Newspapers used to be a source of information for Vito.
Options to buy items are hidden in the game code:
00_50_00_0046: Buy a newspaper 00_50_00_0104: Buy AB Press
20_51_01_0005:Talk with the vendor again.
20_51_01_0009:Talk with the vendor at the shopping booth and buy a hamburger.
It is said that the newspaper contains all the information about Empire Bay events, World War 2 changes and even the routes of buses in the city.
Question: Can you buy/read newspapers?
2k answer: I don't think so, because I didn't write any newspaper headlines or articles for you guys to read. You will see NPCs reading them, but you cannot actually "read" them yourself.
Source: 2k forum