Laura Krantz, a freelance journalist, compiled this list of credible news sources and questions to ask yourself as you read from them. She is the first to acknowledge that this is just a partial list and that there are plenty of other worthwhile outlets.
- The New York Times
- The Economist
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Washington Post
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Politico
- ProPublica
- NPR
- BBC
- The Guardian
- The Atlantic
- Foreign Policy
- TIME
- Newsweek
- High Country News
- The New Yorker
- National Geographic
- Quartz
- 60 Minutes
- BuzzFeed (international news especially)
- Bloomberg Business Week
Also, some questions I try to ask when I’m reading something:
- Is this a news analysis piece or an opinion/editorial piece. Both are worth reading but it’s good to know if the person writing it has a dog in the fight and what they’re trying accomplish with this piece.
- Who wrote this? Who are they? Google ’em. See if they’re a journalist or if they’re with an outside organization. See what else they’ve written. Refer back to question one – what might their agenda be?
- Who’s being interviewed? Another journalist? An activist? An expert? And, again, refer back to question 1.
Something to keep in mind: Watch for hyperbole. Good news sources are often much more boring and nuanced.