50 Outstanding Online Media Outlets!

Something to be thankful for!

As the end of the winter is nearing, take a quick look at my “springtime” list of 50 outstanding Internet news and information websites. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone working at these outfits for their tireless efforts to provide us with fair and unbiased news, opinions and information.

Far too many news gatherers still criticize the internet for its lack of reliability and accuracy. They claim that the Internet’s enormous potential for curating and disseminating news has made it difficult to parse the quality of its information and that unlike more traditional forms of media, there are no standard editorial reviews for material published on the Web.

But it is now fair to say that after more than two decades since the inception of the World Wide Web, the reliability of the online news and information industry has grown and continues to act as a serious bulwark against some of the lies and deceits that originate in mainstream media.

Audiences no longer blindly trust mass media to deliver news fairly and accurately and often suspect that news corporations are influenced by hidden agendas. It’s for that reason that an increasing number of people question the validity of network news and look for alternative sources to find out what’s actually happening in their world.

Network News can’t Always be Trusted these Days

It wasn’t always like this! There was a time when mainstream news was objective, impartial, fair and balanced. Journalists saw it as their duty to inform the public, as accurately as possible. That was before the Telecommunication Act of 1996, a time when our media was still owned and controlled by more than 50 different companies.

But after the consolidation of all these companies into the six media giants1 by the deregulator-in-chief Bill Clinton, most of our information is now delivered to us by mindless Info-Tainers spewing off “factoids” as dictated to them by their government, special interests and owners. No wonder we’re having trouble making sense of what news is real. News is no longer a public service meant to communicate facts but a means for big media and powerful companies to focus on entertaining and conditioning viewers and to sell them advertising.

Independent News Options: Keeping it Real

With only six companies dictating what the vast majority of us can read and see, it is critical that the public realize that there’s a whole new world to explore at the click of the mouse. It is not only an important part of being informed and engaged citizens; it is Key to our survival as a Democracy. As James Madison once said; “The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”

Alternative online news sources will often reveal completely different perspectives from the way they are presented to us by the mainstream media. What we will find online will be shocking in its contradiction to the bilge we’re told on a regular basis. Another quote comes to mind; this one from Romans 13:12 that reminds us that no matter how much those in power try to conceal the truth from us for illegitimate purposes; truth must always reclaim its commanding position in the travails of a nation. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works chains of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Disclaimer: Beware of Internet Reliability and Accuracy

I don’t believe everything on the Internet is legitimate or defensible, far from it. Anyone can now become an instant Web publisher. The information on the Internet is not regulated for quality or accuracy, this implies responsibility and a greater need for skills in analyzing and evaluating most information we find on the Internet. We need to take an active approach when processing online information, to ascertain its validity in order not to fall prey to whatever ideological (conservative, libertarian, green, liberal or neo-liberal) group is trying to indoctrinate us into. Get the information on your own terms and form our own objective appreciation of the issues being discussed.

I chose the following websites for my list based on the following criteria; honesty, diligence and transparency in news reporting. I was particularly attracted to sites whose aim is to bring to our attention the controversial issues that never make it on the eleven o’clock news.

Not everyone will agree with my list, but remember that these outlets are run by people with predispositions to certain ideologies, with all their shortcomings, creating the final product not without bias. So it is up to you to question these and other online sources. Being aware that the mainstream media is mostly mass deception and propaganda is a good start; the difficult part is finding the needle of truth in the Internet haystack! But remember that as per this maxim from the honorable Lao-Tse; “It is better to light the candle than to curse the darkness.”

Feel free to send us a list of your favorite news websites and we will consider it for future releases.

Contact Us

¹ Comcast, News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, Viacom, Time Warner and CBS Corporation

50 Trustworthy Online News Websites (Alphabetical)

+972 Magazine | Independent Commentary & News from Israel & Palestine

21st Century Wire | News for the Waking Generation

Activist Post | Alternative News & Independent Views

AllSides | Balanced News, Issues & Opinions, Media Bias Ratings, Political News

Alternet | Alternative News & Information

American Free Press | America’s Last Free Newspaper

Antiwar | Your Best Source for Antiwar News, Viewpoints, & Activities

Asia Times | Covering Geo-political news & current affairs across Asia

Center for Public Integrity | Investigative Journalism from a Non-Profit Newsroom

Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Consortium News | Independent Investigative Journalism Since 1995

Counterpunch | The fearless Voice of the American Left Since 1933

Democracy Now! | Independent Global News

Dissident Voice | A radical newsletter in the struggle for peace & social justice

Foreign Policy in Focus | Seeking to Make the US a More Responsible Global Partner

Global Research | Centre for Research on Globalization

Haaretz | Israel News, The Middle East & the Jewish World

In These Times | With Liberty & Justice for All…

Informed Comment | Thoughts on the Middle East, History & Religion

MintPress News | Behind the Headlines

Mondoweiss | News & Opinion about Israel, Palestine & the U.S.

Multipolarista | News for a Multipolar World

Nation Institute | Dedicated to a Free & Independent Press

Open Democracy | Free Thinking for the World

Pro Publica | Journalism in the Public Interest

RINF Alternative News & Media | Real Independent News & Film

Russia Today | Question More

Salon | In-Depth News, Politics, Business, Technology and Culture

Scheerpost | Progressive News & Analysis

Socialist Project | Committed to a more free, democratic, humane society

Strategic Culture | Strategic Culture Foundation

teleSUR English | South America’s Voice

The 4th Media | Just Another Voice

The Free Thought Project | Your Online News & Discussion Platform

The Grayzone | Investigative Journalism on Empire

The Greanville Post | Anti-Imperialist Tool

The Intercept | Fearless, adversarial journalism

The Nation | America’s Oldest Weekly Magazine

The New Arab | Bringing the Biggest Stories from the Arab World

The Real News Network | Independent News, Blogs & Editorials

The Ring of Fire | Progressive News & Commentary

The Electronic Intifada | Palestinian e-Magazine

Tikkun Magazine | A Jewish Magazine, An Interfaith Movement

Tom Dispatch | A Regular Antidote to the Mainstream Media

Truthout | Fearless, Independent News & Opinion

Veterans Today | Advocay & Information for U.S. Military Veterans

We Are Change | Be The Change

WhoWhatWhy | We Don’t Cover the News. We Uncover the Truth

World News | Open Minds Worldwide

World Socialist web Site | International Committee of the Fourth International