Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
#31
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations, an interesting spread! The Washington Post looked fairly good and it has an app for tablets too. Though it looks like I'll never fully remove myself from the UK news for the international bit.
Don't the Americans ever complain about the poor quality news?
Don't the Americans ever complain about the poor quality news?
#33
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 62
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
New York Times is the only serious national paper here. It's elitist/centrist to liberal, in my view, but somewhat right of center in coverage of foreign affairs - i.e. went along with the Bush wars, not much balance on Cuba and Venezuela. Has some good features and investigative reports.
The Wall St. Journal is also national, but obviously a business paper, and far, far right wing on its editorial page (climate deniers). The FT does a pretty good US edition.
The local city papers are all rubbish, even our local Boston Globe has gone to pot since being bought out by the NYT and 'repositioned'.
I used to miss the BBC more, esp. aggressive interviews, but I've come to enjoy NPR reporting for its current affairs and cultural reporting. Favorite NPR shows are On Point (out of Boston), Wait Wait Don't Tell me (humorous news quiz), Fresh Air, Science Friday.... BBC can seem very stodgy in comparison. NPR also carries BBC news.
My students (university) get all their news from Colbert and Stewart. Nobody under 30 reads a newspaper anymore, it seems! Very few students have even heard of NPR - only the foreign students who want some serious news!
The Wall St. Journal is also national, but obviously a business paper, and far, far right wing on its editorial page (climate deniers). The FT does a pretty good US edition.
The local city papers are all rubbish, even our local Boston Globe has gone to pot since being bought out by the NYT and 'repositioned'.
I used to miss the BBC more, esp. aggressive interviews, but I've come to enjoy NPR reporting for its current affairs and cultural reporting. Favorite NPR shows are On Point (out of Boston), Wait Wait Don't Tell me (humorous news quiz), Fresh Air, Science Friday.... BBC can seem very stodgy in comparison. NPR also carries BBC news.
My students (university) get all their news from Colbert and Stewart. Nobody under 30 reads a newspaper anymore, it seems! Very few students have even heard of NPR - only the foreign students who want some serious news!
#37
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
Boiling frogs? Is that what that smell is? :lmao:
TV news is a profit center, which is why it's like a tabloid newspaper. Some of the Sunday newscasts can be pretty good regardless of slant.
I still like the editorial section of a good paper.
Pete
#38
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
You can get an international subscription to Private Eye
#39
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 131
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
New York Times is the only serious national paper here. It's elitist/centrist to liberal, in my view, but somewhat right of center in coverage of foreign affairs - i.e. went along with the Bush wars, not much balance on Cuba and Venezuela. Has some good features and investigative reports.
The Wall St. Journal is also national, but obviously a business paper, and far, far right wing on its editorial page (climate deniers). The FT does a pretty good US edition.
The local city papers are all rubbish, even our local Boston Globe has gone to pot since being bought out by the NYT and 'repositioned'.
I used to miss the BBC more, esp. aggressive interviews, but I've come to enjoy NPR reporting for its current affairs and cultural reporting. Favorite NPR shows are On Point (out of Boston), Wait Wait Don't Tell me (humorous news quiz), Fresh Air, Science Friday.... BBC can seem very stodgy in comparison. NPR also carries BBC news.
My students (university) get all their news from Colbert and Stewart. Nobody under 30 reads a newspaper anymore, it seems! Very few students have even heard of NPR - only the foreign students who want some serious news!
The Wall St. Journal is also national, but obviously a business paper, and far, far right wing on its editorial page (climate deniers). The FT does a pretty good US edition.
The local city papers are all rubbish, even our local Boston Globe has gone to pot since being bought out by the NYT and 'repositioned'.
I used to miss the BBC more, esp. aggressive interviews, but I've come to enjoy NPR reporting for its current affairs and cultural reporting. Favorite NPR shows are On Point (out of Boston), Wait Wait Don't Tell me (humorous news quiz), Fresh Air, Science Friday.... BBC can seem very stodgy in comparison. NPR also carries BBC news.
My students (university) get all their news from Colbert and Stewart. Nobody under 30 reads a newspaper anymore, it seems! Very few students have even heard of NPR - only the foreign students who want some serious news!
#40
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
I would carry on reading the Guardian and the Telegraph -their U.S coverage is generally quite good. If you hit the Guardian website with a US IP address you get a version of their site that is focused towards US progressives/liberals. Mind you the papers here aren't too bad here, though they tend to be a bit dry - the NY Times is pretty good, especially Krugman's blog. Boston Globe is decent enough for the local goings on here in New England. You'll probably be wanting the Washington Post.
I'll put a shout out for http://theweek.com/ . I started reading it back in the UK and the US version launched when I moved over. It's a good accessible way of catching up with the news over here. You should also - as others suggest - watch Colbert and the Daily Show.
One tip with using tablets to read news sites - if you visit a site nowadays using something like an ipad they are desperate to get you to use the news-stand edition. If you visit using a tablet they generally stick up an annoying pop-up ad. You can get round that easily by using a browser like 'atomic' and using the 'identify as' function to fool the site into thinking you are using a normal computer.
I'll put a shout out for http://theweek.com/ . I started reading it back in the UK and the US version launched when I moved over. It's a good accessible way of catching up with the news over here. You should also - as others suggest - watch Colbert and the Daily Show.
One tip with using tablets to read news sites - if you visit a site nowadays using something like an ipad they are desperate to get you to use the news-stand edition. If you visit using a tablet they generally stick up an annoying pop-up ad. You can get round that easily by using a browser like 'atomic' and using the 'identify as' function to fool the site into thinking you are using a normal computer.
#41
I approved this message
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2,425
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
Reactions to this thread:
The level of condescention and superiority towards Americans here is ridiculous, but hardly surprising. Yes in fact, we're all useful idiots who passively consume what the media feeds us in an unquestioning and sheep-like manner. Yes the US press and populace is uniquely blinkered, self-absorbed and ignorant. You've got us pegged. Please.
I love the idea here that NPR, the New York Times and Comedy Central represent heroic, honorable and completely unbiased news sources championing truth and justice where as Fox and the WSJ are dangerously unbalanced, evil radicals who threaten the free world. I'm exaggerating, but that's the vibe I'm getting here. That's terrific.
Reactions to the OP:
Just continue to read the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Times here. That's what I do. And Le Figaro and Le Monde and DW and the Sydney Morning Herald etc, etc. The internet exists.
Like most of the world, the vast majority of American news outlets are almost complete crap. Most Americans would probably agree with that statement. I don't think you'll find too many "free" countries in the world where the press and media are as hated as they are across the political spectrum here in the US. In genral, "the media" gets blamed for a lot of the problems here.
National / international TV news in the US is indeed very shallow and incomplete. To me, CNN, MSNBC and Fox all represent little more than comfort food for their particular political constituencies. Print isn't any better. The level of writing even in major newspapers is often laughable. For domestic print sources, I only really read the NYTimes and the WSJ. They are both well written and offer fairly comprehensive coverage. Radio is basically a wasteland for news and analysis. NPR does some very good in depth coverage, but is hardly unbiased. I read a lot of blogs and a few news magazines as well. Like most people, I triangulate stories through multiple domestic and international sources to figure out what actually going on...
150 years ago, Mark Twain said that he "wouldn't trust a newspaper that didn't loudly proclaim its biases". It's still true today. Just like in the UK, caveat emptor.
The level of condescention and superiority towards Americans here is ridiculous, but hardly surprising. Yes in fact, we're all useful idiots who passively consume what the media feeds us in an unquestioning and sheep-like manner. Yes the US press and populace is uniquely blinkered, self-absorbed and ignorant. You've got us pegged. Please.
I love the idea here that NPR, the New York Times and Comedy Central represent heroic, honorable and completely unbiased news sources championing truth and justice where as Fox and the WSJ are dangerously unbalanced, evil radicals who threaten the free world. I'm exaggerating, but that's the vibe I'm getting here. That's terrific.
Reactions to the OP:
Just continue to read the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Times here. That's what I do. And Le Figaro and Le Monde and DW and the Sydney Morning Herald etc, etc. The internet exists.
Like most of the world, the vast majority of American news outlets are almost complete crap. Most Americans would probably agree with that statement. I don't think you'll find too many "free" countries in the world where the press and media are as hated as they are across the political spectrum here in the US. In genral, "the media" gets blamed for a lot of the problems here.
National / international TV news in the US is indeed very shallow and incomplete. To me, CNN, MSNBC and Fox all represent little more than comfort food for their particular political constituencies. Print isn't any better. The level of writing even in major newspapers is often laughable. For domestic print sources, I only really read the NYTimes and the WSJ. They are both well written and offer fairly comprehensive coverage. Radio is basically a wasteland for news and analysis. NPR does some very good in depth coverage, but is hardly unbiased. I read a lot of blogs and a few news magazines as well. Like most people, I triangulate stories through multiple domestic and international sources to figure out what actually going on...
150 years ago, Mark Twain said that he "wouldn't trust a newspaper that didn't loudly proclaim its biases". It's still true today. Just like in the UK, caveat emptor.
#43
I have a comma problem
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Fox Lake, IL (from Carrickfergus NI)
Posts: 49,598
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
*condescension
#44
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Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 38,865
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
I love the idea here that NPR, the New York Times and Comedy Central represent heroic, honorable and completely unbiased news sources championing truth and justice where as Fox and the WSJ are dangerously unbalanced, evil radicals who threaten the free world. I'm exaggerating...
Ian
#45
Re: Recommendations for good (and balanced) US news organisations?
Another thing you have to realize about the news business in the US is that the vast majority of the "stories" in your local TV news show are paid placements.