Print media and public stations don't have the same high-strung presentation that cable news does, but the actual substance isn't much better in my experience. The last few times I listened to NPR they seemed to be pretty deep into the horse race style reporting, distracted "Breaking News!"-style reporting, and lots of speculation. Print media as well.
What the other poster suggested is something I also highly recommend - read old news, and see how many of the stories the news media was obsessed with and treated as a huge deal turned out to be nothing in the end. Putting a custom time range in searches is a great way to do this. Often there's little to no followup to stories, or new narratives get created that completely rewrite what happened. News junkies get left with a highly skewed version of reality.
>The last few times I listened to NPR they seemed to be pretty deep into the horse race style reporting, distracted "Breaking News!"-style reporting, and lots of speculation. Print media as well.
As a dedicated listener to NPR, here's my advice:
- The 6 minutes of headline news at the top of every hour covers all you might need to know.
- The more reporting-style programs (All Things Considered, Morning Edition) often have good interviews with figures directly involved in the news. Of course, these are only worthwhile if the person hasn't already been on a national platform. Politicians and lawyers will just pretend to answer questions as they read prepared statements.
- Everything else is entertainment.
I like it, but I'm not deluded enough to look down on anyone (e.g. my wife) who finds it boring.
What the other poster suggested is something I also highly recommend - read old news, and see how many of the stories the news media was obsessed with and treated as a huge deal turned out to be nothing in the end. Putting a custom time range in searches is a great way to do this. Often there's little to no followup to stories, or new narratives get created that completely rewrite what happened. News junkies get left with a highly skewed version of reality.