The word that best describes my digital news habits is contradictory. It\u2019s inescapable that I am a creature of my century. Rather than printed newspaper purists or prime-time (and on-time) fanatics, I\u2019ve satiated my predilection for news through podcasts. As a journalism student, I couldn\u2019t run far enough away from the audio journalism medium. I justify this contradiction with a basic theory: love languages. More on that later. For now, let\u2019s talk politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have made, what some people would call, the brave decision to launch myself into the consumption of and the (future) coverage of national politics. To reinject some modesty, I\u2019ll say right now that it is less a brave choice and more a naive one. Political philosophy opened the door of my interest, but national debate and disagreement turned the key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can\u2019t say I care about Biden\u2019s favorite flavor of ice cream or a congresswoman\u2019s flight back to reality after accusing Jews of manning space lasers. I do, however, care about the effects of COVID-19, the direction of the Supreme Court, a receding Afghanistan, an ever-burning Arab-Israeli conflict, violence in our cities, the ever-intensifying plight of the inner-city student, and all the rest. Like everyone else in the country, I am trying to keep my eyes abroad and home simultaneously. Overseas, I\u2019m looking to Ukraine. At home, I\u2019m looking at surging case numbers and to the chambers of the High Court. I can\u2019t omit good old Wisconsin, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though it\u2019s easy for me to have tunnel-vision, I look to Wisconsin news for COVID-19 data and guidelines. For most of my life, I had written off local news, but I\u2019m slowly coming around. And here\u2019s where social media plays a part. I recently subscribed to the Facebook outlet, MadisonMinutes. It\u2019s refreshing to receive short, concise doses that keep me grounded in the Midwest. Though social media has given me this, I try not to inform myself through memes and overly long, politically-charged rants (I\u2019ve heard some do this). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am unplugged from a particular story, social media may strike my curiosity, but the Google \u201cNews\u201d option fills in the details. This usually happens with sports; it took a few days for me to realize that the Packers disappointed us again. Though I\u2019ve been known to pop on to CNN\u2019s homepage or see what USA Today has to offer, I don\u2019t hound news websites. The reason for this is twofold: cynicism and time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I won\u2019t lie and say that I don\u2019t lean in one direction. I shoot for the center, but I usually find myself a little right of it. For no nonsense, straight news stories, I\u2019ll look to the bigger names: The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN. From what I\u2019ve discovered, there\u2019s a lot of junk out there; this pronouncement includes both wings. My search for solemnity and reason is far from perfect, but I\u2019ve found myself attracted to long-form podcasts. Cable news just seems like a joke to me. One podcast I particularly favor is the Megyn Kelly Show. No, it\u2019s not perfect. I struggle to believe that those who claim to be unbiased are truly so. With that said, I like to look to the voices that entertain, converse and argue with both perspectives. Pursuing a news career, I know I have a long way to go in developing my habits. Right now, podcasts fit well in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While engaged in necessary yet mindless activity, such as driving, cleaning or exercising, I\u2019ll turn on a podcast. Listening has proven a fantastic way to gain information quickly. Through podcast archives, I can also monitor my favorite hosts for consistency. I have a lot of work to do, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the world seems to be forever descending into madness, I do hope I can ascend into a realm of balance, debate, honesty and consistency. I assume my future news consumption habits will follow people and not news brands. Substack piques my curiosity. When both aisles begin to scream, I sometimes find it hard to pay attention. I\u2019ve chosen my path, but it\u2019s obvious that there are some bits of irony present: I want to write for a newspaper, but I don\u2019t frequent them for myself; I\u2019m somewhat disillusioned with the mainstream media, but I have no qualms working in the mainstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contradictions aside, I think it\u2019s important we all find a way to contribute to those things we care about. I\u2019ve decided I care about the inner-workings of my polity, and I want to contribute my reason, civility and words towards it. Enter love languages. The way we receive affection differs from the way we send it. It\u2019s the same with a message. I decode audio, and I will send words. As I wrestle with my contradictions, I\u2019ll keep listening, and I\u2019ll keep writing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The word that best describes my digital news habits is contradictory. It\u2019s inescapable that I am a creature of my century. Rather than printed newspaper purists or prime-time (and on-time) fanatics, I\u2019ve satiated my predilection for news through podcasts. As… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8523,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/j237anniepulley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}