Newspaper

The newspaper is an item delivered daily to Sim households in The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, The Sims Life Stories and The Sims Pet Stories. Newspapers can be read by Sims for entertainment, or used to find a job; depending on the game, the newspaper may have additional uses. Newspapers become old and unusable when a new paper is delivered the following morning. The newspaper is known in-game as the SimCity Chronicle.

Newspapers do not appear in The Sims 4. Many of the functions performed with a newspaper in previous games can instead be performed by a Sim's mobile phone or a computer.

The Sims
In The Sims, the SimCity Times newspaper is delivered by Nancy the Paper Girl at around 9 AM. Sims can read it to satisfy Fun and can look for a job, although it will only have one job listing each day. If there are too many old newspapers on the lot deliveries will be stopped until they are recycled.

The Sims: Superstar
Superstar introduces a tabloid, the Studio Town Insider, which is delivered along with the newspaper each morning. Sims can use the tabloid to sign up to the Studio Town Talent Agency to join the Fame career track, check star rankings, and read about gossip and rumours about local famous Sims.

The stories that can be read in the tabloid are determined by the actions and behaviour of playable famous Sims. If there aren't enough stories that can be generated about them, a series of generic articles will be shown instead.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, the newspaper is delivered by a Teen, and usually arrives shortly after 7 AM every day. The newspaper can be read for Fun, and also allows Sims to:
 * Find a job (There will be three job listings.)
 * Find a job for a pet
 * Get information about the weather
 * Builds Science enthusiasm in FreeTime
 * Move out by clicking on 'Find Own Place'
 * Do the crossword, which increases Logic.
 * Builds Games enthusiasm in FreeTime
 * Make a paper airplane for fun.
 * Read the Hobby sections unlocked when Sims gain enthusiasm in hobbies
 * Find a roommate

The paper-boy/girl will stop delivering the paper if there are too many on the lot. To get rid of them, Sims can recycle them, or hire a maid. With Open for Business, a CleanBot will vacuum up old newspapers. With Seasons they can also be put in the compost bin. If the newspaper is outdoors, and a Sim who is furious with someone in the household comes past, they may steal the newspaper and run off with it. This may happen even if a Sim is holding—or reading—the paper. In addition, a mean Sim who comes by may steal the paper even if they don't know anyone in the household, or even if they are friends with one of the household members. Players should note that if the thief is interrupted after picking up the paper, the paper will probably still disappear. So, while a SentryBot may react to a Sim who intends to steal a newspaper, it will often be unable to prevent the theft itself. However, the player can use the moveobjects cheat and move the newspaper to an inaccessible location, or move it inside the house. The would-be thief would walk towards it, be unable to get at it, and leave, aborting the theft entirely. Also, if an old newspaper is on the ground near the current newspaper, it might be stolen instead of the current newspaper.

In a college sub-neighborhood, the newspaper is delivered to private houses, but is not delivered to dormitories. If a private house is chartered as a Greek house, the newspaper will continue to be delivered, but it may or may not be delivered to premade Greek houses.

If Sims are sitting down to use a toilet, they may produce a newspaper out of thin air and read it. Interestingly, this counts as a real newspaper when deciding whether or not to deliver the morning newspaper, and it is possible for newspaper delivery to be refused if the Sim's "toilet" newspaper brings the lot's newspaper count above the limit.

If the testing cheats are enabled, the player can shift-click on the newspaper to instantly get any job or career reward.

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3, the newspaper is delivered by a child in the morning everyday at around 8:30am. Sometimes the paper boy/girl will refuse to deliver if there are more than five unrecycled newspapers on the lot. In The Sims 3, the newspaper allows Sims to:
 * Find a job or a profession
 * Check Weekly Events (Chess tournaments, eating contests, etc.)
 * Read (Shows random events such as a nearby family moving away, news of a baby being born, and a death of a Sim).
 * Find Discount Classes.
 * If a Sim has the Frugal trait, they can "Clip Coupons" which offer discounts at the local shops for a limited time.
 * If Late Night is installed, the paper will show hotspots via the interaction "Read".
 * If Pets is installed, a Sim can check for neighborhood adoptions or adopt a pet from the shelter.
 * If Seasons is installed, a Sim can check the weather forecast (though the forecast is somewhat less accurate than the one in the weather channel).

Newspaper delivery can be canceled through the services menu on the phone or mobile phone.