Whatever happened to the days when journalists actually did something? The time when a good reporter would dig and find sources to break a big story? What happened to the days when news was actually NEWS? The other day I was in my car listening to National Public Radio on my way to campus. My drive is about forty minutes so I usually get to hear a few stories, and to their credit, NPR usually has very interesting pieces. On this day, however, that was not so. The entirety of my commute there was only one “story”. Understanding the way in which NPR works that story was probably for the full hour. This alone, groundbreaking story was……entirely speculation. It was a full hour of one person speculating on what will happen during the Syrian ceasefire. There was no real evidence put forward, it was only the ramblings of what could maybe, possibly, happen. How disappointing! And what did happen? The ceasefire was broken MINUTES after it began. Nothing happened, an hour wasted. Pair this with the never ending coverage of Hillary Clintons stupid pneumonia and I was livid! To modify a Bernie Sanders quote, I for one am sick and tired of your damn pneumonia! All this being said NPR is still, in my opinion, among the best news outlets left. The mainstream news has crumbled under the pressure of 24-hour news coverage and cheesy daytime television gags. The need to push an agenda, or an ideology has blinded them to reporting real facts or events. Instead, we are subject to continuous dribble spoon-fed to us by our now corporate overlords.
One of the worst examples of our downward spiral is the constant flow of internet garbage. Garbage full of clickbait titles, useless list of arbitrary categories, and entire articles that simple rewrite a tweet. Yes, the internet can be a wretched place, simply a source for endless ads and money hungry tabloids. No, the irony is not lost on me either, as this article is a good example. What am I really contributing here? I’m simply droning on about what grinds my gears, blah blah blah. But my hope is we may consider our world and do something to change it! (Although I really doubt it) But not all hope is lost, and the internet is not all to blame. The internet can also be the solution. Some new internet news networks have begun to form in response to the downward spiral the mainstream media has fallen into. One amazing example is TYT Network. Started as the Young Turks this news organization acts to shun the new model of journalism and actually break stories. Actually, have a real conversation instead of a narrative. They are transparent and clear of their intentions. The best part? They are not alone! Others are doing the same such as The Big Picture or Redacted Tonight.
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So I encourage my readers (Yes All two of you!) to go and check these sources out, or at the very least look for one of your own.
Here are the links to the mentioned good news sources
