and agitated air passengers a paper that only serves to make people more angry and agitated?!), or when they do something monumentally stupid (Jan Moir, I’m looking at you!).

So, what are my perceptions of this paper? Let’s see. The paper is racist, homophobic, bigoted, anti-BBC and anti-immigration. The Mail is also anti-Europe, while simultaneously being disgusted at 'Broken Britain'. It is overly obsessed with the fringes of what can be classified as news. It is hectoring and overly assured that its world view is correct. It only covers 'science' when it suits its ideological (for wont of a better word) purposes, and it is responsible for the diminishing trust placed by many in the NHS.

I believe that the Daily Mail is a dangerous newspaper, and it may well be harmful to my health.

With these thoughts in mind I have taken a political compass test and below I present the results:

Turns out I’m a proper dirty libertarian lefty. Bugger.

So, to the project itself, my aims are:

• Confront my prejudices; is it really that dangerous a paper?
• Will reading it impact on my view of the world?
• How far Right will I drift by Halloween, if at all? 

The Rules:

• Only read the Daily Mail or the Mail on Sunday, and that may well mean actually buying the rag
• Forgo my Radio 4 habit – Commercial or music radio only
• Stay away from as much other news coverage as practical,
• And, if I must watch TV news, I must make it ITV, Channel 5 or ‘light news’ – One Show, Lorraine Kelly etc.
• Take a political compass test weekly

Daily I will update: what have I read, what have I learnt, and how angry am I feeling? I’m reading it so you don’t have to!

So, as of Thursday – The Guardian, Eddie Mair, Charlie Brooker, Polly Toynbee, Ben Goldacre, Evan Davis, Jon Humphries – adieu, I’ll miss you all.

I’m ready to confront it, I’m ready to start my Month of Mail.