Where do you get your news?

October 1, 2003 12:47 PM

Here's A Really Neat "Ask Slashdot" feature on how much we rely on the good 'ol Net for our daily dose of news and knowledge.
I've gradually abandoned almost all other sources of news, to the point where TV, magazines and news papers have pretty much disappeared from my life, but unlike the Slashdot guy, I still get a fair amount of "Information" from books.
He's got a good question, and there are some really Good Answers at Slashdot, but I'm curious about the mefites... "Is the Internet Your Source of Knowledge?" From his post:"...but if I'm trying to look up something and can't find it online in a couple minutes I generally just blow it off, as if there's no other place to look. This realization seems sort of stunning. I'm very curious if other Slashdot readers have become dependent on the Internet to that level, and what their thoughts are on the subject." "
According to a study Teens and young adults spend more time online than watching TV, and looking at Other Studies, they all seem to point the same way.
Is print dead?
posted by Blake (14 comments total)

You want us to discuss a slashdot discussion?
posted by jon_kill at 1:01 PM on October 1, 2003

Seriously?
posted by angry modem at 1:01 PM on October 1, 2003

Print isn't dead, it's just moving to a screen instead of paper (although your printer probably begs to differ.)
posted by me3dia at 1:13 PM on October 1, 2003

I avoid Slashdot at all costs. But to get at your question, I get my news from many different sources, some of which are print. I still get the Sunday NYTimes, even though most of it goes straight to the recycling bin. I like magazines. I like books. I get most of my news on-line because I sit at a computer all day at work and, well, I'm easily distracted. Perhaps a better question would be, "Is news dead?" It's just not new anymore. It's old by the time it happens.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 1:53 PM on October 1, 2003

Aren't links to slashdot, especially to slashdot discussions, officially discouraged?

And if not, shouldn't they be?
posted by bshort at 3:01 PM on October 1, 2003

i read a newspaper a couple of times a week. i might look at a different magazine once or twice a month. i hardly ever turn on the tv, really i wouldn't watch it, but my roommate has one and she watches it. i usually listen to at least an hour's worth of radio, like Democracy Now. and then that drives me toward their site or sites that are related to the information they talk about. i look at Slashdot at least 2X a day and will admit, next to yahoo's news, that is probably my main source of daily info.
this little story kind of illustrates the situation further. i was in the library today looking for a local map on the internet and couldn't find what i was looking for. when i stood up from the computer a little frustrated, there was a state atlas right next to me and had exactly what i wanted. take away my internet and i am at a loss.
when was /. discouraged?
posted by memnock at 3:10 PM on October 1, 2003

I will confess, I barely watch television other than some movies, Iron Chef, and Junkyard Wars....
posted by Samizdata at 3:25 PM on October 1, 2003

Aren't links to slashdot, especially to slashdot discussions, officially discouraged? And if not, shouldn't they be?

Indeed. The "MeFi effect" could bring a site like Slashdot to its knees, which would be quite rude. C'mon, people, mirror it on your own webspace!
posted by kindall at 3:53 PM on October 1, 2003

Metatalkin'.... No mean callout, this, I just want to make sure an anti-slashdot (or otherblog) meme in general doesn't take root, especially since bshort might be funnin'...
posted by namespan at 4:33 PM on October 1, 2003

I tend to get 75% of my news from Google News (all hail Google!), 15% of my news from newspapers and 10% of my news from the Food Network.
posted by bshort at 5:35 PM on October 1, 2003

The only print publication I pay any attention to is The Week, which is a nice news summary, and it helps to have a little something easy to carry around when I don't feel like messing with the laptop. I've long given up TV news--in fact, I've blocked the news networks from my DirecTV/Tivo lineup.

As for online, I tend to check in twice daily with a set of sites (I'm in love with SlimBrowser's groups function, which opens up a predefined set of links all at once and logs in automatically where necessary.) I'm trying to tune in to BBC radio more online, but it's hard to pull me away from my music CDs. It's strange--as much as I love Google, I never read Google News....I'll have to give it a shot for a while.
posted by troybob at 10:47 PM on October 1, 2003

I usually read the news first thing in the morning, during my transit in the metro/subway/tube/whateveryoucallthatinyourcountry, thanks to the freely distributed dailys (here in France : 20 minutes, which I favor, and Metro, which sucks, to me at least).

To me, that's enough news for the day. Then, when I look for specific news, I browse Google News, of course.

It's been a while since I last bought any dailies, weeklies or anything else other than books.
Therefore, I don't think it's a matter of "is print dead", but rather "are you still willing to pay for news ?"

Mmmph.
posted by XiBe at 5:15 AM on October 2, 2003

"New Scientist" weekly, cover-to-cover. First magazine I've subscribed to in years.

I read the headlines at the supermarket, having done so one day only to burst out in hysterical laughter (which is most impressive when you are a Yank in a suburban England store!).

I detest handling newspapers, and have avoided them since LONG before the internet came my way.

Other than this, I just listen to Mike Malloy for political news, which is what isn't covered enough by the others.
posted by Goofyy at 8:20 AM on October 2, 2003

unlike the Slashdot guy, I still get a fair amount of "Information" from books

Maybe that's the difference between MeFi and /.:
MetaFilter: We still read books!

Seriously, to talk about print periodicals being passe is one thing (though seriously premature); talking about "print" (including books) dying is ludicrous. Go into your local library or bookstore and look at any shelf and ask yourself how much of that information is on the internet. The internet is mostly wide but shallow, with pockets of insane depth (highly concentrated in popular culture).
posted by languagehat at 11:35 AM on October 2, 2003