What are your thoughts on the journalism in The Atlantic?
Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
71–80 of 320 posts
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#72I think Le Monde Diplomatique could be a good choice
Not sure what it's worth in English but the French version is indeed very good. My only complain is that they are sometimes a bit too complacent with US rivals and competitors.
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#73Perhaps Mother Jones would be an interesting alternative?
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#74What a timely post. My subscription to "The Atlantic" is coming up for renewal in a few months, and I plan to simply let it lapse. That was my last magazine subscription left standing, and 2023 will be the first time in roughly 40 years that I won't be subscripting to any magazines.
The writing has always been center-left, but with introspective tendencies. Articles would generally critique conservative political positions, but thoughtfully in a well-reasoned manner. And they would be just as likely to examine excesses from the cultural left also.
After Trump entered office, the magazine began a rapid descent. Today you find as much "clickbait" in the printed magazine as you do on the web property (they were previously quite distinct). Articles are frequently hyperbolic, and read like Reddit comments on /r/LateStageCapitalism. But most damningly, the REASONING seems to be gone now. It feels like reading a propaganda outlet.
Maybe this is an artifact of emerging authors coming of age during the social media era? Maybe it's a byproduct of print media's financial decline, and pressure to compete with online entertainment? Whatever the case may be, everything feels like a lazy echo chamber now. I dearly miss writing that makes me think.
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#75[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#76I am long-time fun of Economist, but unfortunately the quality decreases. E.g. last issue EU is frozen and claim so many people will die in Europe due to high energy prices. First, I find they did not explain their model well. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Second, the correlation does not imply causation or whether extrapolations are solid. It looks like there might be mistakes on that front an…
Interesting, on Twitter Noah Smith has become a laughing stock. I will say that generally, non-print media like Substack, personal blogs and Twitter can be a much higher quality replacement. Requires a little digging though.
I've found the opposite. Print media publications seem to be higher quality with better editorial review. There are of course exceptions and outstanding blogs out there.
I've seen some reporters go from working at a "big" publisher to Substack and I can tell the difference in their writing. Usually more extreme and alarmist. I chalk it up to less review.
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#77You could look at the LRB (London Review of Books). While obviously it is mostly book reviews there are other essays in there too. The writing is rather literary, which may or may not be a positive, but it is entirely free of clickbait. It's probably the nearest thing to a left-wing equivalent of The Economist.
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#78zerohedge.com? /s
It'd probably be FT for me, they follow a "just the facts" approach mostly.
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#79Could you give examples of how quality has declined? I'm scared if a rag like Jacobin is in the running.
When people say that the quality of a publication has declined they often mean they disagree with things that are published. Many also say that they seek out blogs and other sources that I assume they agree with.
I read these publications because I often disagree with their opinion pieces. It's a value add. Why would I pay to read my own views regurgitated? It's a danger inherent in trying to micromanage and curate a very narrow source of information. You end up only ingesting things that you agree with.
My 2 cents. Sorry for the big edit
Re: Ask HN: Alternatives to The Economist?
#80I find Quillette - https://quillette.com/ very solid, all clear bylines so you can understand the background and perspective of the author.