A few months ago, I mentioned to a member of my family that I liked to read the New York Times.
"Ah," he said. "All the news that's not fit to print."
"Actually, it's pretty good," I said.
"Well, I like Fox News."
If I had had my "politeness filter" on, I would not have made the noise that I did, which sounded a little bit too much like a derisive chortle. Oops.
I am not overly selective of the news I read, just because I tend to read an awful lot of it. Each news source has its own biases and strengths and weaknesses, and if you read just say, BBC, or only The Deseret News you will have an incomplete picture of what is going on in the world. I have a list of things I read every morning when my kid wakes me up around 6:30 or 7.
Sadly, I have found that a lot of the popular news sources in America are lacking in actual news. I don't want to read about celebrity breakups. A turkey who has turned to ride on a tractor does not count as news. And of the stuff that is news, a lot of it tends to be alarmist, reactionary stuff that has no purpose other than to convince people that the Libyan rebels are in league with Al-Qaeda or that the President was actually born in a spaceship in orbit around one of Jupiter's moons. CNN is a major offender in this regard. ABC news is about the same. As for Fox News? *derisive chortle.*
Here is what I like to read and why:
New York Times
Strengths: Decent international news coverage, excellent recipes (I LOVE Mark Bittman), the op-ed writers are pretty intelligent and with a few exceptions seem pretty moderate.
Weaknesses: Still an Establishment news agency; while they don't hesitate to criticize congress and the President, there are some issues (like the Patriot Act) they refuse to touch. Wimps.
BBC
Strengths: Excellent international news coverage, objective perspective on American politics, better coverage of science/ technology news than most, if a former Doctor Who actor dies you can bet the obit will make the front page.
Weaknesses: BBC has a penchant for running stories about dogs adopting baby tigers and seagulls who steal packages of potato chips. Objectivity does not extend to the politics of the UK or Europe.
Wall Street Journal
Strengths: They don't just cover business news.
Weaknesses: You have to shell out money to read the majority of their articles
Deseret News
Strengths: Local news; they run a lot of articles on Mormon issues that concern me; Daniel Petersen, one of my personal heroes, as a regular column; a woman in my ward writes for them
Weaknesses: the regular Middle East correspondent doesn't even pretend to have an objective opinion on the Israel/ Palestine question (he is rabidly pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian), and therefore has no business writing about Muslim issues. Every time I read anything he has written I start shooting lasers out of my eyes in rage. Also Deseret News is a little heavy on BYU sports. Snore.
The Daily Herald
Strengths: Ultra Local news. This news source tells me what time parades are, and about city government.
Weaknesses: The writers tend to be overly colloquial in their style. It's definitely not the most professional writing you'll ever read. They run a lot of weird "special interest" stories, usually about the winners of a cherry pit spitting contest (this made the top five headlines yesterday).
Slashdot.org
Strengths: I live with a nerd, so I have to keep up with the nerd news. A lot of important social issues come up on slashdot that would never make it to more traditional news sources. The comment moderation system makes reader comments at times just as insightful and interesting as the articles, although they do tend to be, shall we say, "salty" in character. The articles I think are interesting are not necessarily the ones my Nerd Husband thinks are interesting.
Weaknesses: Slashdot focuses almost entirely on science and technology news.
Every so often I'll branch out and visit Al-Jazeera or the Atlantic or the Houston Chronicle. I'm not super hooked on the latter - too much "pop news" for my taste. Al-Jazeera is exceedingly unobjective when it comes to Middle East issues (no surprise there), and it has a tendency to suck me in and make me lose all objectivity. As for the Atlantic, it is more of a magazine than a news source, but I still like it.
I'm sure some of you will have noticed that I purposely left the Salt Lake Tribune off my list. With objectivity as my watchword, why would I do that? I will tell you. In the Tribune's desperation to distance themselves from Greater Mormon Utah, they make a point to run a lot of anti-Mormon material. That's not being objective. That's just being mean.
What news sources do you guys read?
Three Books About Brigham Young, Plus One
46 minutes ago
Two things about slashdot.org:
ReplyDelete1. It is a news aggregation site that is built around discussion instead of news stories
2. You have to take any headline or summary with a grain of salt. Expect the discussion to clear up the facts better because the summaries are frequently biased.
Google News.
ReplyDeleteRSS feeds to other sites.
I dropped off the Slashdot bandwagon years ago, and honestly don't miss it. I've found Ars Technica and DailyTech to fill in satisfactorily.
I love Ars. DailyTech is kind of weak in their reporting, even considering they're merely repeating what others are reporting. Still, DailyTech has an interesting range of subjects I enjoy.
I should add that Ars discussions are generally good. They have had some of the more banal commenters come in over the years, but they still have some good discussions.
ReplyDeleteAvram has introduced me to the BBC - I usually go there first (for a different kind of bias on America - one that's easier to see). I always enjoyed reading the Daily Universe when I did (very intermittently) although that was really more for entertainment then news, speaking of informal style and mediocre sources and whatnot. Of course, it is a college newspaper.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not really a news person, and never have been. Back when I liked to be witty, I used to say that I liked to read my news in the history books, which is still basically true. And anything about the middle east - I'd say don't get me started, but you understand. Speaking of, you should check out this link - it's an interview with Avram's Relief Society President in Jerusalem - she's Palestinian.
http://www.mormonwomen.com/2010/11/17/peace-through-conflict/
@Thora
ReplyDeleteThat was an amazing interview. I think most Mormons I know should read that - too many of us have misinformation or incorrect preconceptions on what's really going on over there. Repeat after me: "Israeli does not mean 'House of Israel'"
I read whatever pops up on google news, but I usually find the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to be most well written and reputable. I am also a Slashdot junkie, just to see what is happening in the tech world.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on the Salt Lake Tribune, drives me nuts. Channel 2 is the same way. I enjoy reading and receiving my news from a lot of sources, and sometimes even new sources that are somewhat biased will still occasionally have interesting or good stories. You have to learn to use your own filter when taking in any part of news media. I can appreciate a good, balanced story when I see one, no matter who published it.
ReplyDeleteAs a broadcast journalism graduate and radio junkie, I have to say I enjoy listening to talk radio. Especially as a stay-at-home mom, it is nice to listen to something intelligent while I'm cleaning the kitchen. KSL Radio (news and Doug Wright), NPR (sometimes), sometimes the conservative hosts if I can take them that day (i.e. Glenn Beck etc.). I also enjoy reading magazines like Reader's Digest and National Geographic.
Oh, how I miss Doug Wright. A reasonable local radio persona aired at a time I was often in the car. Here in Atlanta the local radio persona aired at a time I'm often in the car is bigoted and idiotic.
ReplyDelete