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

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

#141

Post by ljw1001 »

kristopolous wrote: post #90
ljw1001 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why we can't have nice things. Like democracy. But I also have to limit my exposure to political news. Otherwise I get too depressed.

Democracy is achieved through active participation in building and maintaining institutions exercising power, not in passively consuming broadcasted editorial content. It's depressing because consuming content in isolation doesn't materially affect anything. You can't watch your way to political action. It's empty and everyone knows it. Donate money to causes you care about, attend meetings, help organize things, exe…

It wouldn't hurt to have some idea of what's going on, though. Ignoring politics entirely isn't likely to lead to political action.

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

#142

Post by ljw1001 »

highhedgehog wrote: post #71
ljw1001 wrote: post #70

Trying to understand politics by watching the Web stream go flowing by is pointless. You need high-quality, big picture stuff that requires effort to produce and consume. In the US, the NYTimes and the Washington Post are the best sources. To ensure you're exposure is 'fair and balanced' I would add the Economist for a more conservative, but not xenophobic or straight-up nonsensical viewpoint. It has the nice additio…

What about Wall Street Journal?

Great news content. Very rupert-murdoch-driven editorial bias

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

#143

Post by ai_ia »

simonsarris wrote: post #126

Quit news. Quit politics. Don't have a "media diet." Make stuff and try to be around people who make stuff instead. To lay a single cobblestone path is to have more virtue than a million hot takes. Most causes are not thought-out enough to advocate, certainly not to scream about. The cobblestone path may outlive you. Politics and news, for all of their rage and sense of urgency, turn with the leaves. If you want to d…

> Most causes are not thought-out enough to advocate, certainly not to scream about.

I agree 100 %.

Your comment reminds me of these two comics : [1] & [2] which I love and revisit from time to time.

1: https://zenpencils.com/comic/50-neil-gaiman-make-good-art/

2: https://zenpencils.com/comic/119-john-green-make-gifts-for-p...

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

#145

Post by ljw1001 »

omarhaneef wrote: post #138

There was this study a while ago about how readers stuck to the bubbles they knew. So conservative readers read Drudge Report, and Liberals read Huffington Post. However, there was one news source that their network analysis had found to be read widely by both conservatives and liberals: the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. I don't know if this is still true, but its worth a browse. Other than that, I agree with the sentim…

i guess I'm a moderate then, because I wouldn't waste my time with either Drudge or Huff-post. The latter i've found amusing at times in a Yeah-I-Hate-That-Too kinda way, but you just can't take it seriously.

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

#146

Post by RookyNumbas »

peteforde wrote: post #101
kristopolous wrote: post #28

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 conve…

Yes, empathetic 1:1 conversation is critical, and yes you can have a huge impact on those around you. But this has nothing to do with keeping up to date with news. Facts will not change your racist uncle's opinion. 99% of the news you consume will have absolutely 0 effect on your ability to convince others to be better.

Develop a vision for your life. Become an expert in topics that are important to you. Read good books, befriend interesting people, and focus on problems where you can make a large difference, and inspire others to do so as well. Daily news plays no role in this.

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

#147

Post by ljw1001 »

pio42 wrote: post #117

I really like the french newspaper "Le Monde Diplomatique". https://mondediplo.com/ It has an english version. I'm actually reading it in french. It's a well documented monthly newspaper. Articles aren't here to create some bullshit buzz, but deep articles on many subjects mostly politic, economic, geo politics but ther topics are covered (internet, healthcare, ...)

Yeah I used to struggle through Le Monde in French. It was eye-opening to get a very different perspective on everything: art and culture as well as politics.

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

#148

Post by johnwheeler »

simonsarris wrote: post #126

Quit news. Quit politics. Don't have a "media diet." Make stuff and try to be around people who make stuff instead. To lay a single cobblestone path is to have more virtue than a million hot takes. Most causes are not thought-out enough to advocate, certainly not to scream about. The cobblestone path may outlive you. Politics and news, for all of their rage and sense of urgency, turn with the leaves. If you want to d…

Sage advice

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

#149

Post by Dirlewanger »

vwpolo3 wrote: post #68

The problem is that online news sources are (almost) all the same - low budget, second tier silos of mostly trainee journalists. They have an emphasis on clicks and outrage and constant updates to keep you engaged and are a secondary (or tertiary) driver of revenue. The only exception I know of are The New York Times and maybe The Intercept. My tip is to read a (or more) actual (read: printed) newspapers: - they are…

The Intercept started out strong, but has also devolved into reactionary clickbait-y crap as of late (also hosts pieces written by unrepentant race-baiters like Shaun King). Really sad as I used to like them.

It seems those with hard paywalls that don't have to rely on clickbait-y headlines are able to have a bit more integrity (who would have known?!). Foreign Affairs is generally pretty good for actual analysis on world events (it's politics, yes, but they are good at what they do).

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

#150

Post by alkank »

I read The Economist. Reasons and benefits I have seen so far are:

1. It's weekly. "World this week" section is more than enough to have a summary of what has happened throughout the globe and I can get this information in less than 5 minutes. If you are interested in being more up-to-date, you can also try Economist Espresso, which is daily.

2. It's not only about world news, but also has different sections such as Technology, International, Book & Arts which gives me a wider range of topics to digest on a weekly basis.

3. This is, in my opinion, the most important bit: Because I'm digesting a wider array of topics but only spending an hour or two every week, I have observed a surprising benefit on human relationships as well:

Kick-starting a conversation with a person I don't know.

As a not-so-social person I have always struggled finding a topic to chat about with a person I have met recently. Now, first thing I do is to ask this person where he/she is from, or what their hobbies are, and all of a sudden I make a connection with an article I have recently read on the magazine and try to learn more from that person. This is a wonderful way of building a relationship as well as learning quite interesting facts about the culture or the hobbies of that person.

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