“Where do you get your news?” is a subject that comes a lot in IRL conversations with friends and I think it’s a very important, continuing chat we should all be having. For a lot of reasons that basically boil down to media monopolies, billionaires and private equity, we can’t simply rely on our local papers, TV channels and radio stations. While it seems like social media is the most convenient way to stay in the loop, we can’t trust the algorithm to send us the relevant, and truthful, news that we need.
So, I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of the news outlets I regularly read and watch. It’s broken down into categories. If you find this at all useful, please let me know and definitely feel free to share this with your pals.
Daily/Breaking News
The Guardian
That I live in Los Angeles and rely on a U.K. newspaper for my daily and breaking news says a lot about the state of media in the U.S. right now. Frankly, it sucks. I gave up on the L.A. Times ages ago, for a bunch of different reasons that may or may not be billionaire-related. Same with Washington Post, although that definitely is billionaire-related. And, as for New York Times, I get that the audience is really rich New Yorkers who don’t want people to know that they vote Republican, but I can’t even get a kick out hate-reading that shit anymore.
The Guardian, though, is solid. It reads like they have more reporters in the U.S. than our papers do. Their breaking news coverage of events like the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last week has been thorough. Their ongoing coverage of the ICE sieges, particularly in Minneapolis, is a good example of how the Trump regime should be covered. While they do quote the officials, they also regularly point out that what the administration says is bullshit without flat-out saying, “This is bullshit.” A bonus for The Guardian is that there’s no paywall.
Democracy Now!
I watch Democracy Now! on PBS SoCal Plus every morning. Most days, it helps keep me from doomscrolling because I get an hour of the most horrific news of the day with my morning coffee. Host Amy Goodman is a GOAT-level journalist who has been telling the stories that mainstream media conveniently ignores since the 1990s. If you can’t catch the show on TV, you can watch it online.
Local News
L.A. Taco
L.A. Taco started out as a blog about a tacos and street art years ago, but it has since grown into a great source for news from the streets of Los Angeles while remaining indie. Since the ICE siege here began last June, they’ve increased their coverage to include daily video updates on immigration raids.
Los Angeles Public Press
LA Public Press is an independent and non-profit news source that focuses on on local issues like housing, public transportation, environmental issues, etc. They’ve published investigations on living conditions at publicly-funded tiny home projects, eviction loopholes and surveillance tech.
Specialized News
404 Media
Founded by tech journalists, 404 is an indie site (and podcast) that gets into the nitty-gritty about surveillance, AI and other technology that has a huge impact on our lives.
BIG
BIG, the newsletter from Matt Stoller, author of Goliath: The 100 Year War Between Monopoly, Power and Democracy, is news and commentary about monopolies and antitrust efforts. There are a lot of important, underreported stories in here about the big business powers that control our lives, the years of lax antitrust enforcement that got us to the point and the current anti-monopoly movement.
Reasons to Be Cheerful
Even a pessimist like myself can’t read shitty news all day long. Reasons to Be Cheerful is the website founded by David Byrne focused on solutions journalism, or stories about solutions to problems that have actually worked.
Magazines
Mother Jones
Mother Jones has been around since the 1970s. It’s independent, non-profit and consistently produces award-winning journalism. The magazine is probably best known for investigative stories, but they run a good amount of daily reporting too.
Jacobin
Jacobin is upfront about its position as a socialist magazine, so that’s the position you’re going to get whether you’re reading about Zohran Mamdani or the new Park Chan-wook movie. The writers are really good at explaining socialism and social democracy, so if this is something you’re interested in, Jacobin is a good place to start.
Other tips
Get a library card! If you live in Los Angeles, you can get either a card for the Los Angeles Public Library, covering Central Library and all the branch locations in the city of Los Angeles, or the LA County Library card for many of the other libraries located in Los Angeles County. I have a card for both libraries. The perks for the two cards are slightly different, but both will give you access to all sorts of media, much of which you can access at home.
Keep Reading:
Best of 2025: The Year in Political Songs
Heaven 17 Was Right, ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’