A personal collection of ‘daily’ news sources used by Clipper Media News.
Photo: UK gossip magazine montage. Yes, a joke.
28 October 2022 | James Porteous | Clipper Media News
It has always been important to find news ‘sources’ we can trust. Is this more difficult now? I’m am not sure.
CNN, for example, is still prone to covering one story from one perspective 24/7. But that has always been the case.
And there has always been a sense that a particular source might be ‘trusted’ on some topics, but perhaps not on every topic.
The WSWS site below is a case in point. Their coverage of American (and now German) war efforts are among the best you will find anywhere. Their preoccupation with covid, however, has always been over the top.
Still, I apologise in advance for the preponderance of ‘current conflict’ coverage, but given the fact that Western media have either banned or outlawed dissenting views on this conflict, it is imperative we find sources that might shed light on alternative readings of the ‘facts.’
And can all of these sources be trusted? Mostly yes. As mentioned above, sometimes a source can be trusted, but their coverage of certain topics might be biased.
So the situation is fluid.
For example, if you read an article talking about the huge profits Big Oil is making during the so-called ‘fuel crisis,’ does the article tell you the actual figure of current profit levels, or compare those profits to past levels?
If not, you should know that a journalist would not ‘forget’ to mention such pertinent facts. The details were left out intentionally. Why? There is an agenda. We just don’t know what that agenda might be. But again, it does not happen by accident.
Likewise, perhaps you may have read about ‘protests’ in Iran concerning a young woman who ‘died while in jail.’ The original reports claimed she had been ‘beaten to death,’ but there have since been reports that she may have been a victim of pre-existing medial problems. Is that true? Perhaps. These subsequent reports were confirmed in trusted sources, not social media.
But what if you read an article today that continues to simply assert that she ‘died while in jail?’ That is of course accurate, but is it ‘trustworthy?’ Perhaps not. As in the other case, a real journalist would say there ‘have been reports that she may have died from pre-existing medical conditions.’ If not? You know the answer. Or perhaps the answer is something even more sinister (Iran accuses journalists who reported Mahsa Amini’s death of spying for CIA | Iran | The Guardian, 29 October 2022.)
My choices below are not open to debate, but of course people have to make up their own minds. And again – it has always been so. The only difference now is that ‘right wing’ complaints are always brushed aside no matter the topic or subject and more ‘liberal’ views are given more traction, just so long as they do not conflict with current government propaganda or programs, such as the current conflict.
Still, I have included caveats for the sources for particular coverage that might be even the slightest bit suspect.
This then, finally, is my list of sources, offered in the order I more-or-less in the order I visit them most days.
James Porteous | Clipper Media News
Al Jazeera English I worked for this Qatar-based TV Network as digital researcher for 10 years and they are not always 100% on some issues, but their coverage of the Middle East, including opinion pieces, is excellent.
China’s Global Times is an English daily that, as might be expected, is very critical of US economic sanctions, support of Taiwan and EU. By and large, the articles that are ‘critical’ of US ‘foreign policy’ are often dead on and present opinions that, in the old days, might have been found in the mainstream US press. Also very interesting for its coverage of China’s economy, traditions and the continuing fight against covid.
CLG News is one of the real hit-or-miss sites I read. The more right-wing anti-US government articles are ‘amusing,’ and not to be taken with too many grains of salt, but it is well-worth checking out for the articles on pertinent topics that might not find any coverage anywhere else.
Arab News is an always-interesting site. You will always find informative articles about the region, most of which are not covered in the Global North, such as Israel, US policies in the region, power shifts and such, and their are always interesting longer pieces on scientific and other advances in places like Saudi Arabia, as well as adult articles concerning Palestine.
WSWS is essentially a world-wide union publication, but it is definitely a ‘daily read.’ Their coverage of US (and now) German war ambitions are always worth reading, and are indeed among the best ‘alternative’ war coverage you might read. Their stories on healthcare, the EU, and working class needs around the world are also excellent. They are still obsessed with covid.
RT: I know. I can hear the gasping. But hear me out. RT is literally banned in the many places in the Global North, including the EU. This move was premeditated, as it began the very moment the current US proxy war began. Maybe I am old fashioned, but when a country like the US bans something, I am going to check it out. So lots of anti-US coverage, some of which is true and measured, some of which is not. But you will also find a great deal of coverage, insights and editorials on topics that might be considered ‘off limits’ in the West.
The National – UAE
I read The Guardian a few times a day for breaking news and arts coverage. Their war coverage is so gung-ho it is not worth reading, even for a laugh.
This is a good sources for US election coverage, as long as you keep in mind that the US is always in the middle of one of two election, the so-called midterms and the Presidential elections. So their ‘make or break’ tone is indicative of the fact that US politicians always have an eye on securing votes for that next election. Their daily political coverage leaves much to be desired, however.
Interesting coverage of fellow-EU countries but their blatant pro-war coverage is unsettling. Still, it does provide much-needed perspective of just how ‘active’ this country is around the world.
Excellent almost daily Youtube video coverage of the current conflict from a former US soldier. He sheds light on the West’s pro-war propaganda, spending a good deal of time explaining just how war really ‘works.’
Patrick Lancaster is an American in Russia, reporting from behind ‘enemy lines,’ talking to locals (Russians and Ukrainians) about the effects the current conflict has had on their daily lives for the past eight years.
