How do you stay informed in a news blizzard?

Published 2:09 pm Thursday, July 7, 2011

I am what is called a “news junky.” I read a lot of newspapers and a lot of press, mostly on the Internet.

The two best sources of news for me, and I know everyone has their biases, is “The Wall Street Journal” and the “Drudge Report.” You can read these two sources and remain well-informed.

I do not read the “left wing” press, although I do watch MSNBC to see what they will come up with next. Their bent and take on the news is really entertaining. I know “wing nuts” on the left think the same thing about Fox.

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“The Journal” is unbelievable. The newspaper just floods and drowns you in minutia and news. If you read a whole edition, just one day’s report, it could take you several days to read through just that one edition.

Being a reporter myself, I don’t see how they churn out that much information in one day, but you must also realize that they have 1,500 reporters producing the paper and sources all over the world.

Since its founding the “Journal” was owned by the Bancroft family, but they recently sold out to Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox. Since the sale, I really have not noticed any change. “The Journal” has, in my opinion, the best editorial page in the nation. It is, of course, conservative, and is hard hitting, and has numerous columns interpreting the news.

You can subscribe to “The Journal” on-line or get it daily through the mail. I subscribe by mail, but if you get it, be prepared to do a lot of reading. If you are not a reader, it’s a waste of money, perhaps.

The “Drudge Report” is a gathering of reports, an aggregate site. It does not generate news itself, but only links to news sites from other sources. But it has millions of people daily coming to its site to get a general overview of the news. Again, Drudge has a conservative slant on its offerings, but can be unconventional in its selections.

Matt Drudge, who founded the website in the early 1990s, got his biggest break when he broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which the mainstream media at first was ignoring.

By directing you to certain sources, Drudge does manage the news, so you must read his site with that in mind.

Here’s a few things that I picked up from reading these sources, that you might not have picked up:

America is eyeball deep in the Libya crisis. The British press is reporting that American pilots have flown thousands of sorties. The British press covers a lot of interesting news that the U.S. media ignores.

A number of reputable economists say America is on a disastrous course economically, and we might have five to 10 years to get our financial and fiscal house in order before it collapses.

Congress is like a spoiled shopaholic, and after each spending binge, starts talking, in agonized grief, about the need to reform itself and enter spending rehab.

Iran is moving weapons into Iraq and Afghanistan under the radar in order to prepare for the removal of U.S. troops. Look for Iran to step up its influence in those two countries as the U.S. withdraws.

The U.S. has made contact with the Muslim Brotherhood and has taken preliminary steps to enter a dialogue with them.

Fed chief Ben Bernanke says he doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong with the American economy, why it remains in a sluggish recession. You would think that this man would know; he is at the center of the American financial system.

And there’s much more you can find out if you are a reader.