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By Laura Swanson
It’s all bad news — scary news and sometimes, fake news, to the point where many people are simply not listening to or reading the news, which is a scary thought for me. I get it, but I don’t have that luxury, though I am very careful about my own mental health and I log off most evenings. Take care of yourself, and stay informed, especially during these historical times. As a journalist, I get asked a lot about “trusted news sources.” Several months ago, I was asked “What do you read?” When I started making a list, I realized that I read A LOT of news and information resources, viewpoints and commentaries. Here are some of my go-to sources – in no particular order:
- Associated Press/AP – The Pioneer has provided stories for the AP and is the Tillamook County election stringer for the AP.
- NPR/OPB/KMUN – National Public Radio, Oregon Public Broadcasting
- Heather Cox Richardson/Letters from an American, The Free Press, The Ink, The Contrarian, Civil Discourse, Steady – all of these are on Substack – you can subscribe for free to receive some content and there are several others as well
- Reuters, The Boston Review and the BBC and Al Jazeera for International news to see what the rest of the world thinks about what’s going on here.
- Variety of local media – The Oregonian, Astorian, Willamette Week
Other sources? Please share other trusted, verified news sources you regularly read. I also rely on several other media professionals, research and review, I ask a lot of questions. Recently I’ve been posting more political news on the Pioneer’s Facebook page (I know a lot our readers don’t do Facebook) and I manage the Pioneer’s social media differently than the news website. It’s proven to be a very interesting social experiment and I’ve learned a lot, in particular that we need to share more information about TRUSTED NEWS SOURCES. I was sharing Dan Rather/Steady, Heather Cox Richardson and the AP and people were commenting about it being mis-information, and they were upset because it was bashing the president. There was concern that the Pioneer had been hacked (hahaha, nope, just using our platform to share truth), and demands for “just local news” and that “politics aren’t news.” One of my favorites when I shared Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American – TLDR – What?? “Too-Long-Didnt-Read”… Basically, it was a “we don’t want to learn anything and are comfortable with fake news, lies and mis-information.” I also learned that a majority of the Pioneer’s readers are smart, informed and they countered the name-calling and mis-information with the facts and the truth.
We are being assaulted by a fire hose of fake news, lies and mis-information, and we are going to build a bonfire of the truth, facts, kindness and community that evaporates the fire hose. Please share your trusted news sources if there are other resources. We are all in this together.
Join us for the HUGGS Community Conversation on Thursday March 20th to build community resiliency.
We are isolated and it can feel as though we are very alone – know that there are movements happening throughout the country.
Join a local Indivisible Group – go here to find out more information – www.indivisible.org
Follow “The Resist List” – www.choosedemocracy.us/resistlist
SUPPORT DEMOCRAT/PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES ACROSS COUNTRY:
I hope all is well and that you’re taking great care of yourself. If your heart is as weary as mine I hope you’ll appreciate this good news: Dems have a chance to gain TWO Congressional seats on April 1st. That will put them just 1 vote away from having control of The House and being able to slow down trump. We DESPERATELY need voters to come out in Florida. Can I ask for your support in sending a postcard to EVERY household in the two districts? Please sponsor ten cards at .66 cents each? More if you can. We really need your help. Thank you and please share this message. TinyActsOfDefiance.org
