I think I’ve consumed more news online this past year than I ever have in my life. It’s amazing how much is out there if you just dig for it. On an international level, I’m really interested in soccer and what goes on in the English and German leagues, so I’m always reading about that. In terms of things I tend to read about a lot, I’d say the coverage of sex trafficking is probably what I’ve searched and read about the most. For some reason, (other than Epstein), I feel like there isn’t much coverage on it for the most part. I encourage everyone to look into Epstein’s case and other individuals who you may not hear about on a national (news-scale) level.

Early on in 2020, I followed everything I could that was even semi-related to his case, and it’s very interesting to me. I think there’s a lot that’s been left unsaid, and part of me feels like there’s a reason (or at least somewhat of one), as to why this stuff isn’t being reported more frequently. 

As for hometown news, I’m from Milwaukee, so I usually just do a google search and go from there. I don’t really look up local news unless it’s a bigger story and in that case, I usually use fox6now.com. 

In terms of search engines, for the most part, I use google to find my news. I know that a lot of news can get censored to the bottom of when you search for it when you use google. When I consume news, I usually just read text and sometimes watch videos if it’s a bigger story. I’m not too big on looking at pictures and things of that nature, so I’d say that text is probably my favorite and the method I use most often.

Going into social media, I think we’re in a very unique time for news and how it’s consumed through social media. Personally, I try to stay away from news directly from social media, and if I find it from there, I always go and check to make sure it’s reliable. It’s so easy nowadays for a post to go viral and people will instantly believe what it says. It’s a risky time we’re living in, because people who aren’t even qualified to write some of the things they do, can still get the publicity and recognition because of social media. For me though, I follow a few reporters and people who kind of speak their mind on certain topics, but I wouldn’t say I necessarily get news from there. Also, I read comments and conversations between people from time to time, but I refrain for the most part from chiming in; simply because I don’t think it’s progressive, and most of the time there’s no benefits that could come from engaging in the conversation(s). 

I would say I go through a pretty extensive method of finding out if news outlets are reliable. I’m not a big believer in most fact checking websites, with snopes.com being one I’m not too fond of. There are a select group of people that are in charge of the content, similar to some news outlets, and I think that a couple have some agendas of their own. One thing I’ve learned over the last year or two, is that news nowadays gets away with a lot of fabrication, and people don’t seem to notice, or care. 

On top of that, nowadays more than ever, a lot of the news being reported gets fabricated. On top of that, I feel like there’s a lot of reporters that insert their opinions into their writing, rather than just stating facts. I think that reporters should just report facts and let the readers form their own opinions. You see it a lot nowadays with political articles and things that relate to that. I think some steps you should take when looking if news is reliable, is first look at the outlet it’s coming from. After that, if you want to dig a little deeper, go and look at the journalist and their previous work. I’ve noticed that you can kind of sense how some articles will be written, in terms of if an individual will be biased based on their previous work, and the news outlet/media they work for. 

I’ve learned a lot over the past year or so, and I’ve found myself being a lot more interested in the majority of news for the most part. I think it’s a good thing I’ve gained interest, but at the same time, it’s shown me that the media, and the way news is reported and covered, is a lot different than I ever imagined.