Dear Internets,
In recent conversations with friends and acquaintances, I have become painfully aware of how ignorant I am to many, many things. These friends read publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the like, while I can't find it in me to pick up the Birmingham News. I have little to no knowledge of current events, presidential campaigns, world happenings and issues, poverty, history, etc., etc. In the past I've always brushed these things off as topics that I am not interested in ... particularly politics. And while I may still not be excited at the prospect of having lengthy discussions about presidential candidates, I find it shameful that I have no idea what the hell most people are talking about.
In an effort to brush up on my knowledge of said topics, I subscribed to a New York Times news feed. I was even more discouraged. The same feelings of ignorance and shame came rushing back with stealthy rapidity as I tried to understand what the articles were saying. I really want to understand the world around me, and hate that it has taken me this long to explore the spaces outside of my white, middle-class bubble.
Any ideas on how to get some background information so I can have some clue of what's happening in the world? Suggestions are coveted and welcomed.
Your Ignorant Blogger,
Amanda
13 comments:
I really like the Washington Post's website for getting a summary of who the candidates are and what their stances are.
I also recommend subscribing to The Birmingham News' breaking news feed (via al.com) for keeping up with what's happening in Birmingham. Even if you're not that interested in the little things that break throughout the day, each morning they do an "eye-opener" round up that includes brief descriptions of what's in the day's news. You don't have to read the whole paper, but many of the stand-out things are brought right to you.
1. Bham news might work for local, but it's kind of useless for national/world stuff, I think.
2. I agree with CJ-- Wash Post has a good frontpage too- I will skim it daily to see what's going on in the world.
3. Actually, Yahoo!'s news service isn't bad for getting a general idea of what's going on. (That probably means Google's is better; I use Yahoo! for my email though).
4. I love the marginalrevolution.com blog. It's econ, but it generally has a finger on big stuff going down.
...I'm guilty of being a terrible news consumer myself; but back when I was in j-school I used to skim The Week: http://www.theweekdaily.com/
It's sort of like a cross between a Zagat Guide and CliffsNotes for all the major news dailies and magazines.
i'm so with you amanda. i try to understand by reading what's current, but there is so much background behind it that it gets more overwhelming, so i just throw my hands up and resort to being ignorant.
maybe i'll try again with you.
Wikipedia is usually a good place to get background on various ethnic tensions in the world, although you must (of course) take it with a grain of salt.
I am a pretty solidly liberal person, so I am going to recommend slate.com for some good political coverage. Even though it's a fairly liberal website, I think they treat both parties equally when it comes down to it. Plus they also have lifestyle stories, as well as articles about culture and the arts.
And I will forever recommend npr.org for the shear breadth of coverage. If you aren't a fan of READING the news, you can always listen to the archives (or a live feed) there. It is indispensable.
I keep several feeds on my google home page - usually just skimming through things.
I get a lot of my news from NPR - though, most days I'm spending 2 - 2 1/2 hours in my vehicle. I find that a lot of the things I'm skimming through, however, were said on NPR the day before.
NY Times also sends me a daily summary of the news (free to subscribe) and I read through the Inquirer local section online everyday (not to be confused wit the Enquirer...).
Wired has some neat stuff every now and again.
Two other faves: Paste and mental floss...
I have become addicted to the Wall Street Journal, but only because David has to read it for work and he gives it to me to read with my coffee. It's a really interesting paper. He circles articles for me. Right at this moment, he is saying "Would you rather play on the Internet than read these articles I circled?"
Who can afford The Economist? It's like $200 a year!
One more thing (this is from the confessional)-- I pick and choose what to be informed about, otherwise I'm completely overwhelmed. Then, I have some awareness of what's going on in the world, but can still actually do other things.
Like Susan, I am a big fan of WSJ (but we know I now have to give my old ones to Jon David instead of throwing them away).
And, to Susan-- educational discounts = affordable Economist. You might actually qualify...
ooohhh, good post. i feel the same way. it's been fun to read through everyone's recommendations. If you want a website that has links to EVERYTHING that is going on, go to drudgereport.com. It can be overwhelming, but it pulls articles from tons of different newspapers. I also like Peggy Noonan's column every Friday in the Wall Street Journal. You can find her link at the bottom of Drudge Report.
Thanks for bringing this up! Ever since I entered the working world, I've felt like an ignoramus for not knowing anything about anything.
Oh my gosh. If I could get an educational discount, D. would FREAK OUT. His company picks up the WSJ subscription. It ain't so cheap either.
Woah. Educational Discount = Awesome Anniversary Present for the Boy.
That was like an 80% discount.
You rock, Dr. Economy.
I am the king of all things newsy, but it does take up a lot of time. (And what I don't get from the Journal, Bloomberg, and the like, Su covers from Pink is the New Blog, Perez Hilton, etc. We make a good team.)
Anyway, I think the NY Times daily morning headlines email is a good way to go - lot of stuff right there.
Also, the Journal is great, if you can get your hands on one. The left two columns on the front page give you all the news you need for the day, in 4 minutes.
And I dig the al.com emails - I can't stomach actually reading the Bham News, but it's nice to see the brief blurbs about what is in the paper.
The Week is good, in that it tells the stories while pulling the actual info from multiple sources. So, instead of a reporter doing research and talking to people and writing an article, they have someone read a lot of different articles about the subject and post a summary. However, there's a time lag involved - you only get it once a Week. And I don't like that - I've usually moved on by then.
I LOVE NPR, but I've never found it great for pure news - too much going on at their website, and I always get distracted by other stuff while I'm there (music, arts, etc.)
One important decision is how and when you want to read your news. If you like paper in hand, get a paper or magazine subscription.
But if you prefer computers, get something emailed to you every morning, and you can hit the ground running. I know that the NYT and the Washington Post will let you register for free and decide what you want emailed to you. Sign up for several and see what you like best. (I usually only go to the Post if I've heard of something there that interests me, but it seems to have gotten good ratings by your other readers.)
Or, if news won't bore you while running, there are a million different news podcasts out on iTunes, from all the major news sources plus some. I know that NPR has a news summary podcast that is 5 minutes long and comes at 6 am CST. And there's tons of other stuff with different emphasis - you make the call.
One thing I think is important is to have something where you can hit all the headlines really quickly, so you at least have the knowledge that certain things are taking place around the world. But, I love the more in-depth reporting as well, so you can have a cursory knowledge of everything and a more detailed knowledge of the stories you select or you think are the hottest topics.
To me, though, the most important thing is to read/listen to something conservative (the Journal, Fox News, etc.) AND read/listen to something more liberal (NPR, NYT, etc.). That's the only true way to hear the news, because the truth often has many different shades of gray, and people who only listen to the sources that they agree with don't really know what's going on, either - they just hear what they want to hear via only getting the side of the story that lines up with their preconceived notions.
Or, just email, and we can discuss. Good luck.
I've become a big fan of podcasts. Since I spend 8 hours a day in front of a computer, it's pretty easy to listen to quite a few. They help time pass more quickly too.
I like the New York Times Front Page podcast for a quick summary of the news. You can get many NPR programs too. Longer shows like "This American Life" and "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" really make the hours fly by.
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