The News
The other day I realized that my mom and dad watch the news a lot (on tv). Before work, while making dinner and in the evening. They also read the local paper daily.
We don’t have cable and I don’t get a newspaper delivered. I actually tend to get most of my “breaking news” on Twitter and read about things happening in real time before most even know about it (perk of staying up super late?). While I know of things happening, I don’t always fully grasp a lot of world news. I want to be better about it but I don’t really know where to start (or where to get unbiased information).
How are you informed of current events? Do you subscribe to larger media outlets? Do you depend on social media?
A Consideration
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Comments (32)
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Chris, that’s how I feel most of the time too. While I don’t want to be in denial (that horrible things are happening), I tend to focus on reading books or about my craft as well.
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I agree totally, Chris! I don’t read the news, it’s too much of a time suck and happyness suck to me!
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My favorite source of news is the International Herald Tribune online. It’s an off-shoot of the New York Times but focuses more on international news than domestic. When I lived in Germany, they were very aware of what was going on in the world and I realized how little I actually knew about life outside of my bubble. It’s eye-opening and the articles are very well-written.
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Some great places to start to stay informed with news are email newsletters. It sounds old school, but it’s nice to have something delivered to you instead of you having to track it down.
If I only had to subscribe to one, I’d recommended Evening Edition (http://evening-edition.com). The Slatest is also good (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest.html) and Next Draft mixes in some quirky stuff too (http://nextdraft.com).
I also subscribe to NPR’s 7AM news podcast and bookend it with Evening Edition’s podcast.
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I never really thought about subscribing that way! Thanks for sharing your favorites. I need to start listening to podcasts more (I go in spurts).
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I used to read the NYT and WSJ every morning, along with some small regional Middle East papers, back in college. Oh those were the days – when all I did was read the news, read academic papers, and read read read some more. Nowadays I’m kind of ashamed to admit I rarely ever read, listen to, or watch the news. I keep on top of the big stuff with The Skimm. (Referral link: http://www.theskimm.com/?r=13XAX) I have to stay up to date on local criminal/legal related news for work, so I usually do a quick read through of the Dispatch online a couple times a week.
I do think it’s important to know what’s going on in the world beyond Miley Cyrus’ twerkfest, but it’s hard to stay on top of and overall it can be an exhausting and depressing look at what else is going on.
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Ah the good old days in college when we had time (but we thought we were so busy). And I totally agree about keeping up to date beyond stupid stuff. It can be difficult to digest but I never want to be uninformed.
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I too get most of my news from social media or my work email’s homepage, and my husband likes to have news on in the morning/before dinner. Have you heard of The Skimm (http://www.theskimm.com/)? They send a daily email with the top news (and pop culture) stories broken down in an easy-to-digest way. I find it to be very useful!
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I used to feel really uninformed, but I started listening to NPR on my morning commute to work and it’s honestly changed my life in such a positive way. It’s nice to ease in to the day with that, opposed to loud music (most days), and it’s great going into the day knowing that I have things to talk about if I need to – like, “oh did you hear about this…” I also love that NPR talks about news and current events, but they also have fun segments like cooking or personal stories, etc. so it never gets boring!
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NPR is wonderful. I mentioned it in another comment but I always forget to listen to podcasts and I need to do start again. Thanks for reminding me!
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While I am home for the summer I watch the news every day, while I’m at school… well I haven’t come up with a system for that yet. My roommate and I don’t have a TV, so I’ve been relying on checking the new online, but I haven’t found a site I love yet.
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Yeah I haven’t had cable much throughout my adult like but I find the bigger news outlets too biased for my taste. Online or podcasts seems like up my alley!
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I agree with Allie and Jess, I love the Skimm. It’s a great summary I read in the morning. If a topic piques my interest, I can follow their link to read an in depth article on it. You can’t exactly get all the world news in a short email, but it’s a great start to keep my from being completely ignorant of what’s going on in the world. Good luck with your quest to be more informed!
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My dad is a news junkie and his roots in media started as a photojournalist — in fact, his first job in the news world was at The Dispatch as the youngest photographer on their staff.
That being said, I grew up in a news-heavy environment, but after I had my first son two years ago, postpartum threw me for a loop and I’ve had to become very vigilant about the content I allow into my head and heart. My brain would take news stories or even movies seeped in fantasy and turn them into horrible graphic nightmares that always involved my little ones…I couldn’t take it anymore, so I’ve let go of keeping up on the “news” all together. My hubby watches CNN and reads some online newspapers while he is at work and informs me of the things I truly need to know. It works for our family and I’ll be honest — I haven’t missed the opinion saturated reporting on all the dark things happening in our world. I’m not unaware or in the dark, but I choose to focus on what is true, good, noble, praiseworthy…and I know my emotions and thought-life are better for it!
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That’s so amazing about your dad!! I agree with you though – I don’t like supporting all the dark stories and awful reporting these days. I do want to know more about world affairs in general and it sounds like The Skimm (email subscription) will be a good choice for me.
But overall, I do think I’m making the world a better place when I focus on learning about my craft, history or more lifestyle pieces online.
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As someone coming from a print journalism background, I’ve never been a very big fan of broadcast news. I don’t currently have a newspaper delivered but I’d say about half of my Twitter feed is news-related, as well as my Tumblr feed and email inbox. My peer group is also very journalism centered so I feel like I’m just so engrained in that culture.
I’ve really loved to see the role Twitter has played in the news world. It’s definitely been a tool that’s been used spectacularly but also abused. But overall I think the most important thing when it comes to digesting world and local news is that we’re exposing ourselves to more than one news source and point of view. And Twitter is a great way to get a little taste of everything.
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I definitely agree about Twitter. I’ve seen many instances where it’s abused or taken as an absolute truth. I do think my feed tends to be one sided though. I’m excited to try The Skimm as many have suggested I subscribe!
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please i have the exact same problem. no tv, no newspaper. i’m taking a peace studies and a comparative government class in high school right now and this semester’s main goal (besides learning how to drive, applying to college and perfecting my vertical for synchronized swimming, oh my!) is to read the newspaper and inform myself about everything that’s going on!
you have such a wonderful and truthful blog, allie:)-
Aw thank you Giulia! And synchronized swimming sounds amazing :) I hope we both can stay more informed. Let me know if you have any luck!!
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My husband always read about the news on websites. So, I get informed through him.
My mom’s main source for news used to be the radio -being a seamstress, she’d listen to radios all day long, while working.Now, you don’t have cable??? You’re the second person I hear saying that this week. I don’t think I could live without cable (and not for news, but for series -I’d hate to wait until the next day to see them, like Game of Thrones).
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I definitely stay informed via my husband as well. He reads a lot of non-fiction for me in general and gives me the recap haha.
Yes! No cable. Saves a ton of money but I actually watch more tv now that we don’t have it. I don’t like my schedule to be wrapped up in watching shows anyways so I avoid Twitter for spoilers. Or I want until a show is completely over until I watch it haha. I’m usually late to jump on the bandwagon on popular shows :)
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Lisa V
you sound like me! No cable, newspaper, etc…and I hardly ever watch the news. I might occasionally have the morning news on while I’m eating breakfast…or the late night news while I’m working on my computer (you know, in the background). Otherwise I mostly catch things that are happening via social media.
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I’m definitely going to take advantage of the fact that I can listen to NPR or podcasts while I draw or design. I can’t listen to anyone talk while I write emails or blogs though. Too distracting and I start typing what they’re saying haha.
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I second (actually it looks like I’m a lot farther down the line!) the recommendation of The Skimm! I’m kind of obsessed with it. It’s the kind of thing that I read and frequently laugh out loud at and then have to tell other people about what was said. And I’m also more informed about world news, which is a plus :)
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Love your design work. The lettering you did for the cover image is great! What kind of method did you use to produce it? Looks like a specific pen??
Chris
That’s a great point. My parents have it on a lot too, but I can’t stand watching it. The news generally reports on things that are just going to make me sad or upset about things. Wars here, murders there, bad accident over there, and more nonsense in the government from all sides. I try to check in on a news site once a day or so just to get a general idea but after that I go back to designtaxi or tuts plus if I’m wanting to read/learn.
Basically I’d rather learn and master my craft over being depressed.