
Ask HN: Where does news originate? - debt
Is news still coming from the same sources(ABC, NBC, Reuters, AP, etc.) or are we seeing news coming from Twitter&#x2F;Facebook etc?
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philipkglass
On-the-spot records of breaking news often comes from mobile device video now.
Initial commentary also comes from nearby people with mobile devices. The
commentary is often useless beyond telling you "something is happening." You
need to wait a few days for a coherent explanation of e.g. a big terrorist
attack or a coup attempt. Unfortunately, traditional news media just forwards
fevered speculation without checking while an event is happening; the
incentives for them are "better wrong than slow."

News about events that don't leave corpses in the streets comes less from
random bystanders and more from traditional reporting. Financial news,
investigation into political corruption... as I started to type out a list I
realized that specialized blogs often provide better reporting _and_
commentary about less-spectacular events. But you have to know where to look
first. Reading the right blogs versus AP news wires is sort of like the
difference between reading scientific journal articles and a stream of
university press releases about scientific research. The latter are full of
spin, simplifications, and hype, but at least provide an entry point so you
know that a topic is worth reading about from better sources.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any news outlets that consistently serve a
readership that's _broadly educated_ but not _subject matter experts_. I
suppose that publications like the New York Times and the Economist aspire to
that middle role, but I don't think they are quite filling it. In articles
about global warming, efficiency legislation, solar technology, etc. I see
constant mistakes like confusing power and energy. If the general public can't
assemble a coherent bigger picture from these articles, no wonder: they're not
coherent as written.

