Every year the folks at the media watchdog group Project Censored issue a list of stories that have been underreported or buried by mainstream media. This led us to the inevitable question: Where else can you find reliable UN-CENSORED news, the news you need to be a truly informed citizen?
It's one thing to be willfully ignorant. But's it's quite another to be actively misinformed, and that's where we have a problem with much of what passes for "news." It's easy to be misled and misdirected by Faux News (advocacy masquerading as journalism), junk food news (tabloid sensationalism and celebrity gossip), and manufactured consent, such as when politicians convince us of the absolute necessity for an unnecessary war, and then the media produces polling numbers as if to prove their point.
Beyond "fair and balanced," check out our recommended list of news sources which offer a wider perspective than you are likely to obtain from your favorite blow-dried anchor or celebrity reporter. This list is highly subjective and incomplete, a work in progress which we are continually expanding and updating. The point is to encourage everybody to demand more from their news, to seek out authoritative, reliable alternatives to monopoly run media.
Your comments and suggestions are most welcome,
and we'll be sure to share them with our readers.
Let's make news... better!
Bart Brodsky & Janet Geis
Publishers
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
Democracy Now
http://www.democracynow.org/
Our favorite daily alternative to corporate media, available on television, radio, and on the web. The stories here are told from the perspective of the people affected, not politicians and policy makers. From the war in Iraq to foreclosures in Detroit, from the plight of the Palestinians to the crushing debt caused by student loans, Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now team pull no punches.
BBC News (British Broadcasting Company)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Guardian Unlimited (British)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
The Economist (world business news from Britain.)
http://www.economist.com/
The Globe and Mail (Canadian)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
The Moderate Independent
http://www.moderateindependent.com/
Independent, yes, but not necessarily moderate.
Information Clearing House
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
"News you won't find on CNN." Hard-hitting progressive essays and commentary.
The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
A daily internet-only newspaper with a liberal slant.
Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/
Alternet is a news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources. AlterNet's aim is to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties and social justice.
Small Government Times
www.smallgovtimes.com
Libertarian and populist news and commentary as likely to criticize big spending Republicans as Democrats. Editorial supports limited government and individual freedom in the United States.
OneWorld
http://us.oneworld.net/
One World is a global information network whose goal is to help build a more just, global society, enabling connections between hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of people around the world.
Natural News
http://www.naturalnews.com/
Healthy living news with over 25,000 archived articles about natural health and natural living.
Truthdig
http://www.truthdig.com/
Truthdig is a progressive journal of news and opinion.
Daily Kos
http://www.dailykos.com/
Daily Kos is an American political blog, publishing news and opinion from a liberal point of view. Additionally, the site features a participatory political encyclopedia, glossaries, and other permanent content.
Pro Publica
http://www.propublica.org/
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Their work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with moral force, "journalism in the public interest."
The Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/
The Daily Beast is a mainstream news reporting and opinion website with concise stories, fast reads somewhat more in-depth than USA Today. About one-third of its content is original, while the rest is aggregated links to articles written by other news outlets.
New America Media
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/
New America Media, "The First & Largest Collaboration of Ethnic News Organizations," including news by ethnicities, education and environmental beats, health and immigration, international stories, and more.
The Real News Network
http://therealnews.com
Independent world television on your computer, online videos with intelligent blogs, viewer supported, without advertising or corporate donations.
MEDIA WATCHDOGS:
Media Matters for America
http://mediamatters.org/
Media Matters updates readers on outrages and excesses perpetrated by media commentators and politicians.
FAIR
http://www.fair.org/
Free Press, a national nonpartisan organization working to increase informed public participation in media policy debates.
Free Press
http://www.freepress.net/
Free Press, a national nonpartisan organization working to increase informed public participation in media policy debates.
FactCheck.org
FactCheck.org
Want To Know
http://www.wanttoknow.info/
Project Censored
http://www.projectcensored.org/
Project Censored s a media research group out of Sonoma State University which tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported or self-censored by the country's major national news media.
BlackBoxVoting.org
BlackBoxVoting.org
A consumer protection group which monitors election irregularities and sniffs out corruption.
Crooks and Liars
http://crooksandliars.com/
PolitiFact.com
www.Politifact.com
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on their Truth-O-Meter.
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS:
Grist Magazine
http://www.grist.org/
Hip and informed environmental news and commentary. "Doom and gloom with a sense of humor." "A beacon in the smog."
E - The Environmental Magazine
http://www.emagazine.com/
America's leading independent nonprofit environmental journal. Excellent consumer coverage.
The Environment News Service
Environmental News Service
The Environment News Service is the original daily international wire service of the environment. Established in 1990 by Editor-in-Chief Sunny Lewis and Managing Editor Jim Crabtree, ENS is independently owned and operated and presents late-breaking environmental news "in a fair and balanced manner."
FEEDBACK: CLICK HERE to email comments and feedback. Please note the title of the article or the author's name. Include your own name or type "name withheld" by request. Thoughtful responses will be published in our next edition.
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