Sick of the MSM? Share your alternatives here!!

So I'm a news junkie. It's almost an unhealthy addiction. For the last two years I've probably spent upwards of 4+ hours a day scouring the net for current events. I love it. Can't get enough of it. It wasn't always that way. In times past I've been completely oblivious to the happenings of the world, completely in the dark, except maybe some local news here and there, like many Americans.

What really piqued my interest was this current election cycle. In following my preferred candidate I'd read or watch pretty much any MSM source, FOX, CNN, MSNBC, NYT, WaPo, etc., etc. I've come to understand that if you want to be truly informed, good luck getting it from old media because journalism is pretty much dead in this country. Blatant lies, opinion dressed up as fact, regurgitated articles from news wires without any fact checking or further investigation, propaganda, blackouts, celebrity gossip as front page news, misspellings and grammatical errors; this is what passes for journalism these days. It's disgusting and I've just about had enough.

I no longer watch TV news and am about to give up old media all together. Problem is I need my fix. I don't want to go back to living in the dark. In this day and age an uninformed populous is more dangerous than any corrupted hierarchy. I get a lot of info here at ATS, but many of those threads are linked to mainstream sources. I'm interested in finding some good alternatives. Maybe real journalism isn't dead after all?

So if you've come across any new media that you feel is worth a look, please share here. I'm open to all sources, conservative, liberal, international, national, your local paper, or even a blog. Whatever, as long as the reporting is fair and accurate.

Drudge Report
Ben Swann's Reality check
Rush Limbaugh
News World Daily
ATS
Viewzone

reply to post by Thunderheart


Rush Limbaugh?

reply to post by Erowynn


My go to link of the day: Nugget Net Newsline

I get "most" of my news at ATS...especially breaking news.

Because of our coveted star and flag reward system I know about tsunamis and earthquakes and the like
well ahead of mainstream news releases, sometimes within minutes of their occurrence.

I also enjoy the commentary on regular MSM news stories you get here. There is always a healthy
(or unhealthy) debate of the conspiracy angles tied-to mainstream releases. It's like running the
news thru the grist-mill and separating the wheat from the chaff...

ATS for sure

Zero Hedge for my Economic News. That crew is on it!

MSM:

Google News

For Economy:

ZeroHedge, SeekingAlpha, ShadowStats, Daily Reckoning

PMs:

Silverseek, MetalAugmentor, TheBullionDesk


Science & Tech:

GigaOM, Engadget, Gizmodo, Toms Hardware, Techcrunch, Wired, Infosec, Physics Today, Ars Technica, SciTechDaily,

Politics:

Strange Bedfellows. Politico, PoliticusUSA, Zero Party Politics, Drudge Report, DailyKOS

PS BeforeItsNews

reply to post by Erowynn


I've said it before, I'll say it again (even though there are detractors who dislike it)...

Democracy Now

Amy Hartman is a liberal, but it's journalism.

The first 10 minutes or so are the nuts and bolts...without spin. "Who, what, where, when, how....next story"

The last 45 or so are interviews. I don't get the kind of leading you get from that guy on MSNBC or the Fox people. You don't get the trivial crap like you do from CNN anchors. No baby mama drama and Kim Kardashian BS.

Also, you actually get a real interview...like 10 to 15 minutes of discussion. Not 3 minutes of two people saying catch phrases and shouting at each other.

NPR may be slightly conservative, but I enjoy many of the shows, mostly the interviews by Terry Gross and the "This is the Story guy". Also, Diane Reem usually has good topics/guests. Plus, I've gotten into the whole Radio Lab specials on Saturday and the Wait, Wait don't tell me show. (I should add that those aren't news, per se, but radio programs in the pre-TV sense of the word).


EDIT: Do you speak a foreign language? Non-English speaking countries have not been quite as plagued by "Infotainment" as the US, Canada and UK. You might try them. I like to peruse El Pais from Spain once in a while and the Brazilian news sites - when you don't have to pay - have interesting things. CAVEAT: You have to weed through the domestic stuff that might mean diddly-squat to you and your life and you have to keep in mind the inherent bias a specific newspaper might have in a nation where, say, there is some form of governemtn censorship or control.

In fact, many foreign news sites have English versions these days. For example, Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan and Corrriere della Sera in Italy.

The sites recommended below are not "news sites" per se, but they are related to current news and
emerging paradigms in science and art and ways of thinking...

The link below (Big Think) is a YouTube channel dedicated to quick Q@A sessions with some
of the recognized top names in science and other related fields. It is very interesting, and with over
2,500 videos there is plenty to peruse...highly recommended for ATS'ers

Big Think at YouTube

And this site (TED.com) is more like guilty summer reading...you will find stuff you like here, and
stuff you don't...but it is always interesting, and most presentations are succinct for those with ADD.
Also highly recommended for curious ATS'ers with time on their hands. My nick there is also Rival

Ted Conference Website

reply to post by coolhanddan

PMs:

I wish there was a news site that reported PMS. Would save me a lot of hassle with the lady friends.

reply to post by Sphota


...For example, I just went to Yomiuri.co.jp, clicked on English and learned that the Chinese and Japanese, starting Friday, will be directly trading between their currencies instead of going between with the dollar. I went to CNN Money and saw nothing of this.

Check out www.oursecrethouse.com/blog

I go to Fark for everything. Because of the way it works it draws from any publication in the world. Exposes many different view points from many different sources. I follow up with Google on subjects that seem "sketchy".

After lunch I start doing work. The joys of IT.

Fark.com

reply to post by spyder550


Thanks for Fark I am adding it to my rotation, I like it so far.


2nd line

reply to post by Erowynn


I am in solidarity with the OP's complaints. MSM is entertainment oriented, soaked in Madison Ave. commercialization and ultimately disposable, like an empty candy wrapper.

What ATS needs is a stronger sense and ability to seek out actual, real journalism. So thank you for this thread.

What we got on MSM is "he said, she said",
"Western envoys said..."
"Pentagod sources said..."
"Officials at the agency said..."
"Iranian generals said..."

These are the hallmarks of garbage journalism.

Always, when looking at MSM, look for the author's name, the by-line and check the article for quotes, who was quoted and if they were named or not.

Originally posted by coolhanddan
reply to post by spyder550

 

Thanks for Fark I am adding it to my rotation, I like it so far.


2nd line

I spend about 4 hours a day there. The comments are pretty good too. I don't have a posting membership - if I did I would probably be fired and never see the light of day.

It is interesting I also watch John Stuart Colber Madow etc. You can tell that they are big Fark fans too. It is a big stopping place for the news writers.

reply to post by rival


I wouldn't consider ATS more current than MSM, just a pool or conglomeration of bizarre MSM stories mixed with strange accounts of randomness. Most "Breaking" ATS stories where derived from MSM sources, ATS is just a place to find zombie news quickly without scouring through various local headlines.

I was thinking about this subject while watching CNN this morning before work. CNN is virtually pointless, since there are more commercials that news stories. 5 minutes of ads for 3 minutes of non-news. It seems that they are now taking local headlines that are trending on the net and use those as their stories.

I like to checkout I-AM-BORED.com, because I am bored. There is no news, just rehashed crap. A good face eating zombie story only happens once in a lifetime!

Thanks for some of the suggestions guys. Some of these sites I've never heard of. Keep em coming.

reply to post by Erowynn


Amazing Avatar ! Your creation ?

Back on topic.

I am a news junkie too - can't get enough.

The thing to remember is that everyone has an agenda, so nothing is ever 'the truth', just an opinion.

The 'truth' comes from within. Read and assimilate as much stuff as possible and then let your intuition guide you as to what is factual or fictional.

I visit the MSM sites to get a guage on what the sheeple are digesting. Then I will visit other sites like

Alternet
Drudge
Democracy Now
Zerohedge
GLP
wanttoknow.info
and this one obviously

and then when I'm completely frazzled and burnt out I go to The Onion for a laugh

Peace

* Ned

I created a yahoo pipe for news relevant to myself and my interests. Its kind of like a permanent search on a few different topics that feeds into an RSS. There pretty simple to set up.

Indymedia was a place I use to go; my local indymedia chapter was booted from its host (hosted at a University), and the community had no funding for hosting, so perth.indymedia is dead. Maybe your city has more of an active indymedia community and a live site?

I also make sure I follow the RSS press release feeds for most government agencies, thats where the MSM get a lot of there "news" from. Not "Alternate", but 'know thy enemy' in a loose sense of the phrase.

The courts in my jurisdiction also offer RSS for judgements and sentences, so I follow these for local crime related news. Not really alternate news, but its devoid of the scare-mongering the media puts on these type of stories.

In the old days of the net (late 90's) I use to hang out at disinfo.net (now .com) for alternate news, but that went downhill years ago. Also totse.com, but that was more alternate and less news...

Now days I dont go looking for alternate news as much as I use to, I come here because it reminds me of a time when the net wasnt dominated by the corporate interests of the 5 or 6 multinational media conglomerates.