I have used YouTube, Reddit and Mastodon for news related to certain topics. Now I want to be more independent in finding my own news sources. However, there are so many sources on the internet I wouldn’t know where to begin to find them by myself.
Here is a site that rates news sites that may help you pick what sites to follow via RSS. I am sure there are other pages like this if this one doesn’t seem accurate to you. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
Awesome, I’m not the only one sharing this! Such a useful site.
Get an RSS reader! I use NetNewsWire on iOS and Mac but there’s a huge variety out there to choose from. Once you’ve made your choice, you can add RSS feeds from different websites (Reuters, NPR, etc.), so you can have one feed that aggregates articles from all the news sources you’ve selected, or customise different feeds focusing on politics, economics, cars, whatever you want. I can even add in different substacks I’m subscribed to. Once upon a time you could also add your Twitter and Reddit feeds, but with the API shenanigans that’s not available anymore sadly
I dunno if you consider news aggregators separate from social media, but if you do then FARK is still alive and kicking. Pretty good coverage of mainstream news from a huge variety of sources, plus some occasional coverage of the less mainstream stuff (usually mocking it if it’s really out there). Doesn’t have anywhere near the volume of content that social media has, but the quality is typically a lot better.
Do you want information or rage bait?
For information, go to AP and Reuters. Maybe the BBC. That’s what’s left. Everything else is “entertainment “.
BBC and AP are great sources. Newsnation is a newer organization, but they have really good unbiased reporting compared to most stations nowadays.
Here’s some handy charts regarding reporting bias and factual reporting reliability. It’s a very handy site.
I used to use the chart from AdFontes - I preferred its granularity, but they have gone to a login wall. I don’t need more accounts and tracking.
Your information must be my rage bait.
ABC news Australia abc.net.au
CBC NEWS is pretty unbiased IMO.
I almost listed CBC, but most USians would consider CBC to have a liberal bias. Then again, many USians think math has a liberal bias.
What’s USians?
People of the United States. Some take exception to calling them Americans when the entire continent is named “North America”
I’m a fan of associated press personally. They seem to do a decent job at sticking to the facts and not telling you what to think.
I typically have to stick with actual articles because I just can’t stand hearing anchors randomly speculate and interject their opinions. I want facts reported, not to hear your free flow of thoughts I don’t care about…
Watching some of The Hill Rising coverage of UAP stuff just about gave me an aneurysm… Just idiots baselessly blabbering on…
Yes, but what sources? I feel like finding a way to consume things is less difficult than actually choosing sources. It’s so much easier when you are using a link aggregation service that simply feeds you things selected by other users.
Can’t rely on who publishes the article, usually. And cannot read just one thing. Have to rely on the sources cited in the article.
Are they nobodies or are they learned professionals? If they are anonymous, is the author a serious, professional journalist?
Another good place to dig into stories is in court records and legal filings. Cuts through the bullshit.
Now, you’d be out of time if you tried to dig into every story. There is too much going on. Pick a thing you know and care about. Filter not by source but by subject.
For interesting, well-written, and in-depth articles I recommend:
The New Yorker Harper’s (not Harper’s Bazaar) The Atlantic New York Times Magazine
Just roll your own lists, that way you know where exactly the info is coming from, less risk of fake news. Kinda like making your own food at home vs eating out!
I like Axios for news, and News Minimalist which uses LLM to de-sensationalize news articles. Ars Technica for tech stuff.
Feeder is a nice RSS reader that works well for me.
I use Google news but i know it’s feeding me what it thinks i want. For real news i use AP. I like Axios because they give “Go Deeper” or “Why it Matters”.
I’ll check out Axios and News Minimalist.
I’ve used RSS a lot in the past, but what I’ve found is nowadays RSS feeds deliver way, way too much content for me to consume. I do subscribe to the New York Times, which at least gets me major headlines.
Inoreader has a bunch of preconfigured news sources you can subscribe to, and it also lets you add direct RSS feeds for and other sites you want.
Most of mine is gaming, tech, and world news. So things like IGN, Ars Technica, Wired, Verge, Polygon, Rock Paper Shotgun, Slashdot, and feeds to a few subreddits I still keep track of.
Have you conserved going to… their websites? News outlets usually have websites. Some even still offer print.
Another option I use is NPR One- it’s basically a streaming service for the NPR network, including their podcasts. I use it during my commutes into work. (It’s also not just for news. Shortwave is a usually-interesting science podcast.)
the first thing you have to check are owners of said sources and keep that in mind while you’re reading.
in english there is the guardian which uses tags that help with following subjects and it doesn’t belong to a businessman (bezos, murdoch &c). Some of my friends hate their opiniated articles but, for news, they seem to be reliable.
today in focus and science weekly podcasts from theGuardian also are an easy way of approaching actuality while doing mindless tasks
what other languages do you use?
Just english
Consult one of these two media bias charts and this fact check bias chart. Decide for yourself which of those sources you want to follow.
I’d also discourage just picking news from the center. You’ll miss a lot, as understanding the left viewpoint and right viewpoint are important for a holistic picture.
Which sources on the right are not just heavily biased and full of hyperbole?
One of the media bias charts is put together by AllSides, I donate a yearly subscription to them for their website which is great.
Shows all the important news stuff from left, center, and right sources so you can see the headlines and how things are spun, make up your own mind.
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An RSS reader. Most of the popular ones will suggest news for you.
Semafor
Propublica
Slate
Vox
I have used RSS before and didn’t like it felt like I was wasting my time scrolling through I kid you not thousands of news topics just to read through only a couple of them that I found interesting now I use Twitter, YT, and a little bit Lemmy as a news source I don’t care that much about being up-to-date with the latest news I read whenever I feel like it
You could try Morning Brew
For most stories it’ll show you a few different sources for it.
The trick here is to use incognito mode while logged out to avoid being put in a filter bubble.
