My online news source for years has been NBC news. Partly, NBC was partnered with my email provider and shared a landing page for a very long time. Partly, because I watched NBC news for years. Mostly, because those two things created a habit and they delivered solid enough news that I didn't have to jump. Occasionally, I bitched, but mostly...habits die hard.
Then they changed their web presence to be app-based. Now, I have no doubt that if I used a pad, their site would be magnificent. But I don't. I have a regular laptop. As a person who literally makes her living on her computer, a pad is an unnecessary, inefficient expense. Plus, I'm not techy, so not having the latest and greatest really is okay by me. When I first got this computer with Win8, I went through the learning curve and decided that yep, I hate Win8. It's inefficient and unnecessarily complicated for a computer. Then I got a a Win8 phone and wow! I was stunned at how well Win8 works on a machine designed for it (or for which it was designed, depending on how you look at it). I love Win8 on my phone. Which is a long-winded way of saying that I have no doubt NBC news looks great on app-based tech. But I still don't have app-based tech. I have a laptop.
So, I started looking around for a new place to get my online news. Years ago, during one of my bitching stages, AppSRus had mentioned he reads Al Jazeera. Given that I have more respect for him than I have for most people (put together), I figured I'd try it out. You know what I found? News.
Objective, fact-based (they even use that term), non-interpreted, non-slanted, non-biased, non-agenda-ed news. The landing page looks like a newspaper ~ well organized, easy to navigate, easy to read. The content is clear, concise, and well-written. It is also written for grown-ups with a modicum of education and intelligence. That stuff that NBC (and CBS and ABC) used to be. Fascinating... Turns out, I really do still care. I really can still be engaged. And I really am still capable of making up my own mind about I feel about a situation and don't need someone to spoon feed me that, either. It's nice to be a news junkie again.
Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.
4 comments:
Pobble,
Like many Americans, it's hard for me to get past the preconception that Al Jazeera is biased and pro-Arab, and that Al Gore sold out in selling CurrentTV to Al Jazeera, etc. etc. But the more I see, read and, hear, the more I understand that they are a solid news source with no more bias than any other news outlet, and probably less than many. I belive I read that they ticked off the Egyptian goverment, so there's no black or white here.
Thank you for that perspectiive. As you respect AppSRus I respect you and must take what you've written seriously. I need to check out Al Jazeera for myself.
Mike
P.S. Sorry you have a Windows 8 laptop. As in the blessing for the czar in Fiddler on the Roof, I wish {insert your Divinity here} to bless and keep Windows 8 far, far from me.
Mike ~
1. Thank you for the compliment. I am honored.
2. Al Jazeera is not anti-Muslim, and I think that makes many people uncomfortable to the point of seeing it as pro-Muslim. Admittedly, I have only been reading them off and on for a few years, and regularly for a few months, so I cannot speak to who they used to be. They are currently far less pro-any religion than I find the standard US news outlets to be.
3. Al-Jazeera reporters are indeed imprisoned and on trial in Egypt right now. Which I only know from reading Al-Jazeera.
4. Had I been able to find a PC without Win8, I still wouldn't have one. *sigh*
There has been a significant change in Al Jazeera over the last decade or so. I can't cite specifics because it's been so long, but I know when we used to do media analysis reports in the military their reporting was something we regularly had to counter with facts. But they've shifted significantly and it's refreshing.
So and So ~ This previous iteration of Al Jazeera is why AppsRUs had to sell me on them as well. I remember those days, too. Their shift *is* refreshing. TTG we all get to grow and evolve.
Post a Comment