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News Sources August 29, 2013

Posted by nicholasjweaver in Politics & News.
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Friends frequently ask me for information or opinions about current events. Other friends frequently dismiss the entire media for being biased, inept, or unfocused. In both cases, I think people simply aren’t sure where to find a good source for news. In an attempt to address that, here is an incomplete list of sites that I check on a regular basis:

The Basics

  1. CNN
  2. Huffington Post
  3. Fox News
  4. BBC News
  5. The Guardian

Sites like CNN and the BBC offer a range of news stories, as well as more in-depth follow-ups (on occasion) and some opinion pieces. General rule: opinion pieces from these sites are garbage.

American Newspapers Online

  1. The New York Times
  2. The Washington Post

If you still use USA Today because it has pretty colors, you should really stop. Seriously.  Much like the previous section, opinion pieces from these sources should be digested with caution.

Politics

  1. RealClearPolitics
  2. Politico
  3. Salon

RCP is an excellent compilation site of political op-eds and polls across the spectrum. Great site for liberals, great site for conservatives, great site to find a range of thoughts, opinions, and debates.

Foreign Policy

  1. Foreign Policy
  2. Foreign Affairs

FP can be a little goofy in its treatment of some material, but I find it to be a reliably interesting source of points and counterpoints. Foreign Affairs is run by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Economics

  1. Wall Street Journal
  2. The Economist

The Economist has great writing and covers world news, economics, politics, and other fields. From entrepreneurs in Japan to Germany’s Green party or the situation in Syria, the Economist covers plenty of ground.

Blogs

  1. Charles Kenny, an optimist and development economist
  2. Tyler Cowen’s Marginal Revolution
  3. Dan Drezner, foreign policy and American politics
  4. Stephen Walt, foreign policy and realism
  5. David Bosco’s The Multilateralist, concerning the interaction of nations in terms of foreign policy and international politics
  6. Turtle Bay, reporting from inside the United Nations
  7. Shadow Government, mostly constructive criticism and rebuttals of the President’s ideas, actions and policies

Again, this is an incomplete list and I’m geared mostly towards domestic politics, foreign policy, and international affairs. This list is not an effort to cover all points of view equally, but several of these sources do that quite well, nonetheless.

Information is so widely accessible today. I hope this list offers some guidance on where to look for better or at least more news and opinions.