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I have all major news sources and US politics tags blocked on Mastodon. I also continually block subs focused on US news here on Lemmy.
Frankly, I don’t trust news media or any kind. The purpose of those publications is to make sure they’re distributed as widely as possible to sell ads. So I don’t look at them unless I have to.
I do, however, follow some local chatter for my city, as the relevant news is there.
Personally I feel I manage to still stay informed, since anything of real importance will break through my block list anyway.
The purpose of those publications is to make sure they’re distributed as widely as possible to sell ads
Agree: For-profit journalism has screwed-up incentives. Not-for-profit journalism does tend to be different.
Personally I feel I manage to still stay informed, since anything of real importance will break through my block list anyway.
So you're relying on those around you to keep you informed, despite blocking news on social media and not reading news yourself? Bold choice.
I suppose I still don’t trust the not-for-profit outlets either. Non-profit status, at least in the US, is a matter of taxes rather than one of morals.
And, yes, I do end up relying on people around me to hear about things for the first time, but I can and do look into things further from there.
There are pros and cons for this, of course, but I feel a lot calmer without the constant stream of doom in my life.
It's also a matter of motivations. I'm not saying nonprofit status confers automatic trustworthiness, but they are missing the major incentives for sensationalism that for-profit outlets are.
That’s true. My cynicism is pretty personal. I’ve worked for a corrupt nonprofit in the past.