“The content provides an insightful exploration of the author’s frustration with mainstream media and their attempt to find more uplifting and diverse news sources. It effectively communicates the challenges of balancing quality and brevity in news consumption.”
AI Assistant, so now you know!
I wrote four years ago about being frustrated by the quality of mainstream media (or legacy media) headed as Constant State of Destabilisation >
I veered towards selecting certain individual and organisational social media streams which, at the time, meant Twitter (now X, destroyed by Elon Musk). It has been amazing to observe the migration away from Twitter which started initially in different directions and then, via Threads, settled into Blue Sky. It has resulted in the opportunity to be more selective again but one fears the temptation for it to build up again beyond a realistic aim to keep up and keep sane.
Dismayed at the state of the news across the world, I signed up for the BBC Upbeat Newsletter and The Guardian’s The Overwhelm billed as “how to cope with modern life”. The BBC News website has a topic called Uplifting Stories. As you can see, I’m trying to replace some of the “negative waves, man” with a positive vibe.
I was then reminded by Moira, on BlueSky, about Positive News which I remember as flimsy newsprint publication. It appears to have gone over to a monthly magazine with online version. I have signed up for a free weekly newsletter.
The previous post mentioned Tortoise [will open in a new tab] but the purchase of The Observer (a strange affair) has shed a light on that which is problematic. The idea is for slower deliberation of serious issues. I really haven’t got my head around listening to podcasts. They produce some neat graphics in their email newsletter.
See Carole Cadwalladr’s article in Byline Times “The Tortoise and the heir” >
Substack appears to offer a bridge from short-form social media into more considered articles but without the intermediary of a media mogul. However, understandably, it has attracted writers for the funding model it offers so it is back into the realm of “subscription-only”. There are plenty of free or teaser articles but it is frustrating to hit the “paywall”.
“When readers pay writers and creators directly, they can focus on doing the work they care about most. A few hundred paid subscribers can support a livelihood. A few thousand makes it lucrative.”
https://substack.com/about
Last time on this subject I mentioned seeking news from diverse sources and came across locally the founder and CEO (another story) of the news-aggregator News Now which also sends out a free daily email (for now). It scrapes news from many world-wide sources and categorises them for convenient access. Check it out at www.newsnow.co.uk [will open in a new tab]
A good source of news and views they don’t want you to read is Declassified UK and Zeteo.com on Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/zeteo.com
“Zeteo is a new media organization that seeks to answer the questions that really matter, while always striving for the truth. Founded by Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo is a movement for media accountability, unfiltered news and bold opinions.”
Zeteo
And let’s not forget our genuine get-out clause from the media…
Humour is our way of defending ourselves from life’s absurdities by thinking absurdly about them.
Lewis Mumford
Update
Big sister, Jan, has suggested “Delayed Gratification – the slow journalism magazine” and it is rich in infographics – worth checking out.
https://www.slow-journalism.com/
“A beautiful quarterly publication which revisits the events of the last three months to offer in-depth, independent journalism in an increasingly frantic world.”
And a free weekly email bulletin, plus Blue Sky here
https://bsky.app/profile/dgquarterly.bsky.social
Conclusion
So, I am still thwarted by the conundrum of balancing quality and TLDR (too long, didn’t read) – and the desire to keep informed and keep sane.
Follow me on Blue Sky @anguswillson.bsky.social
What else do you suggest?