Unfortunately in today’s climate the news can feel rather depressing and I try to limit consuming traditional news media. I prefer to consume positive news on the local, national, and global levels. There is a local WI journalist, Christina Lorey, that shares uplifting news in Wisconsin on social media. I also keep up with current events in the U.S. from third-party news sources, specifically outlets catering to younger demographics. I gravitate toward channel3000.com, cnn.com, and msnbc.com as traditional sources. Associated Press is my favorite news source. I like knowing it’s a reputable site and compiles the stories from all over the world. I am from Madison and still live there so I do keep up with Madison news as it impacts my daily living. I want to be educated on current topics, issues, and plans within the city. I follow News 3 Now and various city officials for local news in Madison. I use Google to find news specifically when there is a specific topic I want to read about. Then, I will go through the different results to find a reputable source. I will also read articles from multiple outlets, as long as they are trustworthy. I do use AI occasionally. I think it’s important to limit usage to not become reliant on it but also to not lose skills by having AI do it (i.e. reading, writing, problem solving). However, I do not use AI for finding or reading news articles. I mainly read articles and watch news clips. The majority of news media I consume is online. I occasionally watch news broadcasts, but I prefer to consume media in my own time, rather than sitting to watch an hour plus long broadcast. I prefer watching video clips from independent journalists or broadcasts, typically on social media because I enjoy shorter-form content. I also can get a larger variety of sources, journalists, locations, than sticking to one station or website. I toured a local Madison station and watched a live broadcast in the studio. That is one of the experiences that led me to pursue journalism. I interacted with a few different journalists there. I regularly get news through social media. Usually, it is a preview of the official news page that I will follow the link for the rest of the story. I do not use X or Bluesky regularly. I follow some news sites but I think it is harder to find trustworthy posts on X as a lot of it is political discourse riddled with propaganda and misinformation. I read a couple lifestyle and writing blogs on Substack. I also recently got into podcasts, mostly true crime, pop culture, and lifestyle. I have been online for many, many years and have developed online literacy skills to filter through what is real and fake online. There have been times where I read an article and took another look and found the site was not trustworthy. I try to look for established news sites, multiple independent sources, consistent reporting, use of primary sources, and clear attribution and sourcing within articles which I found helps me find reputable news.