Sick of bad, sensationalist journalism - where to get news?

[our obsession]

Time magazine has tweeted through best news sites, now it's more than likely to have a considerable USA representation, and I haven't gone through them yet (to add to my favorites in case I miss twitter), but here is Time's link, there maybe something in there that grabs you:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2087815_2087913_2087928,00.html

It comes up 2011 best websites, but you can just 'select a section' to get your global-ish 'news', (I get the science breakdown stuff, it's interesting).




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Sunfish]

I can give links to a few sites I visit regularly but, by definition, they are US centric. They seem to be the only people who can make a business out of giving "free" advice.

If you go to King World News (an example) you can hear the opinion of Gentlemen who are already multi-millionaires. By Dazz's definition, these are the people you should listen to, and I cant disagree.

 

[MangoMadness]

I always likes Jim lehrers news hour, or whatever it is called now that Jim isnt there anymore.

 

[Deltaberry]

Hi, I think I am going to stop reading the newspapers (i.e. their websites),

it just seems like everyday they are highlighting extreme cases to make sensationalist headlines, not doing any research, not including any actual facts etc. I'm not just talking about property articles - pretty much everything. (Maybe this should be in the 'whinge thread')

But at the same time I don't want to live in a cave and not know what is going on in the world / Australia.

So, where do you go for informative, factual, unbiased(?) news reporting?

News is always sensationalised. Take a look at this:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/rental-as-anything-landlords-prey-on-the-poor-20110818-1j03v.html

Isn't the question, why is this 18 year old single mother with a baby out there renting? Rather, it's become a question of to what extent and not if the landlord was at fault for this girl's circumstances.

Oh and because of this one landlord, all landlords are bad - epsecially all you motel owners and developers of student apartments. The SMH and Age readers secretly hoping you get flogged.

To the average news reader, the ideal world would be one where the rich give everything to the poor so there is no more poverty! Oh wait I think the Soviet Union tried that. That's why you should strive to be above journalists and newsreaders - there's a reason they're doing what they do.

 

[Rolf Latham]

I have personally been on the negative side of journalistic sloppiness or whim, and know how they cut corners and manipulate.

Regards JO

Meh, me too, I have had my 15 minutes of fame in a broad sheet.

In my case, not so much manipulate, more straight plagiarise, and dont bother to check source(s).

ta
rolf

 

[BayView]

I agree, papers are terrible, I dont buy papers anymore, sometimes get the Saturday, and the net is getting worse so not sure what to do.

Sounds like you are getting old and less tolerant like me.

Radio stations are just as bad I find same with the talk back, the best of bad bunch seems to be jjj in the morning.

You mean the "emo" station?
It is so left wing and tree-hugger/bleeding heart now that it is terrible - unless you are a tree hugging/bleeding heart emo Uni student on the dole - then it's great!

At least they feature new and up-and-coming Aussie bands where the other stations won't - until they become famous.

 

[Belbo]

Sounds like you are getting old and less tolerant like me.


You mean the "emo" station?
It is so left wing and tree-hugger/bleeding heart now that it is terrible - unless you are a tree hugging/bleeding heart emo Uni student on the dole - then it's great!

At least they feature new and up-and-coming Aussie bands where the other stations won't - until they become famous.

And those new up-and-coming bands aren't tree hugging / bleeding heart emos? They aren't exactly singing hymns of praise to economic rationalism or conservative anti-progressivism. (Not that I can stomach the utter musical or psychological banality of what passes as contemporary rock/pop music these days, speaking personally.)

But what do you expect of youth: Maturity, prudence, sagacity?

By definition, these qualities are the the accoutrements of age, along too with the loss of mobility, hair, teeth and libidinal 'out-performance' (Yes, I miss that a bit too).

But it wouldn't be natural any other way. Youth are destined irrevocably to replace us and all we ever identified with. The only important question is, will they unthinkingly repeat our mistakes?

Hopefully, they are as suspicious of the media as we are and yet more capable of sourcing alternative viewpoints and making independent judgements with today's information resources than we ever could (I mean, just look at the Arab Spring today).

 

[gary_s]

UN wire

I am subscribed for free to a UN-based electronic news provider called "UN Wire". I would highly recommend it; it is objective, clear, well-written and free from sensationalism!

In terms of domestic papers, I think The Australian is definitely the best. Also, The Economist is an excellent read for world affairs.

 

[Intrinsic_Value]

at the end of the day one must consider in my opinion, what is the primary purpose of journalists.

They are there to report the news of the day.
In todays world with the pressure to immediately report, they need to get the information and then get it out ASAP.

Has anyone noticed the rapid increase in spelling mistakes (apart from my posts) from online news articles.

This is the modern world, whereby one needs to assimulate information into actionable decision making. The journalist wont be doing it for you.

Alternatively, one needs to subscribe (and pay) to various investment sites, if one wants that information assimulated into actionable investment decisions (and no guaranteee that such decisions will actually work).

 

[BayView]

And those new up-and-coming bands aren't tree hugging / bleeding heart emos?

Not all of them.

But what do you expect of youth: Maturity, prudence, sagacity?

It's the Radio Station that sets the content - not the kids.
Not all kids in Uni are tree-hugging dole-ies in Uni either.

But it wouldn't be natural any other way. Youth are destined irrevocably to replace us and all we ever identified with. The only important question is, will they unthinkingly repeat our mistakes?

Of course they will and still do.

Hopefully, they are as suspicious of the media as we are

Agree.

My issue with JJJ (and therefore a decent chunk of it's listeners) was the protests at a Heads of Govt Conference in Melb around 1998 or 99 (can't remember the name of it - it was a political type conference and of no interest to me then; lots of overseas digitaries I remember).

JJJ covered the protests for days and days and days, and focused on the treatment of the protesters by the police and security, how terrible it was and so on.

What they never ONCE mentioned in their "news" coverage was the protesters doing things like throwing eggs, breaking glass and other private property, rolling ball-bearings down the road to trip up police horses, urinating on the cops.

This is when I stopped listening to the station.

 

[evand]

Triple J is a youth network, and has been for 20 years. Popular with inner suburban uni students etc. That's where its left bias comes from.

Its gone on the nose in Sydney tho with 2FBI & 2SER taking over.

Could you imagine a right leaning youth station? LOL Too funny...it would be populated by Young John Howards and Peter Costello/Tony Rabbit religious types in suits and play easy listening music.

By the way, emo is a passed fad, i dont think its around much now.That space has been filled by hipsters. Who are worse.

Sounds like you are getting old and less tolerant like me.


You mean the "emo" station?
It is so left wing and tree-hugger/bleeding heart now that it is terrible - unless you are a tree hugging/bleeding heart emo Uni student on the dole - then it's great!

At least they feature new and up-and-coming Aussie bands where the other stations won't - until they become famous.

 

[hobo-jo]

For finance/economic related news & data analysis you can't go past:

www.macrobusiness.com.au

They are bearish on the economy and the housing market, however in my opinion their analysis is unbiased, not sensationalist, they are upfront with the data they use to come to their conclusions and there is some great back and forth in the comments sections as well.

 

[Indifference]

So, where do you go for informative, factual, unbiased(?) news reporting?

Firstly, that is a pipe dream... there is no such thing. Every news article has some form of bias. Even video is biased as it does not show "everything in context". Additionally, Video may show facts, but not necessarily ALL the facts. So if you can't trust video footage, you certainly can't trust a verbal representation either...

Now that we have cleared that up I use many sources, depending on what sort of news I am interested in. My most frequent visits other than mainstream media for more general news are to:

RT News
Zero Hedge

Good luck finding the holy grail of news reporting though!

 

[Lawry]

thanks everyone for your views and insightful posts.

I don't mind the "politician in the latest scandal" stories if they are aiming to bring something into the debate which might actually create a shift in policy or action?, but I turn off when its done solely for shock/ humiliation/ point scoring (just my opinion).

And yes you're right that no news source is going to be 'unbiased', and it would probably be boring if it was, but some of the new ones (to me) you've suggested look a lot more fact based and considered than the general overexcited, knee jerk, grab a headline type journalism that seems to be the norm these days. Thanks!

 

[Belbo]

What the heck's a "hipster"?

(Sounds more drug-addled Beat Generation than post-Emo to me, but then I haven't been hanging around undergrad university bars for decades, so actually wouldn't have a clue either way!)

 

[Olly]

Right now, Canberra is debating whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into the Australian media industry. But politicians are jumpy. Without public pressure this inquiry will never make it off the ground.

Here's your chance to do something about changing it.

Click here - http://www.newsstand.org.au/campaigns/free-and-fair/demand-an-inquiry/demand-an-inquiry

to join a petition to get the inquiry up and running.

Cheers
Olly

 

[weg]

Right now, Canberra is debating whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into the Australian media industry. But politicians are jumpy. Without public pressure this inquiry will never make it off the ground.

Here's your chance to do something about changing it.

Click here - http://www.newsstand.org.au/campaigns/free-and-fair/demand-an-inquiry/demand-an-inquiry

to join a petition to get the inquiry up and running.

Cheers
Olly

What would the reason be here in Australia for wanting a 'full-scale' inquiry

If we protect people’s privacy anymore than we do now, there wouldn't be much freedom for the press.

Is it really such a good thing muzzling the media, or having politicians like Bob Brown and Gillard rewriting the rules?

 

[Macca]

Would the enquiry investigate the blatant left leaning ideology of the ABC ?

In recent times we have seen a number of ABC personalities run for parliament, I don't recall any of them being Liberal candidates

I think the independent media just take the other side so that right wing thinking public have a media source that suits them.

The lefties like the ABC and the SMH so the others cater to the right, Telegraph and CH7 and CH9.

I actually think that if the ABC was right leaning then the other media would be left leaning simply to cater to the demand and provide headline opportunities that the ABC pass up.

 

[typo4567]

Found this at http://finster.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/its-alive/

found this at: http://finster.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/its-alive/
trust the author doesn't mind the cut and paste:
a bit old but no doubt there are more since:
Pru Goward – need I say more?
Gary Hardgrave – was a minister in the Howard Government, is a former ABC television journalist.
Peter Collins – led NSW Liberal Party for a few years, is a former ABC television journalist.
Jim Bonner – after leaving the staff of Malcolm Fraser he held senior editorial positions with ABC radio and television in Canberra and Adelaide. He later became Director of the Liberal Party in South Australia.
Peter McArthur – former current affairs reporter and newsreader for the ABC served several years in the Victorian Parliament as a Liberal member.
Cathy Job – a current affairs presenter for ABC radio in Brisbane, resigned to become a media adviser to David Kemp.
Vicki Thompson – senior political reporter for ABC radio in Adelaide became Chief of Staff for John Olsen, Liberal Premier of South Australia.
Eoin Cameron – former Liberal member for the seat of Stirling presents the breakfast program on ABC local radio in Perth (a gig he had before he entered parliament as well)
Cameron Thompson – Liberal member for Blair is a former radio journalist with the ABC in Queensland and the Northern Territory
Rob Messenger – National Party member for Burnett was an ABC broadcaster in Bundaberg.

 

[turk]

found this at: http://finster.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/its-alive/
trust the author doesn't mind the cut and paste:
a bit old but no doubt there are more since:
Pru Goward – need I say more?
Gary Hardgrave – was a minister in the Howard Government, is a former ABC television journalist.
Peter Collins – led NSW Liberal Party for a few years, is a former ABC television journalist.
Jim Bonner – after leaving the staff of Malcolm Fraser he held senior editorial positions with ABC radio and television in Canberra and Adelaide. He later became Director of the Liberal Party in South Australia.
Peter McArthur – former current affairs reporter and newsreader for the ABC served several years in the Victorian Parliament as a Liberal member.
Cathy Job – a current affairs presenter for ABC radio in Brisbane, resigned to become a media adviser to David Kemp.
Vicki Thompson – senior political reporter for ABC radio in Adelaide became Chief of Staff for John Olsen, Liberal Premier of South Australia.
Eoin Cameron – former Liberal member for the seat of Stirling presents the breakfast program on ABC local radio in Perth (a gig he had before he entered parliament as well)
Cameron Thompson – Liberal member for Blair is a former radio journalist with the ABC in Queensland and the Northern Territory
Rob Messenger – National Party member for Burnett was an ABC broadcaster in Bundaberg.

Hi typo4567

Is your point that there is only 1 of these people still at the ABC?