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Being informed and aware are valuable goals. I’m skeptical that the news industry has such significant deviation in outcomes globally, especially while having

Being informed and aware are valuable goals. I’m skeptical that the news industry has such significant deviation in outcomes globally, especially while having similar business models. I’m genuinely curious: is there a particular news source you’ve found that delivers on evaluating global events/decisions, selecting the most relevant/important ones, and explaining them in an educational/useful manner? The news is in the business of calling attention to things. Whether that attention is informative or useful is not something they take responsibility for. Watch journalists when they are interviewed, they have a familiar line: they are calling attention to an issue - that’s their job - whether or not it is important is up to the reader. When I get caught up in the drama of news I use Journalism 101 to remind myself I’m not actually gaining information in exchange for my attention: A. Is this story about an event that has occurred (or is it speculation or reporting the speculations of others)? B. Is the coverage establishing what occurred with independently verifiable facts? (Extra points if you can then find those verifications easily). C. Does it bring context from people who have been directly effected by that event? D. What did you learn about the nature of that event that you didn’t already know? When I applied basic journalistic standards to my news consumption, it went down precipitously. One can arguably be better informed about what is going on in the world and the decisions that are being made by focusing on building. Builders share what is going on in the world with each other - such as discoveries that can help solve common challenges. They share decisions that can effect their ability to solve problems - like new regulations and laws. Chasing some global perspective that we must constantly keep up-to-date on, that’s the fantasy. Building, as grandparent suggests, is how we engage with the world around us.

ploika 7y ago
This isn't meant as an ad hominem attack but a general moan about moans about the media: not enough people distinguish between news reporting and opinion and analysis pieces. RTE, The Irish Times, The Guardian, The Economist, The Financial Times have fairly good, fairly trustworthy reporting on a wide range of topics. All have their strengths and weaknesses, to be sure, and the selection in an of itself shows my own biases and worldview to an extent. I generally don't want to read through a newspaper and agree with everything in it, because then either the content has been dull to the point of tedium, or I've just created an echo chamber for myself where I learn nothing new and I'm not challenged enough about the downsides of whatever opinion I hold. The Economist has some of the best reporting I've seen on Central Asia, for example, but I often disagree with the more libertarian editorial lines they take on many issues. I'm not nearly as left wing as the Guardian, but they do great work highlighting social injustices that I might otherwise ignore if I'm mainly reading business news.
- sirspacey 7y ago
  Great recommendations all, been a while since I’ve been on the Economist. Thanks for the reply!

ploika 7y ago

This isn't meant as an ad hominem attack but a general moan about moans about the media: not enough people distinguish between news reporting and opinion and analysis pieces. RTE, The Irish Times, The Guardian, The Economist, The Financial Times have fairly good, fairly trustworthy reporting on a wide range of topics. All have their strengths and weaknesses, to be sure, and the selection in an of itself shows my own biases and worldview to an extent. I generally don't want to read through a newspaper and agree with everything in it, because then either the content has been dull to the point of tedium, or I've just created an echo chamber for myself where I learn nothing new and I'm not challenged enough about the downsides of whatever opinion I hold. The Economist has some of the best reporting I've seen on Central Asia, for example, but I often disagree with the more libertarian editorial lines they take on many issues. I'm not nearly as left wing as the Guardian, but they do great work highlighting social injustices that I might otherwise ignore if I'm mainly reading business news.

sirspacey 7y ago
Great recommendations all, been a while since I’ve been on the Economist. Thanks for the reply!