"You read the paper, watch the news
and you think you're well informed
Well I got some news for you my friend
That headline that you read
the story that broke
it was a scandal - yeah a scam
political masterstroke
Tell you what they you want you to hear
close your eyes and open your ears"
Lies - The Waifs
I am really keen to get more informed about current events, politics and the like. I don't want to be one of these people who pontificates at length about stuff, but to be able to put forward an informed, well thought out opinion about things that are going on, would be nice.
Up until now, my view has been one of....well, apathy. I start trying to learn about something and it all gets too complicated and I find myself drifting off. I had all good intentions of 'voting below the line' at the last election, but I got there and looked at the options, realised I knew nothing about most of the candidates and felt instantly intimidated by this big fat complex system.
But how does one become informed without influence from one side or another? As the lyrics posted above point out, the media is hardly a credible source. I learned this very quickly during a brief stint in a Communications job. The media team were constantly putting out spot fires lit by over-zealous journalists trying to pin the latest 'health crisis' on one or two people (usually our CE and Minister - two regular blokes trying to do a bloody big job).
I am keen to hear from all of my unbiased information seeking friends. Where do you get your information which subsequently forms your opinions? Do you spend hours researching, or is there some place where you can get the raw facts, which you process in your own way/time? Do I have to sit and read Hansard (because that would really make me want to stab myself in the eye with a blunt object!) or am I doomed to be a nice person with no idea?
The Something Awful forums
ReplyDeletehttp://forums.somethingawful.com/
Yes, I am completely serious. The once off $10 joining fee is worth it. They also have an excellent photography sub forum which has helped me plenty with my photography (and a coding forum for my programming).
It's a little US centric, but there was thousands of posts about the Aus election earlier this year by many intelligent people (and the most important part, with differing opinions and not afraid to call others out on bias, straw man arguments or lies of omission).
Men's Health Magazine.
ReplyDeleteProper stuff I guess is just reading. Credible authors, not journalists as much. With appropriate sources. And by not always reading one side, but contrasting opinions.
There is a lot of mass produced shallow media these days. Without exploring deeper it's hard to take a lot of stuff with more than a grain of salt. When you're reading news articles, read the comments sections. Because there will always be people with contrasting views, or supporting/disagreeing with the article, and you can form an opinion based on what more people have said than just the author. Love it when they call the authors out :)
Like Brad said, forums are awesome too.