The type of news I’m most interested in would be either state or national level. In regard to state-wide news, I find stories about new legislature or the governor the most interesting. My mom has worked in education as an administrator for almost 20 years, so I like to stay on top of any new happenings with laws or bills that are passed to benefit students and educators.
At the national level, I find stories about hot topics like gun control and family planning the most interesting. I think it’s really fascinating to see how states handle issues differently depending on how liberal or conservative their government is. There aren’t any specific stories I monitor on a regular basis.
I still follow the news from my home town via Facebook. I follow our local public radio station and our television news station to keep up-to-date on what’s going on there. There’s usually nothing breaking, but since I come home quite often and hope to move to the area after graduation, I like to know what’s going on at home.
Even though I’m a journalism major I don’t have a particular interest in television or print news. I have a passion for public radio and enjoy listening to NPR when I’m driving places. I find it really relaxing and I like that they cover more human-interest stories rather than blasting the same political stories repeatedly like most cable news stations do.
I don’t generally visit news sites on purpose. If I do, it’s to visit NPR’s website to see the rundown for All Things Considered or Weekend Edition. Of any news site, I’d say NPR is my favorite. I enjoy the types of stories they cover, and I like that they include audio and still photos to enhance the stories. It’s also a very simple website and isn’t as cluttered and sensational as other sites like CNN or Fox News might be.
When I do go looking for news, I’ll usually Google search the topic or event and go to whatever looks like a decent website to get the information. When the Stoneman Douglas shooting happened, I saw something briefly on Facebook and then googled “Florida Shooting” and went to the first site that popped up (that wasn’t Fox News).
During the few times that I read news online, I like looking at photo slide shows and interacting with infographics. I think they’re the best to get information quickly and effectively while still being interesting and holding my attention. My favorite format would be looking at photos because I think they tell the story even better than using words, audio or video. There isn’t anyone telling you what to understand or get from the story and you can make up your mind about what’s happening.
I have never interacted on a news story before. I usually don’t feel strong enough about the topic to say anything, especially on social media. Although I tend to get a lot of news stories through Facebook, I don’t interact with my Facebook friends who share the stories or the news station itself. I have a Twitter account, but I don’t use it because I don’t enjoy the format. I do listen to podcasts quite a bit while I’m working because I like having background noise and they can be really informational. My favorite podcasts would be Unladylike and Stuff Mom Never Told You. I’ve learned a lot about different issues women around the country are facing and how to overcome more female-focused issues.
I’ve never really had a fake news experience before since I don’t spend much time looking for stories. If I ever doubt the legitimacy of a story, I go on Snopes to find out whether it’s true or not. TO make sure the stories I’m reading are reliable and accurate, I only go to reputable news websites. I try to most go NPR or the AP since they’re the least right or left-leaning (in my opinion).
