My news sources as of 2023. I plan to update this list.
We live in an age where most news sources cannot be trusted implicitly. If something sounds fishy, it likely is and requires that you do further research. Finding primary sources is not easy and it’s definitely time-consuming, but once you discover the news media is feeding you a narrative and purposely misleading you via language, framing, or exclusion, you’ll understand the necessity of doing the digging yourself.
I believe it similarly important to check with both right and leftwing media. Both have their own perspectives on issues, and
Local News Sources
Oregon Capital Chronicle (https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/) – Free
About Oregon politics with a heavy left-wing bias and not great reporting. I may get initial information from OCC, but I have to verify almost everything from here.
The Statesman-Journal (https://www.statesmanjournal.com/) – Subscribed
Long-time hometown paper owned by Gannett. Mostly moderate on local news; I ignore their national/international stuff. Of variable quality depending on the reporter.
The Oregonian (https://www.oregonlive.com/) – Subscribed
Skews left, though I think a lot of this is a reflection of Portland itself; occasionally has very good articles. I tend use the Oregonian for NW news not national/international.
National/International News Sources
Persuasion (www.persuasion.community) – Used to subscribe; just found that there was a lot of overlap from other news sources
Organization dedicated to social persuasion; big on free speech and free inquiry. Seeks to persuade rather than mock or troll. Essentially a publishing platform for interesting ideas. Comes across to me as centrist (which is where I and I think most of America sit), so I find a lot of value in their approach and their articles.
The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/) – Subscribed
Probably my favorite major publication nowadays, though that’s not to say that I agree with everything they publish. I’ve followed many of their authors for years on Twitter (prior to Musk), so I have a higher degree of faith in their publication than most. I appreciate that they cover a wider range of topics than I’m actually interested in—it helps broaden my perspective and interests (which otherwise would threaten to be pretty insular). Skews hard left according to AllSides, but I tend to find their stuff pretty balanced.
The Free Press (www.thefp.com) – Subscribed
Subscribed mainly for their TGIF weekly news round-up, which offers amusing takes on the week’s news stories. Started by ex-Wall Street Journal reporter.
Quillette (https://quillette.com/) – Used to subscribe
Australian-based publication featuring long-form analysis and commentary. Good, but frequently (for me) too Australia-specific. Also found that the commentary was replicated (for me) from other sources. That said, high quality.
AllSides (https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news)
Useful to me for tracking what’s being pushed by the left or the right and for seeing what misinformation is being reported. Not a news organization per se, but more of a news clearing house. Don’t always agree with their assessment (see The Atlantic), but I still appreciate the assessment.
CNN (www.cnn.com though see also lite.cnn.com for text only)
Get news of major national/international events here, but trust in accuracy is low to medium. If anything sounds fishy, it probably is. On stories I’m following or care about I always will dig deeper for primary sources. Skews left.
The Bulwark+ (https://plus.thebulwark.com/) – Subscribed
“The Bulwark was founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy.” I get a lot of information from this source. I’m subscribed to multiple of their newsletters (I’m not a podcast guy, but they have tons of podcasts as well).
Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/)
Another news aggregator, this one with a technology bent.
BBC News (www.bbc.com/news)
Some international and soccer news from here. Some coverage that US-based sources don’t provide.
MarketWatch (https://www.marketwatch.com/) – Subscribed via DowJones
Economic/business news. Use it mostly as a starting place for articles not the definitive word.
CNET (https://www.cnet.com/news/)
Tech- and sports-centric. Variable quality, but also covers a lot of stuff I’m interested in.
New Scientist (www.newscientist.com) – Not subscribed
I’m only not subscribed because of time and cost. Covers interesting (to me) science-related topics. I use this as a jumping off point for further research.
AlJazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/)
I have very little faith in AlJazeera as a news source, but it helps me see what much of the Middle East thinks (particularly about American foreign policy) and it does have some reporting, however skewed, that can’t be found elsewhere.
Rand (www.rand.org)
Rand is a corporate think tank. Part of the military-industrial complex, so heavily invested in defense-related issues. Rightwing.
NPR (www.npr.org)
Allsides says “leans left” but seems very hard left to me nowadays. Was once a primary news source for me (much like the Washington Post). Now I’ll occasionally check in, but the trust is broken.
The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) – Subscribed
A primary news source. (Opinion section can be wacky though, so I typically avoid that.)
Barron’s (www.barrons.com) – Subscribed
Business and economic news. Part of the DowJones (Wall Street Journal) subscription. Read the occasional article.
Occasionally I check in with the The American Spectator (www.spectator.org) and National Review (www.nationalreview.com), both of which are pretty rightwing. I don’t read their stuff very often, but as my news sources tend more left than right, I find it helpful to see what the other side thinks.
Reddit (www.reddit.com)
Like most social media, Reddit is a cesspool within which you may find an occasional gem. You can find subreddits on virtually any topic (yay!). There are many dopes in them (boo!). By and large I do not use Reddit for news except for about Salem (r/Salem, r/Oregon both skew hard left) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (r/steelers). Both r/fatFIRE and r/FATTravel are interesting because rich people talk about their experiences. There are some music creation/promotion subreddits I like (r/Logic_Studio and r/bandcamp). I do read r/Teslamotors and r/UkrainianConflict somewhat regularly.