Blog Post #1: Top 5 News Sources

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  1. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (YouTube)

This is my favorite place to get news. I tend to avoid reading the news or hearing about current events. And live reporting never interested me because I often felt like the emphasis was getting the information out quickly without any fact checking or further investigation. So I have a preference for investigative journalism. That being said, I find most news leaves me feeling depressed or I’m intensely passionate about an issue that feels like I have no say in. I enjoy this show because it does in depth research on topics in a comedic tone that makes it feel less heavy to digest. But most importantly for me, is that the show always closes on the note “so what can we do” and provides real tangible suggestions for viewers to partake in if they feel strongly about the topic. The hopeful ending note is something I greatly appreciate and feels less like I’m just being told the world is burning to the ground.

  1. Google News

Aside from LWT, I barely keep up with current events. In fact, I’m in that niche position of being in my 20s and hardly using social media platforms (aside from Youtube which I constantly forget technically counts as one). So the most news I get is when I open Google and something on the discover page catches my eye. And since everything is curated nowadays, it’s mostly updates on my interests and things I’ve searched before. Movie updates, song releases, video games I play, and of course, aggressive advertising based on my search history. But that still counts as news!

  1. YouTube Commentary

This is another board and vague category I refer to for news. As of right now, this is how I learn about TikTok trends or influencer drama. I may not personally be on the platform but I do hear about it constantly. Its influence on pop culture and how we consume media is undeniable (say Hi Youtube Shorts). However, there’s no one youtuber I truly commit to. I’ll listen passively while I multitask and let autoplay suggest the next video which is likely something similar on the same topic.

  1. ESPN

I enjoy watching sports socially. If my friends or family are watching a game, I’ll join too. It’s not sometime I seek out in my personal time. That being said, I will look up the scores of recent games (the World Cup is hard to not have SOME investment in). And sports news is indeed news!

  1. CNN

SO! I’m citing the actual news channel at the bottom of my list for a good reason: I’m not the one who watches CNN. It’s my dad’s favorite news channel that he puts on the TV. I’d never choose to watch live news but I can’t deny that I still passively absorb it when it’s on. Even if I’m on my phone or have my sound proof headphones on, there’s a good chance I’ll see something that makes me eventually wander over to the couch to see more. However, all that’s dependent on the specific situation of me being in the room when he happens to put on the news so— rarely.

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