My Dream Job: The New York Times

The "target publication" I hope to work for one day would have to be the New York Times. I think I will always be fascinated by the variety of topics covered by the paper and impressed by the well-written, thoughtful stories. Since the New York Times is a local, national and international newspaper, it has several target audiences based on geography -- residents of New York City, New York state, the U.S. and the world. As with the audiences of most newspapers, I imagine the New York Times' readership is skewed toward well-educated, middle- and upper-class readers.

The five recent articles from the New York Times I would choose to run are:

1. "Advocates Hope Transgender Identity Is Not a Defining One"

This article, in the Politics section, examines a trend in this year's elections across the country. It includes candidates from across the country, which is a good way to appeal to a national audience. I think it's a well-written and reported article, because it deals with the issue of transgender political candidates without making it too sensational. It also notes the interesting fact that some transgender candidates are against same-sex marriage.

2. "A Landlord Learns From His Son"

This article, a local profile from the New York section, could have run in any city paper across the country. But for many people, the New York Times is their local paper, so local coverage is important. This is not only a story about a creative solution a father and son found for a problem, but it's a story about people, which makes it more compelling to read than a story just about leaks in apartments or inventions to stop them.

3. "Spaghetti Tacos: Silly Enough For Young Eaters"

This is one of the more lighthearted articles of the New York Times, but I don't think that makes it any less worthy of being included in the paper. It will probably be of interest to parents with young kids, or kids who are old enough to read the newspaper themselves. For the rest of us, it provides a humorous glimpse into a kid-friendly food fad.

4. "Marijuana, Once Divisive, Brings Some Families Closer"

Like the first two articles, I chose this one because it takes what could be a simple story and gives it depth with personal stories. It deals with the increasing and sometimes medically legal use of marijuana among older people. It could have been a story comparing laws in different states and giving doctors' opinions, but the author found an interesting angle: adults whose parents once warned them about the dangers of drugs are now buying marijuana for those same parents. The article tells the stories of several families, and importantly, puts the "trend" in perspective by mentioning that less than 1 percent of people 65 and over said they had smoked marijuana in the past year.

5. "Why Can't Middle-Aged Women Have Long Hair?"

This is more of an opinion column than a news article, but I think it still deserves a place in the paper. Although it appeared in the Fashion and Style section, the author uses a fashion trend to explore larger issues of culture and feminism. I assume the target audience for this piece would be women, especially middle-aged women.