Disclaimer: My three most-read sources are the Economist, BBC and IEEE Spectrum. I probably read about a dozen other sources on a semi-regular basis, but the following three are especially important to me as they share perspectives not commonly available from mainstream Western Media.
Al Jazeera News
Al Jazeera is often the first source to report on events in the Middle East, and yet, when the dust settles, they often are the most cogent and accurate. I frequently try to find additional sources to corroborate facts cited in articles, and I’ve found Al-Jazeera has a much better record than most of the American channels, which tend to be subject to fairly substantive groupthink. They are much more adept at uncovering ‘on-the-ground’ perspectives and divergent viewpoints. Unlike some news sources, they are particularly adept at differentiating news from opinion, with clear disclaimers for opinion pieces. Pure news articles are generally much more cautious and less likely to jump to conclusions. There is also a good mix of local issues, with the global context taken into consideration.
The best aspect of reading Al Jazeera is their perspective on “Western” news, such as events in the United States and Western Europe. Brought up in North American culture, it can be difficult for me to approach complex situations from a fresh perspective, which is often required for particularly intractable problems such as the current financial crisis. Unencumbered by environmental bias, and unfettered by large corporate interests, Al Jazeera can often offer an impartial and insightful take on contemporary issues in Western Liberal Democracies.
Alternatives Journal
Published since 1971 and with headquarters in Waterloo, this magazine is the perfect foil to my perennial favourite, the Economist. While the Economist caters to my need for numbers, charts and quantitative analysis, Alternatives specializes in issues which transcend these modes of analysis, such as complexity, resilience and systems thinking. Alternatives informs readers about environmental concerns often ignored in mainstream media and presents an alternative range of solutions to the issues of the day. Each issue’s special focus allows Alternatives to accomplish a level of depth not typically available in periodicals.
While it is an environmental magazine at its core, I’ve found that many of the articles are applicable to solving social, technical and geopolitical problems, especially as the different realms of problem-solving become more integrated. Alternatives Journal excel in highlighting the cross-disciplinary nature of modern problem resolution and encourages its readers, including engineers, to broaden their scope to problem resolution.
Discovery News
To be perfectly honest, Discovery News, is a poor “news” source, often publishing blue sky ideas and half-baked inventions. However, it serves an excellent niche role in expanding the horizon of what we think is possible. It is among the first to present new advances in science and technology, and offers it to a non-technical audience. However, Discovery often provides links and resources to those who are more technically inclined and seek deeper understanding.
Discovery offers a good mix of information and analysis, and it really excels at providing wacky, non-traditional solutions to problems, encouraging readers to expand their scope. Again, the solutions and problems are often cross-disciplinary in nature and challenge readers to connect prior knowledge to future developments. It is a great way to think about where the world has come from and where it is going, rather than solely where it is at the moment.
PS. Clearly the IW is my favourite publication, though issues are far too frequent to satiate my lust for information.
Leave a Reply