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October 5, 2020 5:33 AM Subscribe
I'd like to be able to step back from the news sometimes, but still find out promptly, via a low-key alert, when something of major significance happens. If nothing big happens on a given day, I'd want zero alerts that day. Is there an app (or twitter feed, or other method) for that?
I'd like the source to be well-known and widely regarded as trustworthy. I'd like it to only tell me news of major significance, which I realize is subjective. Maybe something I could configure? I'd like 0 updates on a typical day, but I'd have expected a few, as each major development broke, on each of several recent days. I'd never want opinion pieces or analyses, recaps, normal sports, celebrity news, or minor stories of any kind. When breaking news does merit an alert, I'd want it to be prompt.
I've got an iPhone. I'd like the alerts to support typical iPhone configurations that allow turning on and off of a low-key sound, banner, and badge (or similar). I don't have Twitter on my phone now (and I barely use Twitter), but if there's one feed that's the best way to accomplish this, I can add it with an account that follows just that one feed.
I'd like the source to be well-known and widely regarded as trustworthy. I'd like it to only tell me news of major significance, which I realize is subjective. Maybe something I could configure? I'd like 0 updates on a typical day, but I'd have expected a few, as each major development broke, on each of several recent days. I'd never want opinion pieces or analyses, recaps, normal sports, celebrity news, or minor stories of any kind. When breaking news does merit an alert, I'd want it to be prompt.
I've got an iPhone. I'd like the alerts to support typical iPhone configurations that allow turning on and off of a low-key sound, banner, and badge (or similar). I don't have Twitter on my phone now (and I barely use Twitter), but if there's one feed that's the best way to accomplish this, I can add it with an account that follows just that one feed.
I recently started using the Associate Press app to try to get more objective news coverage. I don't have notifications turned on, but they do have an option to do so. Not sure if you can filter those but might be worth looking into.
posted by Twicketface at 6:13 AM on October 5, 2020
posted by Twicketface at 6:13 AM on October 5, 2020
Response by poster: If either of those, or any others, can be configured such that a typical day would have zero alerts, but that breaking, major news would alert promptly, I'd love to know it. Otherwise, I'd assume that they're much like any other typical news app -- inclined to send at least some news every day to keep you hooked and reading, or if you throttle down the alerts, then not sending even the news that I do want.
posted by daisyace at 6:30 AM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by daisyace at 6:30 AM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I know a bunch of people who were happy with the Times' breaking-only settings... in the past. Unfortunately right now the sheer volume of what I will euphemistically describe as "shockingly big but unsurprising" news makes that really hard to get "right" and it's unusually difficult to really know what's really big, and what's "actually big but will be overwhelmed by another huge story tomorrow."
posted by Tomorrowful at 6:33 AM on October 5, 2020
posted by Tomorrowful at 6:33 AM on October 5, 2020
Best answer: I have the Apple News app on my iPhone and iPad, and I have notifications turned on for "News Top Stories".
It's pretty close to what you're asking for: on a typical day, I don't get any notifications, but if something major happens, I do.
For example, the last notification I got was when Trump tested positive for COVID—there's been nothing since then. I also remember getting a notification when Biden picked Kamala Harris for his running mate.
posted by vitout at 7:01 AM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's pretty close to what you're asking for: on a typical day, I don't get any notifications, but if something major happens, I do.
For example, the last notification I got was when Trump tested positive for COVID—there's been nothing since then. I also remember getting a notification when Biden picked Kamala Harris for his running mate.
posted by vitout at 7:01 AM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is weird, but could you ask a friend to text you? I am sure there is someone in your life glued to the news who would shoot you a text if and only if something Truly Major happens.
I thought of it because I heard about Shomer Shabbos Jews asking friends to knock on their door if Trump died while they weren't using technology over the Sabbath last weekend.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:25 AM on October 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
I thought of it because I heard about Shomer Shabbos Jews asking friends to knock on their door if Trump died while they weren't using technology over the Sabbath last weekend.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:25 AM on October 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Your question made me remember an app I used for a while and had forgotten about. Quartz Brief has an instant-message-y way of delivering the news that I don't really like (I'd rather just have links to articles instead of instant messages from a bot) but in the settings you can toggle on/off "Really, really big news," "Important and interesting," "News updates," and a feature called Trump snooze, which snoozes any notifications about that guy for 24 hours.
posted by emelenjr at 8:33 AM on October 5, 2020
posted by emelenjr at 8:33 AM on October 5, 2020
I accidentally solved this for myself by permitting news alerts from the national broadcaster of a country whose language I’m trying to learn. I do get alerts every day, but they’re mostly related to news about that country, and usually I don’t understand all the words and don’t pursue it. But if there is US news important enough to be reported internationally, I’ll recognize a name and know something is up.
posted by lakeroon at 11:04 AM on October 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by lakeroon at 11:04 AM on October 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all! Quartz Brief sounded the most promising, but alas, it’s defunct. I’m trying Apple News now, since it’s the lowest-hanging potential fruit. I’ll try the others if that one doesn’t live up to my hopes.
posted by daisyace at 6:19 AM on October 6, 2020
posted by daisyace at 6:19 AM on October 6, 2020
Another vote for getting a trusted person to message you. I remember reading this advice by Tim Ferris years ago (not sure if he wrote it in 4 Hour Work Week). He said he doesn't read/watch the news and inevitably hears anything really important from people he engages with daily
Along similar lines, a relative recently recovered from cancer asked me to be her go-between for the regular cancer recovery magazine she gets in the mail, because reading it sends her into too much fear, but it also provides her with vital information. I'm now her "editor", only passing on helpful information, and shielding her from the unhelpful. We all have differing capacities for information, especially these days, so I see no shame in appointing a friend our "news editor"
posted by Zaire at 10:27 PM on October 6, 2020
Along similar lines, a relative recently recovered from cancer asked me to be her go-between for the regular cancer recovery magazine she gets in the mail, because reading it sends her into too much fear, but it also provides her with vital information. I'm now her "editor", only passing on helpful information, and shielding her from the unhelpful. We all have differing capacities for information, especially these days, so I see no shame in appointing a friend our "news editor"
posted by Zaire at 10:27 PM on October 6, 2020
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posted by MadamM at 6:00 AM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]