Al Jazeera America announced a few weeks ago that it was shutting down after less than three years in operation. Despite what many critics might think of the beleaguered cable network, I think it delivers fine journalism. The following video is an example of their good reporting. Since I am an avid cyclist and a development worker, this immediately caught my attention. It’s a great story about an organization in Ghana that is making bicycles even more eco-friendly by building them with bamboo! And it is always great to hear a positive story out of Africa.
I will just be blunt with you; American mainstream news sucks and it caters to the lowest common denominator. I am fed up with the nonstop coverage of Kimye, the missing plane, and Hillary Watch. American cable news doesn’t actually do news anymore; it bloviates – all the time.
I am sick of the so-called “pundits” arguing over issues that don’t really matter. I’ve given up on American mainstream news. In recent years, I have been gravitating away from traditional American news outlets and more towards the ones that actually cover real news. Below is a partial list of news outlets I check out on a regular basis. Since my career floats between journalism and international development, many of these news outlets are from a global perspective.
Democracy Now – I start my mornings everyday with the “War and Peace Report” from one of my journalism heroes Amy Goodman. Democracy Now does in-depth reporting on issues that don’t normally make the cut in most American journalism. When another journalism hero William Worthy died last month, Democracy Now promoted an excellent interview they did with Worthy a few years ago about his ground-breaking career.
Vice – I have been following Vice for sometime now. Their documentaries are amazing and thought-provoking. I actually get excited when a new video is uploaded to their YouTube channel or shown on HBO. Since Vice is not your traditional news outlet, many of their documentaries, as they say, “specialize in exploring uncomfortable truths and going to places we don’t belong.” Vice is best known recently for traveling to North Korea with Dennis Rodman last year, but they also do other fascinating stories about air pollution in China and transsexual sex workers in Brazil. I am a big fan of their web series Fashion Week Internationale and Last Chance High.
Al Jazeera America – Another fine news outlet – great reporting and analysis. It is a shame that it has a really bad public relations problem in the United States. Nonetheless, I can learn more from watching an hour of AJAM than from watching CNN all day. I also tune to this channel to get the alternative perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Global Voices – If you really want to get your news unfiltered, you should turn to this news aggregator of hundreds of bloggers reporting from all corners of the world. Whether its chatter about the Arab Spring, or discussions about Indonesian fashions, stories and news tips that appear on Global Voices first usually turn into big international news items eventually. This is also a good place to get firsthand accounts of breaking news. When the shootings in Nairobi’s Westgate Mall happened last year, I turned to Global Voices to see what Kenyan and other African bloggers on the ground were saying about it.
Foreign Policy Magazine – This is a must-read for all foreign policy junkies. Everyday FP’s website has very engaging articles on many of the hot button international topics today. Being a web designer, I also appreciate the fabulous responsive design of their new website.
The Economist – I mostly go here for my fix of international business news, but sometimes I buy a book because of a review I read here. Some of their irreverent pieces are also good reads.
UN News Centre – This news service is not only good for news on General Assembly during UN Week, but this is also a great resource for year round reports on international development topics.
CNN International – American CNN is garbage. If you are lucky to access the international version, you will see more actual news reporting, and less punditry.
BBC World – Straight, international news – no bias or punditry – every hour, on the hour. During the weekends the network also shows great documentaries.
