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Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

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101–110 of 275 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#101

I try to avoid it. It's too much of a time sink and there's almost zero pieces of actionable information. I know it's offensive to claim it's merely entertainment but in concrete terms there's no material difference resulting from tuning into daily banter that's any different than watching some serial drama on television.

I understand why you'd reach this conclusion. I would like to offer another viewpoint for you and others reading this to consider.

Simply put, you are underestimating the impact you have on those around you. Every media literate and well-informed critical thinker has the ability to dramatically change someone's perspective. Not just by knowing what to say, but even more importantly how to listen.

Empathetic 1:1 conversation that is respectful is literally the only way to help people escape their bubbles. If you don't know wtf you're talking about, you're missing every shot you don't take.

Essentially, this would be fine if you lived alone, but in reality when you insulate yourself from politics you're just setting yourself up for frustrating moments where you know that your racist uncle is wrong but you have neither the facts nor the confidence to address his ignorant points in a way that doesn't just boil over into hurt feelings.

In short: this attitude taken to the extreme is an abdication of social responsibility. Much like herd immunity, you don't need to be a hero... just not part of the problem.

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#102
BBC and guardian for international news, then tons of local sites and Twitter for local news, Ars Technica and verge for general tech news and Gsmarena, phonearena and gizchina for Android/mobile news

i narrowed my interests since I lack time, previously used to read about architecture/buildings and science sites, but it's just too much information and if there is something really important it will go to regular news sites, otherwise it's just stuff with application in years/decades, which I don't care

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#103

Reuters ( https://www.reuters.com/ ) is currently my favorite news source. No paywall. Relatively fast loading, not too annoying site. They're heavy on news, light on opinion, agenda and propaganda. They generally cover anything of consequence globally.

They are also my go-to for intra-day news.

I use Economist for longer-cycle opinion and news.

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#104
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly allowing themselves to be led around by unnamed "sources". Laura Kuenssberg's Twitter feed was particularly bad. Reporting on advance postal votes: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/11/bbc-denies-pol... Misreporting a punch, contradicted almost immediately by video: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/10/photo-... The official BBC line is that these are "mistakes", although they all see…

> Subjecting everyone except Johnson to interview by Andrew Neil The BBC doesn’t have the power to subject people to interview by force. If he declines an interview which he is not obligated to give what should they have done?

Either:

(a) not announce "interviewing all the leaders" until all the leaders were confirmed. This could be a competence rather than a bias issue; wasn't it Fyre Festival who were announcing acts who they hadn't booked to perform?

(b) empty-chair him

(c) given that Gove and Stanley Johnson (who has no formal position in the party, he's just Johnson's father and now a minor celebrity) turned up to protest outside, they should have been challenged instead

(also, "someone who already edits a partisan political magazine" should be disqualified from senior BBC positions if you're pretending to be impartial)

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#105
post #88

I watch CGTN, while it's definitely pro china, I still find it to be by far the most valuable news television. It focuses on Africa and Asia, which I otherwise hear very little about. The value of the news for me is mostly not whatever the news is, but the facts surrounding the news. For example when they covered the election in Senegal, I learned a ton about Senegal as a result. The news about the election was not t…

> I’m really ignorant regarding most issues outside of the west.

I agree. We kinda are. That's why is nice to read all these alternative sources. You don't have to agree with them, but at least you'll ask yourself more questions. Thanks for the link and the advice. I'll definitely watch some CGTN.

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#106
post #48
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

trying to think of a lazier, more harmful analysis than this both-sides bullshit but I've got nothing

Do those on the right say Fox News is biased?

Regardless of political affiliation, intelligent people realize that every source has a bias and usually an agenda.

Other people think anything that they disagree with is "biased" and accept only information that confirms what they already believe.

To answer your question: do those on the right say Fox News is biased? Some do, some don't.

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#107

I try to avoid it. It's too much of a time sink and there's almost zero pieces of actionable information. I know it's offensive to claim it's merely entertainment but in concrete terms there's no material difference resulting from tuning into daily banter that's any different than watching some serial drama on television.

I came here to say something similar. At least with watching some TV shows or movies, you’re more likely to get de-stressed and/or entertained. News is usually the opposite, creating more frustration, tension and stress about things where you may not be able to do much to help. Whatever is called “news” in today’s world is more of sensational, controversial and divisive stuff. Anything to create an addiction and keep people coming back and arguing is what it’s turned into.

It’s good and also useful sometimes to know what’s happening around, but obsessing with keeping up with news everyday is a huge drain.

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#108
post #15

After finally cutting myself off of Twitter, my main source for news has been the Wikipedia current events portal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events It's as close as can possibly be to unbiased, only lists significant events, and it covers world news rather than only focusing on America. My secondary sources are reddit's /r/OutOfTheLoop, and the chyrons I see whenever I happen to walk by a TV that i…

why leaving Twitter? i just joined months ago after ignoring it for years, but yeah most of the content is just time waster besides local police, firemen and transport authority

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#109
post #22

The BBC has a wide range of podcasts (available internationally), including ones about geopolitics and science. Due to the nature of the medium and the BBC's generally more serious and composed disposition these podcasts tend to be about actually relevant information rather than the outrage-inducing, largely irrelevant rubbish commonly fed by "Now ... this" media.

I'd advise steering clear of anything related to UK politics published by the BBC. There's been a clear pro-right trend for a number of years evident most clearly during the most recent election and Scotland's independence referendum of 2014.

This just doesn’t seem to add up to me. You think that the BBC, based in London, the absolute epitome of the middle-class metropolitan liberal media Oxbridge elite, founded on a socialist principle of media provided by the state, an organisation that helped to pioneer left-wing satire, home of the News Quiz, a broadcaster that commissions programmes for Mark Steel, Marcus Brigstocke, the late Jeremy Hardy, is actually right-wing?

Re: Ask HN: What are your news sources other than HN?

#110
post #61

I try to avoid it. It's too much of a time sink and there's almost zero pieces of actionable information. I know it's offensive to claim it's merely entertainment but in concrete terms there's no material difference resulting from tuning into daily banter that's any different than watching some serial drama on television.

> there's almost zero pieces of actionable information. I don't agree with this. The news is filled with actionable information. If nothing more than constant reporting of problems, many of which could be solved with new businesses - there is value in knowing about that if only to be better positioned to start businesses. The world is full of people in pain, and often the news reports on that. That is actionable info…

Sure, if you approach it with a problem-solving mindset, you can ignore the content and the noise and the inaccuracies of the news, and dig into an issue to be addressed that underlies the story.

But there's only so much thing you can act on at any given moment, and actions take a lot of time. In particular, you can execute one, two business ideas at a time; perhaps three if you're Elon Musk. So once you're engaged in action, what's the point of following the news? You aren't going to act on anything else for the next couple years anyway.

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