Saturday, March 23, 2013

Where Do You Get Your News? Saturday Political Soap Box 58

Where do you get your news?

Let me start with mine.  I'm mostly a TV person, so I get a lot of mine from MSNBC, and to a lesser degree, CNN.  MSNBC is good for everyday news, particularly politics.  CNN is better in some crisis situations and with overseas coverage.

My MSNBC watching does include some opinion shows.  I am a big fan of Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O'Donnell.  My favorite by far is Rachel Maddow.  If you want a story explained in depth and put in context no one does it better than Rachel.  She is passionate, but not a yeller and screamer, and she is very, very factually oriented.

I do not watch Fox News except for clips I see other places, or when I'm in a public place and that is what the business has on their TV.  The lying and hatred expressed on that channel makes my blood pressure rise quickly, and it is not healthy for me to watch too long.  Some of the shows are just nasty, like Sean Hannity, others are bullying, like Bill O'Reilly, but for sheer stupidity and vileness I don't think anyone can top Fox & Friends.

On the internet I mostly go to Huffington Post, Buzzflash and CNN.  I love Huffington Post, but the news headlines are sometimes sensationalistic.  Once you read the story you find it fairer and more accurate.  Buzzflash is admittedly fuel for liberals, but it can offer some insights, and it is my access point to Michael Moore. CNN moves fastest with breaking news.

Many of my friends in this area deny getting their news from Fox.  In fact, they kind of deny getting their news from anywhere.  but somehow they find out about things, and often when they talk to me, they are spitting out Fox News talking points.  I can only help but think it is because they get their news from people who DO watch Fox News (also American Family Radio, a far right "Christian" radio station).

People are also affected by their newsfeed on Facebook.  I get posts from all sides, but the majority on mine are from fellow liberals.  I have a feeling that's not true with most people from my area.  An anti-Obama news slant was going around, and a friend told me that she had seen many, many anti-Obama posts on the story, but only one or two from people like me.  We tend to create our own echo chamber.  And yes, that includes me.

So where do you get your news from?

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