Guardian on a Friday. I find myself reading stuff about artists I don't even like and normally have little interest in, just for the quality of his writing.

and Charlie Brooker. They make the grauniad worthwhile along with the political funnyman...forgot his name.

of Anthony Lane, Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell. Not only is Lane laugh-out-loud funny as a film reviewer ("what is the point of Demi Moore?"), he really knows his stuff and has an extremely wide frame of reference. Even though it was published a while back "Nobody's Perfect" is a great collection of his work. And his taste is almost entirely congruent with mine.

Gopnik is an elegant, thoughtful writer on just about anything. His book about living in Paris ("From Paris to the Moon") is insightful and moving.

Gladwell's ability to demystify science/psychology and sociology has made him a star through his books. His regular New Yorker pieces are compelling and always thought-provoking. And he's an oddly charismatic speaker.

You mean there are other magazines/papers?

(I could mention some Swedish names that wouldn´t mean much to anyone else around here.)

Ben. And Goldacre.

Forget to mention that Giles Coren is a bollocks.

I sometimes imagine a monthly column from him in't Word

I rarely watch TV but always find time to read NB-S, the Guadian's irregular TV critic. She possesses an enviably beautiful style and a genuinely lovely way with words.

She has a column in the Times on Mondays where she writes about whatever she wants and also does the TV review on Saturdays plus some occasional pieces. She's usually entertaining, funny and spot-on. (I think she has occasionally contributed to Word however, which may disqualify her from this topic!).

Who you never read in print anywhere much these days more's the pity. He does bits in Quietus once in a while. Easily the best Maker/NME journalist from 'my era' (pre- and post-Britpop i guess you could call it).
No offence to the rest!

Used to buy the Sindy mainly for Michael Bywater, e.g.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/black-godfrey-and-nick-j...

and

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/confessions-of-an-englis...

glad to see he still pops up occasionally:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/a-lament-for-louche-lo...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/that-summer-why-some-y...

Earned his stripes the hard way, courageous, extremely knowledge and proper RP voice.

I really like Andrew Rawnsley on politics, Nick Cohen on general columnly stuff and Victoria Coren for some smart humour. I always like David Aronovitch (?) and Alexi Sayle's Indy columns are frequently excellent.

Oh, and it is nice to see CSM in Word at last. Whoops, I went off piste.

Also writes in Guardian on a Friday (along with Alexis Petridis mentioned in the first post). Intelligent and witty film reviews - I always end up reading every one rather than skimming.

is good on sport and politics in various papers. His media column in the Indie on Mondays is particularly good and usually raises a laugh, especially when he railing against "Mad Mel" Phillips or John "Gaunty" Gaunt.

I usually read David Aronovitch even though his pomposity can sometimes get in the way. Ditto for Ben Goldacre. Like Mr Wonn I really like Deborah Orr. But occasionally just for the sheer rubber necking fun of it, I dig out Michael Winner and his Sunday Times column Winner's Dinners.

In The Thunderer is amusing when the mood takes him. Giles Coren gets on my tits. The Telegraph's art critic Richard Dorment is always compelling - explains things beautifully and simply, points out lots of bits you'd never normally pick up on and is, at the same, gloriously pompous in an inoffensive old-school-tie, smells-faintly-of-good-claret-and-cigars type of way. Sort of like Henry Blofeld.

Probably the most knowledgeable journalist on Middle East Affairs. His commentary pieces in The Independent are always worth reading.

Jason Burke, who is also good on the Middle East and well informed on terrorism. He writes for The Guardian and the Observer. His book on Al-Qaeda is very relevatory.

From the above I'm another Ben Goldacre fan.

Has anyone mentioned David Lacey, football writer from The Guardian? Always measured and unhysterical.

is usually worth reading.

Another vote for the wonderful Marina. Her Friday celeb pages are so funny. The likes of Lady Macca and Trudy Styler must really despise her, so she must be doing something right.

Her Hail Hail Rock n Roll columns for The Guardian are delightfully well written.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/12/popandrock.laurabarton

whoever he's writing for. Wonderful.

Times reporter.
His books, 'Death by Leisure' and 'War Reporting for Cowards' are fantastic

is a double bollocks. Nepotism or Necromancy ?

I find his column in the Times on Saturdays compulsive reading - erudite, polite, razor sharp, penetrating, informed... the velvet gloved hand of pomposity's destruction, no less.

Last year, on hols, I bought and read a second hand copy of Clive James' 'The Crystal Bucket' - mid 70s TV review columns for the Observer; uncannily, my pal - and fellow Word reader - Uncle Spike did exactly the same thing on his hols this summer. I think we both agree, CJ is a genius. Is anyone re-reading volumes of, say, Piers Morgan's columns these days? I rest my case...

I just find her various Guardian columns funnier and funnier.

And there's not enough Charles Shaar Murray in The Word.

...although I'd say there were probably enough words in 'Charles Shaar Murray'. Indeed, possibly erring on the one-too-many side...

with most of the above, especially Marina Hyde and Peter Bradshaw, but one of the best writers around has to be David Thomson who writes about film for the oft-mentioned-herein Guardian. He has an amazing, fluid way with language and has insight that other writers can only dream of, meaning that even if the subject is of no interest, the article always is. He also has exquisite taste.

at the risk of turning this into a Thomson love-in, last year's 'Have You Seen..?' is the single best guide to films I've ever read. You can just work your way through the thing.

Hugh McIlvanney surely deserves a mention. I always savour his writing, like a fine malt, even if the subject matter is often of little interest to me (horse racing, for example).

His attention to detail is such that he is famous for 'getting off a train to change a comma'. Giles Coren eat your heart out.

Also from the Thunderer, I enjoy reading Daniel Finkelstein (his
Comment Central blog is a very handy commentariat roundup), David Aaronovitch and Matthew Parris.

John Lloyd's TV column is always interesting, and contrarian- though not for the sake of it (in my opinion); and Peter Aspden is a graceful arts writer.

I find their weekend magazine is superb, and only regret that Lloyd isn't editing it any more as that was an even more extraordinarily concentrated high quality read.

We also used to read Hamish McRae but I don't get the Sindy as much as I did now that Bywater's column is gone.

http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~cow/studio/geefe.html