<p>I have no trouble at all filtering out the stories I’m not interested in. I read the local city paper every morning and watch the ten o’clock news at night. I check Google news and Real Clear Politics during the day to see what’s up. Occasionally I’ll watch Rachel Maddow because I like her. I wouldn’t have known about the football guy with the imaginary girlfriend if I hadn’t read about it right here on CC. I think the trick is not to have news on all the time. Just because it’s playing all day doesn’t mean you have to watch/listen all day.</p>
<p>Wonder when MSM is gonna start reporting the massive layoff’s & cutback in hours happening because of Obamacare. Thousands of Adjunct Professors are now finding out the rude truth. It’s hitting their wallet hard.</p>
<p>In today’s Journolist society it’s impossible to swallow any media mainstream or alternate. There are always spins, an agenda, a subtext of shaping the discourse, leading the conversation or flooding the zone. Its a choice between the bland and the dishonest. </p>
<p>For under news analysis I read WSJ’s Best of the Web and Mickey Kaus. Other than that headline services and links from interesting blogs (althouse, Volokh, Vox). </p>
<p>Some one said that in an insane world the only sane response was not reading, but re-reading. I have taken to re-reading old newspaper archives. It much easier to integrate the knowledge from decades old news than to get whipsawed by todays instant news narratives. </p>
<p>For the past year and a half we have been told on a near daily basis that the Greek exit is imminent and there will be an agreement to stabilize the Euro real soon. Which is it?</p>
<p>I gave up on TV news about 10 years ago. It’s mostly commentary and hype. My husband watches Bloomberg constantly (IMO - it’s still mostly commentary & hype). I listen to NPR in the am and the afternoon and read the NYT, WJS, CS Monitor and scan CNN.com and a few others. I do seem to be out of touch with things like the football player, honey boo-boo, etc. They are in vaguely my peripheral but I tend to ignore them until they get to the point that it’s all everyone is talking about. </p>
<p>The problem I have is what passes for ‘news’ is really mostly infotainment. And not very complete or accurate information at that because they dole it out in 2 minute sound bites.</p>
<p>Even NPR brought up the made up girl friend story. But they certainly haven’t dwelt on it. I get 90% of my news from NPR, read the NYT on the weekend and get the local rag daily for local news and the funnies.</p>
<p>I don’t find NPR unctuous. I like the fact that the BBC gives us real international news. Locally Brian Lehrer discusses NY and national issues, and Leonard Lopate (who is not as smart as he thinks he is) has interesting interviews and cultural stuff. There are a few NPR personalities that I don’t hear here that I sometimes catch in other states when I’m on the road that I don’t like as well, but I think we have a pretty good mix for news and culture.</p>
<p>They put the guy who was writing political rants in the arts section of the NYT into the opinion section where he clearly wanted to be. You might try the NYT again Sewhappy! I don’t think they are as good as they should be either, but I haven’t found a better paper. There are hardly any that actually cover any news.</p>
<p>Oh and right now we read the Jordan Times daily. :)</p>
<p>We haven’t had tv for quite a few years. I read: huff post, New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair. I read People at my nail salon. All seem pretty mainstream. If someone could recommend some non-mainstream reads, I’d be appreciative. My local independent weekly newspaper seems to be really alternative, but it is really really local.</p>
<p>I was a member of the mainstream media for many years, and I’ve worked in every medium. The downslide started about the time USA Today began publishing small blurbs rather than lengthy stories. It was all the rage. Why bother with disconcerting details and analysis? Shortly afterward, the internet became available for the public and changed our news gathering/consuming forever.</p>
<p>As far as quality goes, there’s also a chicken/egg situation. Are television broadcasts inane because the general public doesn’t have the patience, interest & intelligence to follow complicated issues? Or is the public impatient, uninterested and unintelligent because television news has been taken over by corporations interested in only fluff and selling ad time? I think it’s a little of both.</p>
<p>Before anyone gets going about the content of news broadcasts, let me tell you that every second of local and national news comes under scrutiny by a most egregious creature called a consultant. They are armed with research showing people LIKE hearing about Beyonce and duped football players. These are the same people who know that crime scares yet intrigues viewers. Armed with this information they insist that every crime story is teased and played up with live shots. Night after night.</p>
<p>And while most of the public says they are sickened by the 24 hours news cycle and the feeding frenzy over tragedies such as Newtown, they’re watching. Which furthers the cycle.</p>
<p>I avoid my local news unless there’s imminent weather. I listen to NPR, BBC and read online newspapers such as the NYT, LATimes, the Nation and The Guardian. Love Stewart/Colbert & Maddow, too.</p>
<p>While I don’t claim that NPR is objective 100% of the time, they do cover a wide range of topics in depth. I particularly like the fact that they cover a lot of international situations. NPR’s ‘The World’ is one of my favorite shows and I try to catch their hourly news update as much as possible. To me, it just feels more like real ‘news’ than a lot of other media outlets and a heck of a lot more interesting. They also have some pretty funny shows on the weekend.</p>
<p>People are always surprised when I recommend Vanity Fair as a good source of information. Although the cover often has a ‘show-biz’ type of feel to it, they really cover some interesting topics in great depth.</p>
<p>My husband gets The Economist every week. I really don’t quite understand the appeal. While it covers a broad range of topics, it doesn’t go into much detail and often the articles seem more like opinion pieces to me.</p>
<p>I get most of my news from the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and 2 local newspapers–one is my small town paper, which only comes out once a week. I also watch the PBS NewsHour if I’m cooking dinner at that time. I listen to NPR when I’m in the car–we’ve got two NPR stations in the Boston area and I’ll go back and forth between the two stations. I’ll also listen to a local all-news, weather, and traffic radio station to get updates on weather and traffic. I’m surprised because I often hear some local/state news item on that station that I don’t hear or read anywhere else.</p>
<p>Cannot be sick of something you completely ignore. So, why choosing being sick when you can choose to ignore? I do not care one way or another, if people found their way to grab big $$$ for what they are doing, good for them!! All I am doing is looking for my personal entertainment and sources of information. And frankly, my own life provides both at much more satisfying level for me than any other sources. So, I will stick to it and refuse to be bothered by everything else. Not worth a second of my precious time.</p>
<p>Interesting…I totally believe that. I get really frustrated at time because all people at work seem to be interested in is reality TV shows. These are all BA and Master level professionals and they couldn’t tell you squat about the federal deficit but they know every detail about Honey-Boo-Boo and the Swamp People reality show. When I mention Downton Abbey, Breaking Bad or Mad Men, they look at me like I have two heads.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP - totally agree - that’s why I don’t even bother turning the news on. Nice thing about print/internet media is you can pick and choose what to read.</p>
<p>Was an ardent NPR listener for many years and then I felt as if listening to it was morphing me into a smug enviro recycler Birkenstock clad bald guy buying edamame and craft beer! Just too smug in tone for me </p>
<p>Am thinking of just getting the Sunday NY Times - along with 6-day WSJ and 7-day NJ Star Ledger. Too much paper to recycle! </p>
<p>DH loves The Atlantic. </p>
<p>We also like The Economist which gives good weekly coverage.</p>
<p>WSJ and NY Times online. Though I live in LA, I can not stomach the LA Times. I also read Corriere della Sera and read the BBC online news. Network television…eeewwwwww, with the exception of Frontline and Nova right now even our local PBS is wanting. I am wondering what “mainstream media” means. HBO is mainstream, but I really enjoy a lot of their programming, both drama and documentaries.</p>
<p>And the Manti T’eo story. It has legs because the more you find out the stranger it gets. Besides, it involves so many hot topics…the media, sports, the cult of celebrity, sexuality, and social networking.</p>
<p>I like Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow. Do I think they’re unbiased? Heck no but I think they’re entertaining.</p>
<p>I like reading BBC and BBC Mundo.</p>
<p>Love Colbert. </p>
<p>I lost all faith in the news when my uncle starting working in the mainstream media. Just killed it for me because it opened my eyes to how much of an agenda most reporters have (I was young before this so it wasn’t a recent discovery).</p>
<p>“If someone could recommend some non-mainstream reads, I’d be appreciative.”</p>
<p>I don’t know if I would consider this non-mainstream but I read Rolling Stone. Matt Taibbi does a lot of indepth, investigative reporting. </p>
<p>I’m also a huge NPR listener, always on in the car,. and I read the NYT on line every day. I don’t watch anything where there is a panel and a bunch of people interrupting each other to get in their sides “talking point” of the day.</p>
<p>I rely on the internet for news and don’t get anything in print any longer. I much prefer it to print. The only radio I listen to is NPR and local public radio affiliate college music station. I also frequent Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Huffington Post, The Nation and Wonkette. I watch Maddow a few times a week but mainly read her stuff on Facebook. I use Facebook a lot for updates from places like Freedom From Religion Foundation, Above the Law and Deadspin.</p>