Online Alternatives to Mainstream Media (News/Discussion/Debate)

[nvestysly]

Please don't turn this into a political thread or it will be closed in short order.

Perhaps it's because I have more time on my hands than usual (not traveling like usual in our RV), perhaps due to recent social events, I find myself looking on the internet for alternatives to the mainstream media outlets (aka news). I'm curious what other members of E-R.org have found for websites, video podcasts/YouTube channels, etc.

One of my recent favorites comes from England can be found on YouTube: TRIGGERnometry

 

[Gumby]

MODERATOR NOTE -- Post(s) were removed because they contained political opinion and/or political argument. We are a diverse community and discussing politics is not appropriate to this forum. Please feel free to find other sites on the internet if you must share your political views. This forum is not the place for that. All political posts may be deleted or edited with no notice from the moderator team. Repeated attempts to introduce politics into discussions will result in further moderator action, up to and including termination of your account.

 

[RobbieB]

I've always liked BBC

 

[Texas Proud]

Wow, politics did not take long....


I am trying to find a few myself, most of the main ones seem to have an agenda (both left and right)... I would like to find a few that just report the facts...


As mentioned, the BBC seems to do a good job but are not focused on the US itself so there are a lot of stories I would like to find out about that are missing.


Looking forward to seeing if there are any out there...

 

[rodi]

+1 on BBC and also CSPAN. CSPAN is the raw record of hearings and congressional and senate debates. No commentary - just a view of what is happening. (Yes it's political - because it's elected politicians.) You can make up your own mind.

When I lived in Bellingham WA I watched the Canadian (vancouver, BC) news. It was interesting to see a different country's view of happenings in the world. (And their olympic coverage was less soft focus backstory, more actual competitions.)

Youtube and facebook are both sources that I take with a high degree of skepticism. People can post almost anything they want, with little fact checking.

 

[CaptTom]

I use a news aggregator site (Google News in my case, but there are others, such as Yahoo.)

This gives me a list of headlines, usually with multiple news outlets for each. If a story interests me, I'll look at the news outlets and pick one or two to read more. If one is a relatively unbiased source (e.g.; BBC, DW or one of the wire services) I may just read that one. Or I might pick two opposing, biased sources (MSNBC and Fox, for example) so I can see how both sides are spinning the story.

There's a good graphic at mediabiaschart.com which will help figure out where each outlet falls on the spectrum.

I like to think I'm doing a pretty good job of avoiding the "echo chamber" effect where we restrict our sources to only those which support our existing biases.

 

[FlaGator]

RealClearPolitics.com

Provides a cross-section of viewpoints and news. News articles on the left side, opinion/commentary in the middle. Also has links to stories/opinion from other topics-military/international affairs/social issues. Likely to find links to an article from the NYT and National Review on the same page.

 

[RobbieB]

I like BBC online and I also like my local ABC, NBC stuff. Yeah, just regular TV. Five o'clock.

 

[CaliKid]

+1 on BBC and also CSPAN. CSPAN is the raw record of hearings and congressional and senate debates. No commentary - just a view of what is happening. (Yes it's political - because it's elected politicians.) You can make up your own mind.

When I lived in Bellingham WA I watched the Canadian (vancouver, BC) news. It was interesting to see a different country's view of happenings in the world. (And their olympic coverage was less soft focus backstory, more actual competitions.)

Youtube and facebook are both sources that I take with a high degree of skepticism. People can post almost anything they want, with little fact checking.

Agreed with all you say except for Youtube and Facebook I would say to take with a VERY high degree of skepticism. Not a political statement as it's on both sides of the aisle. The stuff people post.... YIKES!

 

[audreyh1]

I have been disconnected from broadcast/cable mainstream media for a long time.

I’ve been reading a lot of stories via the Apple News app, and we have an Apple News Plus subscription which covers several newspapers and news outlets as well as magazines. It acts like a news aggregator. I tend to search on certain topics. It’s been very useful during this pandemic when I am consuming a lot more news. I go directly to sources for some info.

Normality I don’t consume nearly as much news.

 

[Katsmeow]

I do follow mainstream media. I subscribe to two newspapers which I won't mention and do watch news programming on TV.

For ongoing news as it happens, I follow a really use Twitter. You do have to be careful on Twitter to follow someone who is a real person. For breaking events, I focus mostly on people/sources with a blue checkmark as that means their identity is verified. Over time, I basically "know" most of the people I follow. I make an effort to follow some people who don't have my point of view but who I found to be trustworthy in how they report stuff. Honestly, the first thing I do every morning in spend a few minutes scanning twitter. Any major news story will get linked to from there, etc.

When there are specific events going on I may follow people who are related to that event that I may quit following later. So, right now, for example, I follow several epidemiologists. A year ago I didn't follow any.

For in depth not immediate news, I enjoy the Atlantic.

I absolutely get zero news from Facebook or YouTube. I do use both of them, but not for news.

 

[target2019]

I use news.google.com and tailor things a bit where I can. NPR and BBC seem to go into more depth.

Refdesk.com seems like a possibility. The news items tend towards entertainment. I'll have to bounce from there more often.

Facebook and Youtube for news are always questionable. Many subtle things done there. For opinion and pulse, I go to Twitter, and look at trending (Explore) topics. If I sample a few hash tags it confirms what I already know about public opinion today (it's ugly). Twitter's a good sports feed too. You get scores, and can follow your team and cheer and so on.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

PBS New hour at 6pm or 7pm for us. Seems to be the most unbiased, and does not put stuff on because of the ratings.

 

[Dawg52]

I usually pick up news through the internet(no one source) and by occasionally watching the local news. The local news is unbiased and easy to watch. If something major is happening I will tune to a network channel but that's rare.

 

[Aerides]

I don't watch any broadcast or cable news, haven't for years, but then my overall TV consumption is pretty low.

I don't stick to any particular sources, but get most of my news after having selected several journalists to follow on Twitter - from multiple different media sources. And I deliberately picked several that don't match my priors, so I often see a story reported from different angles and come away with different impressions which I find healthy.

And I really like the POTUS channel on Sirius, notably the Press Pool, which I often stream when I'm working out since I'm rarely in the car these days. The host brings on about a dozen different journalists, politicians, etc., discussing topics of the day and stuff, but a wide spectrum of interviews result - it's not a panel just 5 minutes with each, then on to the next.

Some I swipe forward to the next, (actual politicians can rarely break from their pre-planned talking points or be entertaining), and some are highly partisan but that way I hear multiple sides, and sometimes I do get a different perspective.

 

[blueskyk]

I love DW.com (German news site), BBC, and Bangkok Post to see what is happening in the world (and the US!). I rarely watch cable news anymore (who knew outrage was such a growth industry?) and have found this greatly improved my quality of life.

 

[big-papa]

I've found this website to have an interesting take on things. Of course, people being what they are, any individual out there will probably disagree with where they placed one or more media outlets, but recognize that the people who put this together come from across the spectrum.

https://www.adfontesmedia.com/

Cheers

 

[KarlH]

I read the Economist, and follow their website. It has a distinctly international perspective that differs from our normal local coverage. We cut the cable back during the 2008 recession, and haven't had any television news in the house since then. Other than that, most of my news comes through my google feed or listening to NPR in the car (while some may say NPR/PBS trend liberal, I feel they are one of the few new organizations to keep with the Fairness Doctrine following its repeal in the 1980s).

 

[CaptTom]

For ongoing news as it happens, I follow a really use Twitter.

Good one. For truly immediate information, I turn to Twitter, too. I never use it for anything else though. I log on to a site called Twitterfall, which basically gives you a live feed of everything coming across Twitter containing a search term you enter. This way you will pick up people tweeting live from the scene, without having to follow anyone.

I've found this website to have an interesting take on things. Of course, people being what they are, any individual out there will probably disagree with where they placed one or more media outlets, but recognize that the people who put this together come from across the spectrum.

https://www.adfontesmedia.com/

Yes, this is the home of that media bias chart I posted about earlier. The internet being as it is, once the concept became popular the search results for "media bias charg" have become polluted with dozens of imitators, presumably many of whom are trying to push their own biases.

This one, the original, is curated by a team which tries to represent all sides, and has controls in place to minimize their own biases. I find it to be very accurate. If you don't, you may want to broaden your own on-line experience by seeking out sources closer to the middle of the chart.

 

[dixonge]

For a nice summary, minus opinion, I am currently using this daily email service: https://join1440.com/


I no longer use Google News as I am driven mad by politics in general, and they often include *very* sketchy sources in their aggregation. Plus ads.


Having said that, to be honest, what I *really* want is to be this guy, with zero news:


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/style/the-man-who-knew-too-little.html

 

[pacergal]

I rarely watch the news anymore.

I have BBC, NPR, the weather channel apps on my phone that I like, along with local online newspaper.
I do have CNN and USAToday also, but only read them occasionally.

 

[davebarnes]

I read a lot

I go these 50 sites every day.

http://www.metafilter.com MetaFilter | Community Weblog
https://www.military.com/defensetech DefenseTech: Modern Warfare and Weapons | Military.com
https://libya.liveuamap.com Libya live map. Libya civil war news today
https://www.strategypage.com/default.aspx StrategyPage | Military News Humor Photos
https://warontherocks.com War on the Rocks
http://www.thecorner.eu European economic news
https://dolartoday.com DolarToday
https://angrybearblog.com Angry Bear
https://ritholtz.com The Big Picture
https://www.calculatedriskblog.com Calculated Risk
http://econofact.org Econofact
http://www.marginalrevolution.com Marginal Revolution
https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk Mish Talk
http://www.newgeography.com Newgeography.com | Economic, demographic, and political commentary about places
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com Apartment Therapy
http://curbed.com Curbed
http://www.fark.com FARK
http://daringfireball.net Daring Fireball
https://www.loopinsight.com The Loop
http://www.macobserver.com Mac Observer - You’ll get your Mac news here from now on!
http://www.macrumors.com Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About
http://arstechnica.com Ars Technica
https://www.digitimes.com/index.asp DIGITIMES daily IT news
https://www.fastcompany.com/co-design Fast Company | The future of business
https://www.inputmag.com Input
https://mondaynote.com Monday Note
http://thenextweb.com The Next Web - International technology news, business & culture
https://www.theregister.com The Register: Sci/Tech News for the World
https://semiaccurate.com SemiAccurate - On Target Technology News
http://slashdot.org Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters
http://techmeme.com Techmeme
http://www.techdirt.com Techdirt.
http://www.theverge.com The Verge
https://adage.com AdAge
http://www.bicycleretailer.com Bicycle Retailer
http://www.bikerumor.com bikerumor
http://www.boxofficemojo.com Box Office Mojo Movie Report
https://chainstoreage.com Chain Store Age | The leading provider of retail news and analysis
http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi
https://gcaptain.com gCaptain – Maritime News
https://grapecollective.com Grape Collective online wine magazine, wine reviews and recommendations and buy wine online. - Grapecollective.com
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com Hotel News
https://mjbizdaily.com Marijuana Business News | Cannabis Industry Financial & Legal News
https://www.packagingdigest.com Packaging Digest
https://www.potatopro.com/news PotatoPro
https://progressivegrocer.com Progressive Grocer | Grocery & Supermarket Industry News
http://nrn.com Restaurant News
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com Restaurant Business Magazine - Trends, Ideas and News
http://www.rottentomatoes.com ROTTEN TOMATOES Movie Reviews & Previews
https://www.supermarketnews.com Supermarket News

 

[REWahoo]

^ Save the link to this post for a quick answer to the "Whaddya do all day?" question.

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t feel the need for immediate news. Weather I check once or twice a day. They rest of the stuff I don’t care if I find out a day or two later. In fact, I like the news to age a bit, because the reporting quality improves as more info is uncovered and some initial inaccuracies are corrected.

 

[donheff]

For ongoing news as it happens, I follow a really use Twitter. You do have to be careful on Twitter to follow someone who is a real person. For breaking events, I focus mostly on people/sources with a blue checkmark as that means their identity is verified.

Good one. For truly immediate information, I turn to Twitter, too. I never use it for anything else though. I log on to a site called Twitterfall, which basically gives you a live feed of everything coming across Twitter containing a search term you enter. This way you will pick up people tweeting live from the scene, without having to follow anyone.

I rarely look at Twitter since it seems like a firehose of crap. I "follow" a few people but even with that I can't figure out much. Twitterfall looks pretty interesting. Any tips on how to make Twitter or Twitterfall useful?

^ Save the link to this post for a quick answer to the "Whaddya do all day?" question.

Holy s**t. I want to find an easy, quick way to get important stuff.