I guess you could say when it comes to reading the news that I want to be catered to. I want a source that features topics that I would actually read about. A site that delivers the news to me in a way that makes me think I'm in the loop. Make me feel smart! And then a site that lets me show off my new intellect to everyone else. All of that good stuff. Unfortunately, that site doesn't exist.
But I guess I could settle for three separate sites instead. Vice is my go to for anything I want to keep up to date on from news to fashion and food. After Vice, we go to Mic. Mic is like my translator from CNN gibberish to lazy college student lingo. That is my ticket into the loop. I actually understand what I am reading and it makes me feel smart! What do I do with this "smartness"? I take it on over to Slate to drop some knowledge on those folks. Slate allows its users to discuss particular articles with other Slate users in the commenting forum. That's where I make it rain with cold hard facts.
With these three sites under my belt I know everything. (Well not everything but I surely feel like I do.)
Hey Joanni,
ReplyDeleteThe choice of analogy you used is interesting, although I don't particularly relate to it.
There are new sites that cater to your particular set of interests; all you'd have to do is manipulate the settings for preferences. One site that allows you to set your preferences is Google news, which actually sources it's articles from all over the web (in multiple languages, to boot.)
I, also, love VICE for their "Munchies" blog. Whenever I read something on VICE, I intuitively know that whomever wrote the article is around my age, and most likely is aware of the basic cultural norms of millennials. I'd say that VICE is geared toward millennials, in fact.
Also, you could look up definitions for terms that you don't understand which appear on articles. That way, you know what the term means the next time you come across it.
Sharif,
ReplyDeleteI did not know about the Google news preferences. That is definitely something I will look into because I am always googling something or another. That would just make it a lot easier than going to several sites.
The analogies I used were just situations that I just feel the most awkward in. I have definitely walked into the wrong class before and sat down and had no clue what was going on. Only to find out later on that the class I was supposed to be in was across the hall. Freshman struggles.
Thanks for your feedback. Good information that I could definitely apply to my news hunt.
Joanni,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you--what a great analogy here about the perfume counter. It always gives my husband a headache and he rushes us out of that part of any store. I think the modern 24-hour news cycle can really overstimulate is (like smelly perfumes), such that important news can actually be tuned out.
I do have a question about the Jenner/crayon comment. I'm not quite sure I understand? Was there some sort of crayon controversy? I did find your comment about the Mic site interesting. Can you show with a specific example how a news item has been translated?
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI only made that Jenner reference out of pure frustration. I had been on a news site for several (for an assignment in another class) and each day I saw an article talking about Jenner's hair changes. I brought that up just as a way to show how things that I am not interested in tend to be front paged.
As far as Mic being a translator, I could have written that a bit better. When I read articles on the major news sites I tend to get lost in the article and don't understand what I am reading. I find that Mic covers some of the same stories but writes it in a way that I follow and understand better. The NY Times has an article about Kevin McCarthy resigning from his position. I read the article and kind of got the gist of what happened. It wasn't until I read the same article on Mic did I understand why his withdrawal is such a big issue. Mic, for me, is the difference between reading an article and comprehending what I am reading.
Joanni,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you. Its so much going on In the news and each station has what they think is important and a lot of important things that are missing out on. I can see how it can be frustrating because its over whelming.