How Do You Keep Up with Current Events?

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1. I’m subscribed to the NYT’s Morning Briefing emails and the Skimm; the Morning Briefing is better, and if I only have time to read one or the other, the Skimm goes in the trash. If the task I’m doing at work allows it, I listen to the news (and other bits) via the NPR One app. I also go to the Google News site at some point in my commute and skim through the headlines, opening a few that interest me.

2. We subscribe to our local paper. I read it online and also read the Washington Post online. (Our local subscription comes with access to the Post.)

   I do not want “curated” news in facebook. I read facebook to know what’s going on with my friends, not to see what someone else has decided is important about politics or national and international events. I have set up a filter on facebook so I see nothing about the presidential campaign. I really do not want to know what my friends think about either Clinton or Trump. I can’t stand either one. (My filter also blocks out anything with “squee!” or “nom!” in it and my life is so much better now.)

   I also listen to the radio when I drive to work. I catch the 7 a.m. national news and I hear news discussions, flipping from liberal to conservative stations, depending on my mood.

   1. Tell me more about this filter. Is it withing Facebook or something separate?

      1. I am using the Social Fixer add on. (Not sure if my terminology is correct.) If you google “Social fixer,” you will find it.

         You can set up your own filters and also use their defined ones. (They have, I think, a “No election anything” filter.) You can block seeing ads and seeing all the random stuff your friends like and you can have your feed default to “most recent” instead of what FB thinks is important. I really like it.

         1. Thanks!

      2. Yes. Begging for you to tell us please!

3. NPR while getting dressed/shower radio and while in the car and while making dinner (or podcasts during dinner prep if I’m worn out with the news).

   Online, NYT/New Yorker for in depth, glance at Google News.

4. I used to listen to news podcasts daily including NBC Nightly News, Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Morning Joe, Meet the Press, and Fox News Sunday. I used to subscribe to the New York Times but didn’t read it enough to justify the cost.

   Then I went on a news fast and social media break. My husband mentions big news stories, so I wasn’t missing out on everything. He reads the daily allotment of free New York Times stories and the Washington Post. The break was really good for me. Things were just getting me too riled up.

   I’ve broken my news fast a bit. I subscribe to The Broadsheet and NYT Morning Briefing. If there’s a current even that I’m interested in, I’ll go read more stories about it online.

   1. Glad I’m not the only one who needs to limit my news as much as social media!

5. I second the NYT/Skimm combo- I read them both on my commute to work in the morning to prepare myself for the day.

6. NPR while getting ready in the morning and after work (if I get home while All Things Considered is still on) and if I’m driving anywhere.
   Online throughout the day: NYTimes (I’m a digital subscriber), Washington Post, Slate, The Atlantic, FiveThirtyEight and various other sites.
   The Skimm in the morning , though that rarely includes anything new for me.
   Morning Money newsletter.
   News clips sent every morning at work.
   Facebook.

7. I read the NY P’ost ON LINE, exept when I am with Dad, b/c he insist’s that I read the Wall Street Journal and NY TIMES at his house b/c he get’s them BOTH delivered. I used to read the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal, but found that it was too messy for me to hold those up and read b/c the ink got on my clotheing. FOOEY!

8. I normally read the Daily News on line every morning and then listen to YAHOO.COM podcasts.

9. NPR in the car.
   NYT and WSJ on-line (paper subscription to Sunday NYT; daily WSJ paper subscription through work – both grant full digital access).
   Micro neighborhood news at the Daily North Shore.
   My parents don’t understand that I don’t watch the “local news”.
   They have a point – I know more about what is going on national/international than Chicago.

   1. I’m with you, I never listen to the local news. It seems like the only point of the local news is to scare us (kidnapping here, murder over there, terrible car accident on the highway). That’s not information that I need. I’ve seen times when nothing scary happened locally they cover a terrible story several states over. I get all of my local information from the Washington Post and DC blogs.

   2. I’m with you largely. NPR in the car. Print subscription to the WSJ. I get most of my Chicago local news through a free local newspaper with a primary focus on entertainment. I looked into getting the Chicago Tribune but, like jumpingjack, I felt that the coverage was more focused on sensationalism than the state’s budget fight. I’m sadly under informed about Illinois politics, which probably contributes to the ongoing shenanigans.

      1. I tried to get a paper subscription of the Trib. After three weeks of paying and not receiving the paper and then calling them every few days when they would tell me they really were going to get the paper to me next time, I canceled.

         When I called to cancel, the woman on the phone said, “is there anything we can do to keep you as a subscriber?”. Um, yeah: deliver me my paper! It’s absurd in an age when print journalism is fighting so hard. Now I just get a digital subscription to the NYT, get the Atlantic and the New Yorker in print, and use my library’s login for the Tribune. I would love to get an actual Sunday paper, but it’s apparently not in the cards for me.

         1. The Washington Post has the same issues with print subscriptions. I want so much to support print journalism and they make it so hard. I subscribe to Sundays only, have **constant** delivery and billing problems, and their customer service is terrible. It’s like they’re trying to drive me away as a customer.

   3. I never listen to the local NYC news, but my husband is obsessed with the Philadelphia Action News local news. He doesn’t watch the entire thing every day but watches a number of stories and shows me the ones with really entertaining graphics or when Drone 6 or Chopper 6 has been brought in to cover the story. He particularly likes the yearly bear sighting stories. Local news can be so much more entertaining than I would have thought. He’s seen the local news from my hometown and it is downright boring in comparison.

      1. Ok I lied. I do watch local NYC news, but only when there is some sort of major disaster (i.e. Sandy) going on. I like to call it disaster p*rn. But I don’t watch it on any sort of regular basis.

10. This is mostly a rant. While I don’t expect my coworkers to be close friends, it’s really getting me down that both of the only other women on my team are just… awful. One’s a condescending know-it-all who countermands our boss whenever he’s out of earshot (despite having no actual authority and frequently incorrect information) and the other is just a hot-mess of bad judgement (i.e. discussing her latest partner’s uncircumcised p3nis with our older, male, married teammates). I can barely bring myself to sit through a lunch with the combination, which results in spending most of my work days with very little collegial interaction. As an extrovert, I just feel lonely at the end of the day. (We also have very variable work-loads, so when I’m not busy… there’s very little productive to do and I’m stuck in one of those stretches.)
    /Rant

    1. That’s unfortunate and it would be nice to have some women to eat with, but you could also talk to the guys. I’ve always been the youngest person and often sole female on investment teams and it never stopped me from having social non-romantic friendships with my male coworkers. I’m also an extrovert so I understand your preference for human interaction. Good luck!

       1. I should have added that while most of the men are ok, they’re all a solid 15-20 years older and I haven’t really identified any common interests with them. So, it’s polite small talk… on repeat.

11. I read the papers, listen to the news as I get ready (if you have time warner cable in NYC, they actually have a feature where they tell you all the major stories to you and that’s usually in the background in the morning so I’ll read any articles that I want to know more of), I also listen to current events podcasts and watch the occasional political show at night (right now, I like Pardon the Interuption on Bloomberg Politics).

    I don’t mind paying for content I consume regularly (NYT) but I will sneak around the paywall if i just want to read one random story (WSJ).

    I never think of myself as a news junkie but I am often surprised when someone who I otherwise consider informed and intelligent hasn’t heard about a big news story. I sincerely try not to judge but sometimes it takes me ten seconds. I think if you are into all these things it can feel shocking when someone isn’t.

    1. Not sure how this posted twice but obviously PTI is a sports show and the politics show is With All Due Respect. PTI is great for sports stuff though so I have some idea what people are talking about at work (I work with mostly men and they all like sports).

12. I read the papers, listen to the news as I get ready (if you have time warner cable in NYC, they actually have a feature where they tell you all the major stories to you and that’s usually in the background in the morning so I’ll read any articles that I want to know more of), I also listen to current events podcasts and watch the occasional political show at night (right now, I like With All Due Respect on Bloomberg.

    I don’t mind paying for content I consume regularly (NYT) but I will sneak around the paywall if i just want to read one random story (WSJ).

    I never think of myself as a news junkie but I am often surprised when someone who I otherwise consider informed and intelligent hasn’t heard about a big news story. I sincerely try not to judge but sometimes it takes me ten seconds. I think if you are into all these things it can feel shocking when someone isn’t.

13. We subscribe to the local newspaper. I also have a NYT electronic subscription.

    I use feedly and follow 11 news sites in addition to information relevant to work and fun.

    I catch the local morning news for a few minutes most mornings, but mostly for the weather.

14. For me local news TV &radio, NYT online, local newspaper, Facebook, Twitter

15. The Skimm, every day. I also pay for the Washington Post online, although I live in Chicago.

16. NPR hourly news and political podcasts while I’m getting ready and driving. I get The Skimm, but more often than not, I don’t actually read it.

17. BBC World News North America as we’re getting ready in the morning. If I am driving, I listen to either NPR or the local radio station’s morning news on the way to work.

    I also read Buzzfeed, Jezebel & Deadspin. (Deadspin’s coverage of sexual assault in sports is excellent.) While they all skew younger than I am, they also all seem to be really interested in providing information.

18. I am not in the working world yet and just finishing HS but I believe it is so important to, not only be informed but also try to learn as much context and background as possible so as to be able to discuss subjects in some depth. I am on my school’s debating team and this discipline has really helped competitively. There is a downside, however. I am discovering that few wish to socialize with me because an articulate, intelligent female, especially one who dresses well (I get so many wardrobe ideas from this blog) is seen a threat. Is this what I have to look forward to?

    1. an articulate, intelligent female, especially one who dresses well (I get so many wardrobe ideas from this blog) is seen a threat. Is this what I have to look forward to?

       Yes. It’s a great filter and saves you from having to deal with insecure men. :) You will be fine.

19. late to the party but I check the google news homepage a few times a day to see what is trending
    in the morning i like Broadsheet – it’s an email like Skimm but I like it better – it covers a wide variety of stories that are interesting to women

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