here's how i read the news
a little guide from one journalist's pov, in case you're feeling overwhelmed
Much has happened over the past week. As of Saturday, the death toll is rising rapidly in Gaza, as Israeli forces continue their attacks on civilian populations. Internet connection is being shut off by the Israeli government in areas, and access to electricity, food, and routes to escape are dwindling, as the IDF targets highways and hospitals, trapping citizens inside. Water has run out, according to the UN. I have frankly been able to think of little else as I have resumed my nightly doomscrolling.
Influencers and celebrities have felt the pressure to provide statements about what they think, rather than what is known. Tech companies have let deepfakes and disinformation run amock on our feeds. Every single user is a micro-brand who needs to post something, anything, even if it’s a milquetoast nothing statement about being sad or sharing claims that are not true. It’s enough to be confusing, all this opinion framed as fact, a constant barrage of statements without clarification of what is going on. It is also so deeply unsettling to see the president disseminating propaganda, only to walk it back after the news seemed to greenlight a genocide via a horrific stream of war crimes upon Palestine.
I feel particularly strongly about how people are perceiving and sharing information around the Israel–Palestine conflict as an internet culture reporter, because there seems to be more discourse than fact floating around on social media — which is where we know most people consume their news. This kind of disinformation ultimately hurts victims of the conflict. Some have told me that they feel overwhelmed by where to even start with major crises like these, so they don’t read about it. I understand. But I think it’s important to reflect on the desire to give into choosing ignorance.
So, to help my friends who want to care about current events but just don’t know how to start, I’m sharing a little guide on reading the news today. This isn’t the ultimate guide on media literacy by any means, but how at least I approach reading the news as someone whose job is the news. I hope this helps to assuage the fears that keep you in the waters of oblivion. It’s my belief that people, despite the insistences that they are not, are in fact smart enough and strong enough to lean about the world around them.
Here’s how I read the news:
Usually, I go to my Google News page in the mornings. I have my highlighted topics toggled to: U.S., World, Entertainment, Politics. I have Business, Technology, Public Health, and Digital Currencies sections too, but I don’t pay as close of attention to those, honestly. I don’t always love how Google News curates, but at least you can see the top headlines of what is being reported in Western media. I do this pretty much every single day. I find that contrary to making me feel more doom and gloom, spending twenty minutes here helps me set concrete cornerstones as to what is actually going on in the world instead of this vague sense of existentialism, and arms me with a sense of understanding and empowerment.
From this page, I’ll usually click on an NPR, Associated Press or Reuters link for my first dose of breaking news. I’ll read NBC, Axios, The Guardian, or BBC, too. I believe the only one that has a paywall is Reuters, but you get like, five free articles per month.
Note: Maybe this is where you take your first steps! That’s fine. But I still think it’s better than starting the day by putting your brain through the discourse washing machine on social media. A celebrity’s statement on Instagram is harder to parse apart in your brain before you get some baseline information.
If I want more context, I’ll look up more about it. I tend towards different places based on the subject because certain newsrooms have different specialities:
Tech — TechCrunch, The Verge
Entertainment — Variety, Deadline, The Daily Beast
Health — Stat News
Sports — The Athletic
Politics — Axios, Politico, Huffington Post, Semafor
Criminal justice — The Marshall Project
Location-based news — The Texas Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Boston Globe, New York Public Radio, Al Jazeera, El País, The Korea Herald
It’s important to note that I’m not checking every single one of these sites every single day! That’s way too much. But I think having this guidance of knowing where to start, and a general plan of action when wanting more information, helps me break down the weight of everything happening into smaller bite-size pieces. That’s how I consume news that is not my professional focus.
General questions to ask yourself:
Where is this story happening that I want to learn about? Good reporting doesn’t come from just one definitive brand. The easiest place to start is by location. Is this happening domestically or internationally? If it’s abroad, I search up international correspondents from different news bureaus. These reporters will also likely be sharing on-the-ground reports and re-sharing other coverage from other experts on social media. Similarly, if a story is happening in one state, I turn to local papers; for instance, if there’s a school shooting happening in Texas, I’ll usually follow The Texas Tribune. If there’s a natural disaster in New York, I’m following New York Times Metro. Local reporters obviously know the ins and outs of a community better, as people living there themselves. It feels obvious, but I think it’s often forgotten for the habit of like, choosing one newsroom as your favorite sports team, and only rocking with their coverage.
As a reader, what do I need to know to make sense of this story? Do you need an in depth understanding or a general idea? Is it that you don’t know what happened in the past week, or you actually want an explainer on the history of what’s going on? For news, I read breaking news coverage, which give you surface level information about the now. For detailed context, I’ll listen to historians’ accounts on podcasts or the radio, or read a book (ooh, scary).
What’s the role I want analysis to play in my understanding of the subject? I do think it’s important to read analysis and eyewitness opinion as pat of all of this. I think they can offer different points of context and give a human lens into the story, especially if the analysis is shaped by lived experience and reporting. I particularly look for activists in the space and academics who specialize in the subject.
On objectivity: It’s a tired rhetoric to want journalists to remain cold and emotionless figures in times like these, some totally impartial figure that has no personal opinion on anything — we are people, and we will have a human reaction to our coverage. However it is our job to report what we are able to prove is true, to afflict the powerful, and empower the afflicted.
Things I look for when I’m reading an article:
These are the things that I note in my head when I’m reading any article. Any piece of journalism, citizen or legacy or whatever, is always impacted by company interest, ownership, standards, belief, et cetera. So I think the benefit of keeping this in mind is just being able to identify what motive looks like. It’s not to say the whole piece of journalism is a waste if I see a glimmer of company interest peeking through. I just think media literacy is just about like, being conscious of these things so you can be a more active and smart consumer.
Original reporting — the more original the reporting (with eyewitness interviews, a reporter speaking from the scene, a sit-down interview with a public figure), obviously the better. You’re able to prove more, corroborate more, dispel more.
Passive voice — This especially came up a lot during the coverage of police brutality over the years, when some newsrooms would run headlines like, “Man was killed after police fired gun” or something, which takes culpability off the police when we know what happened. It leaves room for what the action is and muddles responsibility, which is dangerous. The classic example is “I made mistakes” versus “mistakes were made.” Passive voice begs the question of why it’s being used.
Descriptive words — opinion is not always hedged with an “I think” at the beginning, but its easy to spot with descriptors. For instance, saying “the situation is complicated” is not a fact, because some people might disagree. Or verbs other than “said” are typically used for magazine writing rather than reporting. “Stated” is fine. Just something to note when it arises.
Couching — allegedly, supposedly, reportedly, claimed, are uncorroborated statements. They could be true, they could be false. You get it. Just look out for them.
Anonymous sourcing — ideally sources should be on the record, so there’s accountability of who is making the claim. With the context of today, I get there are reasons why people aren’t comfortable being named completely. But if there is no reason toggled to why that person is anonymous (for fear of retaliation by this company, for safety concerns), then yeah, I get suspicious.
If you see any claim being made, the easiest thing to do is just ask, “fr?” and look it up. More times than not, when I look stuff up, I find reporting and data on it. That’s literally it. Don’t get your information from a wonky explainer told to you by an uninvolved source that doesn’t share how they know what they know. I have a particular gripe with that. I’ve seen people rip off my reporting word for word, bar for bar, and then put some ridiculous true crime twist on it for views. And then claim that “the media isn’t covering this.” Just don’t be passive and look stuff up. Your life will be so much easier.
When I’m feeling really overwhelmed:
Still, I get the urge. Some days you’re just going to want the information spoonfed to you without worrying about legitimacy. I check on the pages of reporters I know and trust their judgment to get my distillation of news in these moments — people are often very entrenched in the space and know what’s what. These are basically all people I’ve worked with, so please note that. But here’s who I follow:
Shootings, natural disaster, war, global conflict — Clarissa Jan-Lim, Tasneem Nashrulla, Julia Reinstein
White House and national politics — S.V. Date, Kadia Goba, Lilli Petersen
Abortion rights — Alanna Vagianos
Fact-checking health discourse — Katie Camero
U.S. criminal system and justice — Melissa Segura
TikTok and U.S.–China tech policy — Emily Baker-White
Media literacy resources:
The Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school and research institute, has a whole channel just on media literacy and fact-checking called MediaWise, by and for teenagers. They also run Politifact, which is known for it’s Truth-O-Meter (labelling statements from political figures on a scale from ‘true’ to ‘pants on fire’) and newsletters that will very clearly lay out what’s fact and fiction.
PBS also has news and media literacy information for teachers who want to educate their young students, on fake news, fact checking, and navigating the web.
Several newsrooms also publish fact checking: The Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, the New York Times, and more.
Colleges like the University of North Carolina offer guides to best practices around media literacy and the formation and execution of disinformation campaigns.
On this conflict:
Here’s the first explainer I watched on Israel–Palestine in high school (it’s 13 minutes):
Conflict In Israel And Palestine: Crash Course World History, Crash Course (2015)
And here’s some analysis on the conflict that I think is important to consider — informed by reporting and first-person account:
How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas To Bombing It, The Intercept (2018)
Today In Gaza, I No Longer Believe We’ll Get Out Of Israel’s Assault Alive, Al Jazeera (2023)
Could The Attack On Israel Be The End Of Hamas? The New Yorker (2023)
All this to say, I hope this helps in any capacity, or sparks any amount of interest to try and stay informed; as a person, is always in your best interest to be mentally alive. And in times like these, it’s important not to look away, particularly when people in a stateless nation are asking for someone to listen to them. If you have any more tips on your tools for media literacy, let me know.
Nice things to consider: