ProPublica do excellent work on larger stories. They are worth trusting and supporting.

404 Media is newer, and also are good.

Day to day it's The Guardian to get the generally least offensive coverage. Scan the CNN homepage to see what the general middle ground of how American news is viewing current events. Links as relevant to other sources as they come up in social media, newsletters, etc.

Sometimes you have to check out an article or two, but seriously fuck the NYT and wapo.

One thing I think US FMs are lucky with is local news. Obviously because the country is absolutely massive. But it seems like there’s plenty of local news stations.

The UK is much more newspaper focused than the US. There’s a bit of local news on the main channels but it’s mostly weekly local newspapers here. Although their websites are updated regularly.

Gramsci wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 2:12 am One thing I think US FMs are lucky with is local news. Obviously because the country is absolutely massive. But it seems like there’s plenty of local news stations.

The UK is much more newspaper focused than the US. There’s a bit of local news on the main channels but it’s mostly weekly local newspapers here. Although their websites are updated regularly.

local news is utter rot. they don't have the time or money to investigate anything seriously. their hire good looking anchors from other markets who have to move here. they are all told what to report by their corporate managers. the only thing they know how to do is traffic and weather, which is all they do 85% of the time.
there used to be exceptions (WUSA in washington dc) but they are long gone.

Yes, look up Sinclair for a start.

hbiden@onlyfans.com wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 2:24 am local news is utter rot.

jimmy spako wrote:Yes, look up Sinclair for a start.

Yes and yes. There are apps for traffic and weather (and dedicated Sports media if that's your thing) so why bother with reports on the zoo's new pandas.

Local news in America is a mixed bag. Can't speak to apps b/c fuck news apps in general. The tech industry's style of monetizing online news has wrecked that across the board, it would seem.

In terms of local papers, America still has some good ones. In the '70s, '80s, and '90s, the small, shitty towns in Pennsylvania near where my grandparents used to live received far better coverage than you'd have expected. But a ridiculous number of local papers have gone under and/or been consolidated in the last couple of decades, and great ones are something of an endangered species now.

Local tv news can be all right. NYC and Philadelphia, for example, certainly have solid stations that aren't all weather porn and hometown sports cheering. It's a cable channel and it's not as good as it used to be, but NY1 does not completely suck as far as basic, nonhysterical morning reporting goes.

The Ground News app has been pretty interesting. Interesting to see the blind spots from both sides and it's pretty reliable that if a article is hugely from "Center" sources it is mostly unswung down the middle information.

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 10:18 am The Ground News app has been pretty interesting. Interesting to see the blind spots from both sides and it's pretty reliable that if a article is hugely from "Center" sources it is mostly unswung down the middle information.

I was going to ask about this. I see a bunch of YouTubers I follow with ads for it. I’m a little wary of paying for this because I kind of know what angle most news comes from. I also regard most “centre” news as basically old school liberal conservatism. Maybe I’m a vulgar Marxist, but to me The Guardian is centrist slightly right leaning paper. It’s still the main paper I read.
I think my slightly naive view of US local news, probably because you have local news.

I read The Guardian, The Atlantic. and sometimes AP for dry, rational coverage. The latter has risen in my eyes after refusing to use Gulf of America. Seattle Times for local news. Honestly, I will read anything not Fox, National Review, etc.

Gramsci wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 12:51 pm

Kniferide wrote: Thu Apr 10, 2025 10:18 am The Ground News app has been pretty interesting. Interesting to see the blind spots from both sides and it's pretty reliable that if a article is hugely from "Center" sources it is mostly unswung down the middle information.

I was going to ask about this. I see a bunch of YouTubers I follow with ads for it. I’m a little wary of paying for this because I kind of know what angle most news comes from. I also regard most “centre” news as basically old school liberal conservatism. Maybe I’m a vulgar Marxist, but to me The Guardian is centrist slightly right leaning paper. It’s still the main paper I read.
I think my slightly naive view of US local news, probably because you have local news.

Ground is a better source as a conglomerater than say... Google news or MSN. Seeing a little meter of who is getting served up what articles is sometimes interesting at a peepshow level. Other than that, it is just a hub of news sources. My wife suggested it, and it gets the job done.