We have a vast landscape of news sources, yet we tend to view them through a peephole. Consider taking a few steps to be a better news consumer.
We have a vast landscape of news sources, yet we tend to view them through a peephole. Consider taking a few steps to be a better news consumer.

It’s news to me

By Peter Funt

These are the best of times, and the worst of times, for being well informed. We have a vast landscape of news sources, yet we tend to view them through a peephole rather than a porthole. If you believe, as I do, that it is a civic responsibility to stay abreast of current events, consider taking a few steps to be a better news consumer.

Don’t be screen-centric

TV, computers, and phones bring us most of our news in forms that are fast and convenient. But if you’re among those who never ever come in contact with a physical newspaper or magazine, fix that.

More research is needed, but it appears that people absorb content better when reading a printed page, especially with longer articles. Regardless, holding a paper or magazine and scanning each page is distinctly different, and often more enlightening, than scrolling through the same material on a screen.

Listen to NPR

I got my start in radio at a time when national hourly newscasts were detailed, reliable, and easily available across the dial. They are still produced by several networks, but on many affiliated stations they have been truncated or eliminated. The shining exception is National Public Radio.

Driving through Mississippi and Alabama this summer, a regional network of NPR stations proved to be my best connection to news from Washington and the world. NPR’s hourly newscasts are carried by more than 1,000 stations where they tend to be part of the conversation, not part of the clutter.

Read e-letters

The newsletter business is booming. Almost every news organization in America, large and small, will send you a daily email summarizing its coverage. E-letters are usually free and, while not a substitute for the full story, provide a useful starting point for catching up on the day’s news.

I recommend one of the original e-letters and still among the best: Politico’s Playbook. Although it has an inside-the-Beltway focus, it is a very readable and nonpartisan digest, delivered for free before 7 a.m. ET.

Sample Hannity and Maddow

Depending on your political orientation, you probably watch either Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel or Rachel Maddow on MSNBC — but never both! Try crossing over, at least occasionally.

Hannity and Maddow have emerged as the ratings leaders in cable TV’s nightly effort to dissect the Trump White House. My friends are aghast when I mention watching both. Still, these two thought leaders help set (in Hannity’s case) or reflect (more so in Maddow’s case) the national agenda.

Go up front

Even if you’re not a news junkie, you are likely to enjoy perusing the front pages of hundreds of daily newspapers, online, for free.

The Newseum in Washington assembles readable PDFs of front pages from the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska to the St. Augustine Record in Florida. If it’s true that “all politics is local,” it can be said that all news is, too. You’ll be surprised at how dramatically the mood of the nation is reflected on these daily fronts.

Go long

Too often, we rely on summaries of summaries (indeed, the e-letters cited above are part of that). Stretch your mind and your insight by balancing news digests with long-form articles.

Some of the best reporting these days is being done by The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine, among others that invest heavily in hiring top writers and giving them the time and space to really drill down.

Matriculate

Every so often, try reading a college newspaper. Hundreds of student publications are produced on campuses around the country, and while some are read by local residents, most are completely invisible to the general public.

A useful list of the top 50 college newspapers, with links, can be found at collegechoice.net. Number 50 is The Bucknellian at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania; number one is the Yale Daily News in Connecticut. You probably have little interest in, say, food complaints at the dining hall. But when, for example, young Yale journalists assess a Supreme Court nominee, it’s intriguing reading.

Talk about it

Nowadays, we are so set in our opinions that we’re afraid to discuss current events with colleagues, friends, and family. If they’re in another camp or have a differing view, the risk of broaching a subject seems greater than any possible reward.

Yet this very type of discourse is central to the evolution of our own thinking. I’ve found that creating a small email circle is a useful way to bounce thoughts off people I know without the peril of raised tempers or overly hurt feelings. If you’re brave enough to talk about news at the office or dinner table, my advice is to listen more and pontificate less.

This is, after all, the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness. We can each do more to promote the former.

The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.

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Peter Funt
In print and on television, Peter Funt continues the Funt Family tradition of making people smile – while examining the human condition. After 15 years hosting the landmark TV series “Candid Camera,” Peter writes frequent op-eds for The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal as well as his weekly column distributed by the Cagle Cartoon Syndicate. His writing contains the same pointed social observations that have made “Candid Camera” so popular since its invention by Peter’s dad, Allen, back in 1947. His new book, "Cautiously Optimistic," takes America's temperature in six-dozen essays, guaranteed to make readers think and smile. It's available at Amazon.com and through CandidCamera.com. Peter is a frequent speaker before business groups and on college campuses, using the vast “Candid Camera” library to bring his points to life. His newest presentation for corporate audiences, “The Candid You,” draws upon decades of people-watching to identify factors that promote better communication and productivity. Details about Peter Funt’s speaking engagements are available at: www.CandidCamera.com. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYXOGIktsw for video. Peter hosted the newest versions of “Candid Camera” in recent years with Suzanne Somers and Dina Eastwood, with complete collections now available on DVD. Peter Funt actually made his first appearance on “Candid Camera” when he and the legendary series were each just three years old. Peter posed as a shoeshine boy who charged $10 per shoe! Since that time he has appeared in hundreds of “Candid Camera” sequences, hosted over 200 network episodes. In addition to his hidden-camera work, Peter Funt has produced and hosted TV specials on the Arts & Entertainment and Lifetime cable networks. He also spent five years as an editor and reporter with ABC News in New York. Earlier in his career, Peter wrote dozens of articles for The New York Times and TV Guide about television and film. He was editor and publisher of the television magazine On Cable. And he authored the book "Gotcha!" for Grosset & Dunlap on the lost art of practical joking. Peter’s essay on the evolution of television is included in “The Story of American Business,” published in 2009 by Harvard Business Press. Peter also follows in his father's footsteps as President of Laughter Therapy Foundation, a non-profit organization started by Allen Funt in 1982. Drawing from the Candid Camera library, Laughter Therapy sends special videos, at no charge, to critically ill people throughout the U.S. When Peter took over as host of the CBS specials, "Variety" wrote: "The latest new 'Candid Camera' specials seem to be getting funnier. Peter Funt is as personable as his dad..." Following Candid Camera's Battle of the Sexes special, "The Hollywood Reporter" observed: "This show is great fun. Peter Funt has a remarkably effective presence." Peter Funt received his degree in journalism from the University of Denver. In 2010 he returned to the Denver campus to be honored as a Master Scholar in Arts and Humanities. He is a past winner of the annual Silurian's Award for radio news reporting, for his ABC News coverage of racial disturbances in Asbury Park, NJ. Peter is founder of the Monterey County Young Journalists program in California, which provides hands-on training for high school students pursuing careers in news. He also inaugurated the Courtroom Journalism competition in Monterey County in conjunction with the Lyceum Organization, and conducts a similar statewide event for the Constitutional Rights Foundation in Los Angeles, as part of its Mock Trial program. Peter resides in Central California with his wife, Amy, and two children, Stephanie and Danny. His favorite pastimes are golf, baseball, tennis and people-watching.

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