News and Infotainment Sources

By ROB PATTERSON

Since, as I’ve observed here, politics has (sadly) become entertainment, so now is reading about news and politics. As a news junkie who probably should consider a stint in rehab, I awake most every morning, rouse my trusty Mac from its sleep, and feed my mind with the latest events and opinions (though there are some days I just need a break from the horrors).

My bookmarked regular sites are largely what can be actually called “liberal media,” a term that also applies to this publication. Writing here and having contributed to two other of my daily reads that fall under that rubric, I take much pride and pleasure in being a member of that realm within the Fourth Estate that is so maligned by the right (yet at the same time so wrong) wing.

There’s three destinations I usually hit first. Often I verge into the mainstream media by scanning the headlines and selectively reading articles and editorials at the Washington Post. which I rate as America’s best newspaper (and I say that as a formerly-longtime devotee of the New York Times). Their reporting and opining on the disastrous Trump presidency has been first-rate. I love their Fact Checker (and its Pinocchio ratings) and ongoing (and extensive) list of Trump lies, deceptions and misstatements, plus the paper’s slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Then there’s my personal affection for two of its entertainment writers: film critic Ann Hornaday, who recruited me to be her freelance second-string reviewer at the Austin American-Statesman in the late ’90s, and TV critic Hank Stuever, who wowed me as a feature writer at the same paper back then.

But sometimes I go to the online Huffington Post for a rather efficient first overview with a lefty slant. The entry a few years back of Apple News into the mix provides a similar daily digest, albeit with a more MSM slant, that I can also easily pull up and scan through on my phone.

Up next then is usually either Alternet.org or Salon.com. Alternet often zeroes in on stories and issues the other sources sometimes miss. With its last redesign, however, the repetitive postings of the same article can be a bit irksome. My affection for Salon is both sentimental, as it was my earliest Web media addiction, and personal, as they did publish some of my political stories. Lately I find it less essential, but I give the site major props for publishing Lucian Truscott IV, whose superb articles frequently offer outside-the-box POVs and insights and never fail to, yes, entertain.

It’s a toss-up where I go after those between Slate and Daily Beast. The former has morphed this way and that over the years, but its recent focus on personal advice usually woos me to read and sets it apart. The latter consistently posts an interesting mix of stories to offer something to grab my attention.

Last but hardly least is Think Progress, which frequently posts stories that offer important info bubbling under the latest headlines but still just as important to know. Almost daily I usually check in with The Guardian, one of the world’s great newspapers. And the long list of online publications I follow on Apple News enable me to dip into a wide range of other sites.

So as much as I decry and lament the near-death of print media – not just because the Web murdered most traditional music journalism, ergo what was once a significant part of my income, but also the tactile and visual pleasures of handling and reading print on paper – the efficiency and access provided by Web publishing is something of a blessing. Yep, it’s a double-edged scimitar. But isn’t that often the way in general with our current modernity?

Populist Picks:

Documentary Film: “Walt: The Man Behind the Myth” – This 2001 overview of the life of Walt Disney currently screening on Netflix has whiffs of the mythic and feels slightly whitewashed, as it was produced by the Disney company. Yet it is still an in-depth and enlightening look at a creativge genius who changed entertainment if not the world at large.

TV Series: “Madam Secretary” – It’s rather hard here in the Trump years to summon up the notion of a secretary of state, played by Téa Leoni, who operates on principals and ideals. On the other hand, it offers an ideal respite and escape from the current madness.

Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas. Email orca@prismnet.com.

From The Progressive Populist, June 15, 2019

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