Where do you get your news? Maybe you have a specific source you trust above others, or a preferred medium that fits your lifestyle. Or maybe you’re disinterested in keeping up with current events at all, like I was not long ago.
Now I’m interested news and politics. After much exploring, I’ve struck a good balance of sources and programs for my tastes.
For this post I’d like to share my mindset and approach for finding out what’s going on in the world. I have some favorite outlets that I go to for opinion commentary, and a strategy for wading through conflicting journalistic sources for news reporting.
But first it’s important to recognize this distinction: opinion content vs objective news journalism. Some talking heads are purely opinion commentators. Others lean more towards objective reporting. It’s not black and white, and the onus is on the viewer to stop and ask where on this spectrum a particular entity or person falls (and it’s often a dance between fact and opinion).
People all have biases, and I am no exception. I hope that you’ll find some useful things in here even if you don’t share the same point of view that I have.
Who can you trust?
I’ll be honest: I hesitate to share this chart. I disagree with the premise that the legend at the top implies: that far ends of the left/right spectrum are garbage and the safe spot is in neutral center territory. The qualitative horizontal tiers are also subjective, even if I generally agree with this arrangement. But I find it worth sharing because it helps illustrate the bigger problem: all news sources are biased (yes, even those in the middle).
We are all human, with unique backgrounds and experiences that shape our worldviews. No single writer or publication is completely objective. If that’s no problem for you, then it shouldn’t take long for you to find a news source that suits your fancy. But news reporting will always be tinted by the inherent bias of the author and editor. It’s harder to pick a favorite if you want to avoid any biased perspectives.
My solution to this is simple: don’t pick a favorite; diversify your sources of news. Find reporting about events from multiple outlets across the bias spectrum. For example: read articles from CNN, Fox News, and another of your choice about any given news story.
I try to at least skim three or four sources on a story if I’m doing my own research. I pick articles I know that I’ll probably disagree with ideologically just to make sure I’m seeing how things are framed and presented. Of course, I also pick some that are closer to my preferences to be able to compare and contrast.
The easiest way to do this is through news aggregator websites. I use Google News. It organizes digital pieces by subject matter so you can easily find what every major publication has to say about the same topic.
It’s not a perfect solution. If you want to be thorough and get different angles about a story, you’ll need to use multiple pieces of reporting. That might mean reading four articles instead of just one.
Another thing the diagram misses the mark on is that there are countless other news outlets that are smaller and independent. I try to find sources outside of corporate media outlets to read and consume as well. This includes finding journalists (independent or not) to follow on social media.
Personal Picks
I don’t watch TV. I also don’t consume print any media. I read articles online from time to time but I don’t have any specific outlets or opinion writers that I focus on. My preferred channels of opinion-based political and news commentary are Youtube/videos and live audio/podcasts. Here’s the list of my favorite opinion and pundit programs I consume on a regular basis:
TYT: The Young Turks is the predominant progressive independent news network. It started as a radio program out of Cenk Uygur‘s living room and is now a massive network of opinion programs and investigative journalism. I especially like Ana Kasparian and her program No Filter. TYT has live shows and puts much of their segments on Youtube. TYT is funded by viewer memberships on their website.
The David Pakman Show: David Pakman started as an independent political radio host and has grown his show into a large-presence Youtube channel with daily content. I like David because he has a cautious and measured presentation of his information while not shying away from sharing his perspective. He also has a very dry sense of humor. His show is primarily clipped segments on Youtube, however he has recently started live streaming on Twitch. He takes live calls which I’ve had the pleasure to participate in a couple times. David Pakman is funded by viewer memberships on his website.
The Majority Report with Sam Seder: The MR is a daily live radio and Youtube show featuring Sam Seder and regular guest hosts as well as on-mic commentary from his production team. They produce great interview segments with authors and intellectuals and have a light-hearted and jovial sense of humor. I find The Majority Report strikes a decent balance of humor, news commentary, and political punditry. I appreciate that their perspectives are not entirely homogeneous among the usual cast (though they are all fiscally left and socially liberal). MR takes live calls from listeners most days of the week. MR is funded by viewer memberships on their website.
The Michael Brooks Show: Michael Brooks is the regular cohost of The Majority Report. He also produces and hosts his own show, TMBS, that has a special focus on culture, international relations, and theory. He features experts in their fields of study and experience to dig deeper than some of the more fast-paced content on The Majority Report. It’s a more dense show than MR for the better, which means it requires more attention to follow along. It’s a once-a-week live show with segments clipped for Youtube. TMBS is funded by viewer memberships on Patreon.
The Rational National: This program is hosted by David Doel. He’s a Canadian with a special interest in US politics. He also produces content around Canadian and UK politics as well as international affairs. I appreciate his work because he has a somewhat outside perspective being that he’s not a US citizen or resident. David produces Youtube segments and live streams from time to time on Twitch. TRN is funded by viewer memberships on Patreon.
Rising on The Hill: Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti host Rising each day on The Hill. I watch most of their content as clipped segments on Youtube. Krystal and Saagar do a great job of presenting news in a more typical mainstream media format but from a left perspective. Their program is a breath of fresh air amidst the other big media programs that share a relatively conservative, corporate bias. They have a newsletter that I also recommend. Rising is the only non-independent media program I have on my list of favorites presented here.
Content Aggregation
Outside of the programs and methods I’ve outlined here, a fair amount of the content that comes across my radar is found on Reddit and Twitter.
I try to keep a limited following list on Twitter of around 100 accounts. You can find who I follow on my twitter profile. And if you’re interested, I usually retweet noteworthy content from others to signal-boost it. I also follow some of my city’s twitter accounts to stay in the loop locally.
I subscribe to a fair amount of subreddits and get current events information that way as well. I frequently check /r/politics, /r/worldnews, /r/news, and /r/all to find out what others are sharing. I do the same with /r/indianapolis to get more local and state-level news.
Everything shared in this post is relevant as of Fall of 2019, but of course is subject to change.
I hope this write-up was helpful! Information is abundant, but informed people are few and far between. There’s always room to grow.
From my mind to yours,
Quinn
Quinn Out Loud 