Where’s The Best Place To Get Your News?

 In Blog

For most of the last century, there had been only a handful of ways to get your news: the newspaper, the radio, the TV, or the word on the street. Thanks to the internet, there are now many times more ways to get your information, instantly and in the palm of your hand. But with more sources of news also comes the decision you have to make about where you decide to get your news. So, where should you be reading: blogs, Twitter, or good old-fashioned publications?

Blogs

It’s funny, but there was a time when “web logs” were the new big thing – the cutting-edge of the internet. While their popularity with news consumers has ebbed and flowed, they’re had a bit of a resurgence in the past few years. And usually, blogs can be a pretty good source of news. Blogs have all the space in the world to tell their story, and unlike traditional outlets, they don’t need to cater to any demographic. As a result, blogs can offer up quality news for niches that wouldn’t otherwise be covered.

While that all sounds good, there are some cons to getting your news from blogs. For one, blogs don’t have to be held to any standard of journalistic ethics, meaning that the news can hold opinions. Also, the information posted online doesn’t necessarily have to be vetted by any professionals, so you’ll have to take what you read with a grain of salt.

Twitter

Reading-News-on-TabletTwitter is probably the fastest “news outlet” out there. When a story is breaking, you’ll probably be able to find out about it first on Twitter. This is thanks to Twitter’s way of putting people who break the news in touch with the ones who want to know the news. Whatever you’re interested in, there’s a chance there’s someone Tweeting about it, and they’re going to be easy for you to find.

But, like blogs, Twitter feeds aren’t vetted for bias or even accuracy. In fact, the sources where you get your news could be even less trustworthy than ones you may be able to find through blogs. This is because while a bloggers require time to establish themselves as trusted news breakers, Twitter feeds are valued more for their immediacy.

Publications

Publications, the old pillars of news reporting, have faced a lot of challenges when pitted against their digital rivals. Many newspapers have had to shut their doors because of it. But those that have stuck around have been able to do so for good reason. The traditional publications almost always have the best access to certain news stories such as those having to do with the government. Also, professional journalists are trained and paid for their work, making them the (theoretically) most credible sources.

However, there are downsides to these publications as well. To stay open and recoup from the losses made to other online rivals, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post charge online readers. Also, because of the changing media landscape, local papers have had an especially difficult time, causing them to lay off reporters. Therefore, they might not have the reach that niche blogs or Twitter accounts do.

And the winner is… OK, there isn’t a winner. Where you’ll want to get your news is going to depend on your preferences, which you’ll hopefully now know a little more about. A good rule of thumb is to not limit yourself to just one news source; you can give all three a try to see what you like best.

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