I agree that it's not easy. While most major publications in your area have opinion columns and a leaning, I would still read them for the facts they share. Fo

I agree that it's not easy. While most major publications in your area have opinion columns and a leaning, I would still read them for the facts they share. For more local news, I have found a decent strategy. This may sound weird, but I've joined local Facebook communities in my area to track the sources of the articles their members share. If you ignore the pro-/anti- rhetoric in the comment sections, you may find that some of the publications are actually legitimate sources of information about the latest happenings in the community. It doesn't have to be a scandal all the time (it often isn't). Instead, I read about new Covid regulations, about the struggles and successes of local business, about new legislation being tabled by the state government, about elections and their candidates, etc. Most news is surprisingly human and humble. Opinions and partisan publications have made news out to be this incendiary thing whereas, in reality, it's just a bunch of people trying to live their lives and make decisions in a world of little certainty.