Support Alternative Media: Some recommendations

The irresponsible "rush to narrative" of the Mainstream Media after the shootings in Arizona last weekend demonstrated that the majority of the "Mainstream" media falls to the left of President Obama's position concerning how news should be reported. And the big media outlets utterly failed to accurately report what was happening at the shooting site. For example, many outlets reported that Representative Giffords was dead. Too bad that journalism schools now teach that the job of reporters is to "make a difference" rather than to "report the news".

 The standards for accuracy in journalism which we relied on in the past seem to have been abandoned. There was little curiosity concerning legitimate issues surrounding the shootings.  Thankfully, there is still some input from the right side of the political spectrum on the opinion pages of major papers.  And it's important to give credit to the lefties when they do a good job.  But in terms of reporting, you will often need to go elsewhere to avoid the "rush to narrative". Local reporting was more accurate than the big national media organizations in this case, and good local reporters should be supported. But where do you go for alternative information on national stories?

If you are a committed progressive/liberal, you need to understand other points of view. Unless you want to become as ineffective in conversations with the Right as this  (Brutal satire alert). You aren't likely to find adequately-detailed alternative viewpoints unless you seek them out. Often, even conservatives have difficulty articulating the philosophical or practical bases for their positions.    If you are a moderate liberal, classical liberal, libertarian or a conservative, you need correct information.  Incorrect assertions are quickly shot down in the center-right blogosphere (and on the "classic" center-left blogs, which are sometimes linked by the sites below). Some interesting sites you could check out and browse occasionally:

If you're short on time, INSTAPUNDIT (libertarian law professor Glenn Reynolds) provides links to sites from across the political spectrum, typically with very short commentary.  Note:  don't expect him to be a conservative.  He's very libertarian on social issues.  Monday mornings are a good time to glance through the first page - he usually includes a weekend roundup.  The search function on the site is quite good. In addition to issues concerning law and politics, he often links pieces on medical and scientific advancements (including nanotechnology and "green" technologies); books and book reviews; photography, cooking, music and assorted other subjects. He rounds up tips on disaster preparedness and recently defended President Obama on the issue of civil defense. Reynolds started blogging to avoid constant worrying when his wife's life was in danger due to a heart condition. She's a clinical psychologist with expertise in violent children who blogs as Dr. Helen.

REAL CLEAR POLITICS presents a convenient overview of the issues of the day, linking mainstream media sites as well as journals and blogs from across the political spectrum without commentary. A good place to go for the text of speeches (on the day they are given or the day after). Their own commentary leans right, although they invite guest commentary from the left.

Don't believe balance is necessary?  The New York Times was probably the worst offender (outside of television) in pushing a pre-determined political narrative concerning the Arizona shootings.  They often seem to set the "narrative" for other mainstream media outlets.  Ed Driscoll posts on the question: How do you solve a problem like Paul Krugman?   He links the Ace of Spades website, where you can find  some crude language (think "South Park Conservatives" - or maybe "South Park Libertarians"). The language is not as bad as on many lefty blogs, but you might want to stick with links to ACE OF SPADES from more "work-safe" and "home-safe" sites.  Ace can be brilliant (for an agnostic, sometimes crude, epileptic attorney) and there are other good (if often snarky) writers at this site. The link here is disturbing, but because it tells the truth -- not because of gratuitous obscenity. “New York Times Tells Lie Big Enough To Earn It Another Pulitzer.” Ouch!!!!.  So mean, Ace.  Do you think you're on Comedy Central or something?  

POWERLINE BLOG (three conservative, Ivy League-type attorneys) puts in a plug for PAJAMAS MEDIA which was started after RatherGate as a loose confederation of libertarian, conservative, classical liberal and international bloggers with a plan to provide a real alternative to the Mainstream Media. Their flippant name comes from mockery of the bloggers "writing in their pajamas in the basement" who challenged the Mainstream Narrative concerning RatherGate -- and beat the "layers of fact-checkers and editors" in the mainstream media (particularly in high-budget television). They have now started producing videos like the Trifecta commentary at the link. Some of the videos are more "professional" than others. PajamasMedia has also started an entertaining and informative group blog, The Tatler, with short entries along the lines of those in the (establishment conservative) National Review's THE CORNER

BELMONT CLUB is one of my favorite sites, for unusual essays inspired by the news and written by Richard Fernandez (Wretchard) - a former Filipino revolutionary who was educated at Berkeley (and elsewhere in the U.S.) and lives in Australia. The place to go if you want to join a discussion about "black swans", "white swans" or developments in network communication. I'm also partial to CLAUDIA ROSETT, a real journalist who monitors the excesses and insanities at the United Nations and elsewhere. MICHAEL TOTTEN is an independent journalist who reports on the Middle East FROM the Middle East.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON is our neighbor from up the road in Selma. He's a raisin farmer, Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and a former Professor of Classics at Fresno State. Sometimes he strays from one topic to another in blog posts, and Wretchard periodically comments on these stream-of-consciousness posts. When VDH writes an essay which sticks to a single subject, it is often brilliant. His dual experience working the land and teaching in academia gives him an unusual outlook.  And then there are his studies of ancient civilizations, languages and his familiarity with modern Greece. As one of the few scholars of ancient and modern warfare in the country, he was an advisor for the movie "300".

Outside the current Pajamas Media umbrella, there's TIGERHAWK, the CFO of a medium-sized medical device company. He's a libertarian/conservative who listens to NPR and reaches out to liberals he loves  from time to time.  He blogs on Blogspot, just like me and Professor Jacobson. I also like Ed Morrissey at HOT AIR.   He used to have an independent blog called Captain's Quarters.  He's a conservative.  His wife, Marcia, is blind and has undergone a kidney transplant.  She blogs at Patheos. TOM MAGUIRE specializes in careful reading. Something not done often enough in today's fast-paced news cycle. Sense of Events posts interesting pieces from a Christian perspective. The Anchoress is even more assertively religious (Catholic) in her writing but often has some very interesting insights into political developments.

There are many other interesting voices out there. You'll find them at links to those above.

 For sites on the Right which occasionally play as fast and loose with the facts as the New York Times regularly does, you could look into the tabloid-style Breitbart sites, Big Hollywood, Big Government, Big Journalism and Big Peace. Breitbart is an activist, like most young journalists today (but on the other side politically from most of them). He is quite confrontational, eliciting howls and venom from the Left, which is used to taking advantage of the typical meek responses from the Right to their lies, bigotry and organized mischaracterizations. Expect uneven quality at these sites - sometimes very good, sometimes with amateurish characteristis. Expect these sites to make errors, but to correct them faster than the New York Times and to give responsible critics space to respond.

I recommend that you avoid the fever-swamp, conspiracy theory-loving sites of all political persuasions, or that you be realistic about their nature when you check them out.