Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with news

Looking for blogs and news sources about Romania in English

oclipa — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:12:54 -0800

In the not too distant future I will be relocating to Romania (through work), probably for a few years. Before I go, and while I'm there, I'd like to keep abreast of local current affairs and culture. What well-written and well-informed blogs or news sources *in English* should I keep an eye on? (obviously I am hoping to use this posting as a chance to brush up on my very limited Romanian, but that's going to take a while...) In addition, are there any expat sites/forums that would be useful to follow while I'm settling in?

I am aware of Bucharest Life and Bucharest In Your Pocket.

Thanks in advance!

Tips on starting up a science-themed blog

daisyk — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:16:18 -0800

I was convinced to start a blog under my real name, for the purposes of being visible on the internet in a positive light while applying for jobs. Unfortunately, now it's up, I hate it and never want to write anything there. Since my partner is sick of me wailing about it, I thought I'd ask you guys for tips on low-effort ways to post on a blog with a general theme of 'interesting science news'. I've been blogging under pseudonyms for about ten years so the concept itself is not new to me. My problem is a combination of the following:

Raging, lifelong imposter syndrome, or so I'm told. I say it can't be imposter syndrome if I'm right about my inadequacy! </logic> (Yes, I am in therapy.)

Not wanting to merely recycle news stories from elsewhere with one picture, a link and my name stamped on it. I feel this adds no value and dislike blogs that only do this.

If I write about news within my field, but have no useful insights or expert knowledge about it, this will look worse than not saying anything.

If I write about news outside of my field, I definitely won't have useful insights or expert knowledge, so why bother?

I've been told (by my partner) that curating interesting science news is also a useful service, even if I don't write much about it myself, because there's such a lot of information out there. Unfortunately, I don't want to spend hours and hours wading through all this information myself either. I should probably use that time to look for jobs, right?

I'm a slow writer. I second-guess myself, worry that I'm accidentally writing something incorrect or offensive, and have to read my source materials through several times to feel sure I understand them completely. This is the case for my pseudonymous blog; for this real-name blog, it's worse.

I would be happier just to delete this blog, but it's keeping a couple of annoying hits for my name off the top of my Google results. (I started a PhD eighteen months ago that didn't work out, and the year I spent there is listed on my CV as 'research assistant'. I'm searching for another position as a doctoral student. Some links have recently surfaced that still refer to me as a PhD student in my old department, and I don't want to have to explain this in interviews if I can help it.)

Is there a way to make short, non-labour-intensive posts about science news that won't make me feel I'm just making the internet worse? Quigley's Cabinet is an example of what I'd love to make if it were possible, but it would take me hours and hours a day to keep it up. On the other end of the scale, I do like Science You Can Love, which is only reblogs. I feel you can get away with that on Tumblr, though, and not so much with a 'real' blog.

I like the idea of a science news blog. Unfortunately, I've worried about it so much that even thinking about making an entry can push me into a panic. Some outside advice would be great—thank you!

How to fairly split revenue (if any) on sales of a self-published ebook?

croutonsupafreak — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:19:33 -0800

I'm a freelance reporter who just finished a multi-part series for a nonprofit news organization. Now I'd like to turn it into an ebook. I am not savvy about rights, commissions, etc., and neither is my editor/publisher. What do we need to know to negotiate a fair revenue split? The earning potential of this ebook -- which is about one aspect of a subset of a specific industry in a single state -- is likely very small, or I'd be talking to a lawyer or an agent. Realistically I doubt we'll sell more than 20 copies, and I'm mostly interested in getting this published so I can add "ebook author" to my resume. (Though if I did make a few bucks I certainly would not complain.)

The editor I'm working with operates a one-person nonprofit that publishes news on this specific industry in this specific state. Unlike most publications I've written for, hers did not have me sign a contract spelling out rights associated with my work. I believe in the value of the work this news organization does, and have no interest in taking advantage of it or burning any bridges. I like the idea of this under-funded nonprofit making some money if this ebook sells.

Initially, I was going to propose a 50-50 split on ebook sales, but several people have suggested I'm selling myself short. I did about 90 percent of the work in researching this project, and all writing and formatting. The editor conceived of the idea, contributed about 10 percent of the research, compensated me fairly for my work (including a surprise bonus we did not negotiate when my work exceeded her initial expectations), and will promote the ebook when it is published.

So, what kind of revenue split seems fair? What else should we consider as we come to what's likely to be a very informal agreement about how to make this work?

Subvert the dominant paradigm with Hyperlocal news sites

IndigoSkye — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:03:02 -0800

The era of the printed daily newspaper is on the way out, but can hyperlocal step into that void? I'm looking for examples of great hyperlocal blogs or news websites that are doing it right. Baristanet, West Seattle Blog, TheAlternativePress, and Red Bank Green are all examples of independent Hyperlocal blogs and news sites that are doing it right, possibly even profitably, in the post daily newspaper era. Please share your favorite hyperlocal sites. If you work for one, I'd love to know what your typical workday day is like?

Good ways to keep up with fashion and style?

wooh — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:47:16 -0800

My goal is to keep up with fashion. This is sort of broad, so I'm looking for good blogs and news sources to keep up with what people are wearing, and what people think people should be wearing...or will be wearing, etc. A good example might be Put This On. Another example would be Man Repeller before it got awful (though is still worth a read). My dream would be some blogs that take a more poetic bent on things, or a more academic bent, but I'll take what I can find.

I myself am not terrible fashionable, but I find the fashion world very interesting. I am interested primarily in women's fashion, but am definitely interested in good blogs that cover either. So I'm looking for stuff covering the "big" stuff like Prada's newest line or whatever, but even more interesting in people who have an interesting take on what is going on, whether it be a high level view or more in the weeds stuff.

quick reliable dose of world news everyday?

atetrachordofthree — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:30:00 -0800

What website/ podcast/ youtube channel can I consistently follow everyday to know world news? I feel a little embarrassed about how little I know about things happening in the world, so I want to follow the news more. I don't have a whole lot of time to sit around and read a whole paper though, or watch the news on TV (I don't have a TV). Is there something on the internet that's quick, concise, and reliable? Even better if it's something I can listen to during my morning routine.

News aggregators

carping demon — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:26:02 -0800

My appologies if this has come up before and I missed it. I am looking for a daily news aggretator that presents stories about what has actually happened (recognizing that the writer may not know what really happened) as opposed to news stories about what someone thinks what they think has happened means. E.g. "Justices Say Budget Cuts May Hurt Criminal Justice" (Have budget cuts hurt criminal justice?",) and "immigration reform can happen in 2013", (will it'? How?") or "Physicists believe they have found elusive Higgs boson particle" (well, have they or haven't they?) and "CPAC Debate: How Will GOP Win Elections?" (Have they?) or, "Is Justin Bieber's bizarre behavior a sign of something more?" (what follows if it were?). I.e., I'd like to find out what happened today without being burdened with what people think it means. Is there such an aggregator that you have come across? TIA carping demon

What's in your Google Reader/RSS?

decathexis — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:44:57 -0800

Another internet rut question/on the eve of Google Reader's destruction: What's in your RSS? I know that some people have 600 different feeds, so I want to narrow down the question slightly. I saw the answers to this recent question, but I don't need to hear about big company-run sites like Lifehacker, NYT Blogs, or other standard stops. I miss the weird and idiosyncratic side of the net. I want blogs run by talented individuals talking about their professions or hobbies or niche local interest. I love "inside baseball", but preferably not about baseball! It's okay if a site has several writers, but I want it to be specialist, not generalist. Sites don't have to be updated super regularly, just smart as hell. Bonus points for blogs about the arts, sciences, or humanities.

perhaps the Vatican is the center of the universe after all

headnsouth — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:34:54 -0800

Why is the Pope resigning and the Conclave such a big deal in the media? I get that it affects a lot of people and I get that it has some interesting theater, so I get that it's a big news story. What I don't get is why it's the news story. Several days in, it's still the lead on the hourly BBC news summary. It's on both the fluff news like the morning shows (good video) but it's also discussed in depth, ad nauseum, on NPR. Each potential next pope, who likes him and who doesn't and why, etc. Sweet Sistine, seriously.

None of it has actually discussed "well, if this guy is elected pope then he'll likely change policy by doing xyz" or "evangelicals vs. catholics and the new pope would xyz" or anything like that. It's all just horse-race stuff, in another country, about one religion.

There are divisions and schisms and politicking in every religion in the world, and when it comes to a head, there's one, maybe two news stories about it. Why is this story enough to warrant top billing for days on end? Isn't there more pressing news? Isn't this coverage overkill?

Current events satire shows in English.

pompomtom — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:01:04 -0800

If we presume a person enjoys getting their news from Stewart/Colbert for the US, Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe for the UK, and Micallef's Mad as Hell for Australia, what shows would this person enjoy from other English speaking countries?

Single Page Daily News Brief - name that site

scamper — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:01:56 -0800

I have a specific site in mind, and I can't find it for the life of me. It's a consciously minimalist design, about 5 stories per day, summarized. The stories are all in a single column, on a single page, black text on a white background. Clean as clean can be. What it's not: alltop, popurls, the morning brief, newsmap. Or anything that looks like those.

(Yeah, I've searched for every variation of "Single Page Daily News Brief," so you don't need to Google it for me. I'm hoping someone out there is already familiar with this particular site.)

looking for website with curated news headlines only, for end of day

denaps — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:51:10 -0800

a few months ago someone I follow tweeted a link to a website that curates and displays only the latest news headlines and top stories. I found this thread (http://ask.metafilter.com/192456/A-better-newspaper) on MF but the site is not listed there. This is a fairly new and probably still obscure site, but I loved the look of it and would like to find it again and seemed to have lost the bookmark. I cannot find it on google because the search terms are so generic. This was an extremely CLEAN site, black on white (i believe) with attractive type, no (or very few/discreet) ads, and nothing fancy going on in terms of media or anything like that. Similar to "theweek.com" in terms of content but nowhere near as busy visually. any help would be appreciated.

Pitching Help! (Journalism)

GiveUpNed — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:32:39 -0800

I work as a journalist. However, I only get articles in publications due to my personal relationships with the editor(s). I've never been able to send in an unsolicited pitch and have it accepted. I'm always told by my editors that my submissions are great or I'm a talented writer. However, all freelancing jobs I've gained have been through personal contacts or applying on a job board.

I've never gotten freelance work from emailing someone I don't know. I'm interested in pitching Cracked.com, Wired.com and Polygon.com and would love to know how to pitch.
I'm told pitching is an art in itself. It's a skill I haven't been able to master and it's frustrating me. Help please!

I'm constantly told "This is interesting, I'll get back to you" or "Thanks for keeping us in mind, but while well organized, your pitch isn't top-of-the-mind for us right now. Keep on trying!"
It's very frustrating.

News analysis

tavegyl — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:11:09 -0800

I need to do a rough and ready news analysis. I want to go to a specific news site and see the frequency of certain words and phrases before and after a certain date. Ideally, I'd be able to do this in a slightly more complex way, with combinations of words and phrases. I want to do this for free. Does such a tool exist? Say a particular politician was always considered a bit of a clown. After he saves a small child from drowning, the way in which he was spoken of in a particular news outlet shifts so he's now spoken of as a serious candidate. I want to fiddle around with a tool which would let me see if there has been such a shift.

Is this something that exists?

(I know I saw something which did something similar developed by some American university. I requested a trial and never heard back. All memory of URL, search terms etc has subsequently been wiped, argh.)

Where is radio news guy Bill Crowley working these days?

TomBetz — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:18:50 -0800

Where is Bill Crowley -- former WCBS, WINS, and Air America Radio news guy -- working these days? I always admired Bill Crowley's ability to keep his head in the midst of madness, but I've lost track of him since Air America Radio shut down its news division. Given his long career in radio, he's kind of an unheralded treasure. I'd really like to know what he's up to these days, and to find a way to hear his voice again if possible.

My Gmail acct. hijacked to send spam

NorthCoastCafe — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:21:47 -0800

Twice recently my Gmail acct. has been hijacked by someone who is sending spam emails to some, but not contacts --seems to be only recently emailed (by me) people. The spam is an ad, as seen on Fox News for Raspberry drops weight loss aid. How do the spammers access my Gmail account? Could it be through my brand new Android cell phone? I am unaware of any other problems on my (Macbook) home computer. I have a secure WiFi router at home. No evidence malware or virus. I've changed my Gmail password, FWIW. Any suggestions on how/where to find a way from this happening again?

Good Tools for Sourcing and Curating news on Niche Topics?

SansPoint — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:19:13 -0800

Part of my current job involves searching and curating news articles on a variety of topics, related to alternative investing. Currently, my workflow involves scouring Google Reader, Google News, Google Alerts, and some specialized newsletters. I'd like to automate this more. Sadly, I'm struggling to find good tools to make the process easier. What does MeFi recommend?

I want to learn about the birth of dystopias, fictional and real

croutonsupafreak — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:24:32 -0800

I'm looking for books, stories, films, documentaries, articles about the birth of dystopic societies. Examples could be a prequel to the Hunger Games (how did this fictional world come to be?), an article about people's lives in a nation where democracy was overthrown, stories about how Jews and non-Jews reacted to the early days of Hitler's rise, explorations of the slow realization that an ostensibly democratic nation is now really run by a strongman or single powerful party. I'm NOT interested in stories that start with already-established dystopias, or in post-apocalyptic stories in which vast populations are decimated (by bombs, zombies, aliens, disease, etc.) and a small group of survivors must rebuild. Instead, I'd like to explore what it's like for ordinary people -- not elites -- to go from living in a flawed but relatively free society to living in an oppressive state, as portrayed by journalists, survivors and purveyors of fiction.

To be or not to be informed?

beccyjoe — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:25:10 -0800

I am looking for intelligent ideas to help me distinguish between what is "worthy news" and what is "gratuitous news". Can anyone point me in the direction of some good solid writing on this topic? Dearest Mefites. I am looking for insightful readings on the topic of "news". Cultural theory / media theory type writing.

Background: I am someone who hates to read or watch the news because I tend to find it terribly upsetting. But I also feel a moral responsibility, as a citizen of the world, to be informed. I grapple with these questions:

What is (legitimate) news? What should be news? What is the value of being informed? Is it our responsibility to be informed? About what, and why? I want to get right down to the nitty gritty of what we have a moral responsibility to be informed about and why. I think there is so much news that we don't "need" to know, but there is some that we "should" know… but what guidelines can we use to distinguish between the two?

For example, there are horrific news stories that bear no apparent relevance to my life, e.g. shootings in America (I am Australian) that just make me feel incredibly sad and incredibly infuriated. But should I know about these things? When is news that is horrific, still gratuitous?

Of course there are only people's ideas, but I am interested to hear some intelligent ones…

If you can recommend intelligent, insightful, analyses (preferably essays or articles rather than full books) on this theme that I can sink my teeth into, I would be very grateful. Thank you. -beccyjoe

Internet Goodness

MechEng — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:16:53 -0800

Besides Metafilter and reddit, what are some of the more popular news sites that university students are using these days? (sites you check almost every day)

What the hell just happened?

cincinnatus c — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:00:21 -0800

What are some of the light-hearted, bizarre news stories of the past twelve months? For a Christmas quiz, I'm trying to get something for each month. September, there was the woman who painted over Jesus. For this month, Darwin the Ikea monkey. But I'm stuck on some of the other months. This is in the UK, so ideally things we would've heard of over here.

Looking for British, Canadian, and French websites similar to New York magazine's blogs

loveyhowell — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:56:27 -0800

Looking for British, Canadian, and French websites similar to New York magazine's Vulture and Daily Intel blogs. I am a big fan of these sites, which I think do a good job of reporting on US news, politics, and culture in a fun and entertaining way. Anyone know of any international equivalents?

Best practice for "other content" link placement

chillmost — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:24:09 -0800

Most Read Articles | Related Articles | Recommended Articles: These kinds of things that you see on news websites, what are they called? Is there an all encompassing UX term for this? How do content managers decide what is placed where? Do users even click on these links or are they just used to make sure search crawlers get to deeper content? So these collection of links that you might see on news websites, they usually appear in the left or right column next to the main content and they provide links to other content. The types of links that they have and their position on the page are what and where they are for a reason.

So what I'm looking for is info on how web content managers or UX wizards decide on placement and the kinds of links that are displayed in such things. Also, I don't know if this is really "a thing", but if there is a standard industry term for what these collection of non-navigation but somehow otherwise content-related links next to the main content are called, I would like to know what it is, because then I would have something to google and possible lead me to a trove of info.

I can imagine that sites with a lot of resources and a large user base could use A/B testing to determine what kind of links and placement results in more clicks. Where can I find info about what works best? Or is that irrelevant because it is different for every site?

Another possibility: Do these kind of things actually engage users or are they mainly helpful for SEO and making sure deeplinks get crawled and indexed?

Is there a science to this sort of thing?

Please somebody point me in the right direction.

Where can I find respectful discussion and articles about Warhammer 40k?

tocts — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:35:16 -0800

Where can I go on the internet to find good articles and discussions about Warhammer 40k? (read on for qualifications of "good") I'm getting back into Warhammer 40k after a bit of a hiatus. I would love to be able to read articles and discussions about the game, the background, the hobby aspects of it, etc. This is proving quite a challenge.

The number one characteristic I want to find in such a community is that the people there treat each other like decent human beings. I know that the game is largely male-dominated, and largely teen-dominated, but it feels like there has got to be someplace out there where, for the lack of a better word, the "adults" congregate.

The second characteristic I'm looking for is that the community be at least somewhat active. A discussion board that gets 2 comments a day is probably not that useful.

Beyond that, I'm open to pretty much anything. Warhammer 40k content is required, other wargames are welcome. Strategy, modeling, painting, whatever -- it's all fun.

#ReaderRage

myelin sheath — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:29:38 -0800

How do I tell my dad that we need to find a better weekly news magazine? My family has been subscribed to Newsweek for years. In the past six months, I've become increasingly frustrated with the quality of the magazine, and I'm starting to completely doubt its journalistic integrity. I've mentioned it a few times, and pointed out a couple of offending articles. My mom is totally on board with finding a new magazine. My dad is less so--but I'm sure if I had more concrete examples, he would be open to it.

I should note that my parents do respect my opinions on these matters, and it hasn't caused much drama before, but I'm afraid of how easily this can come across as "You're stupid and wrong and let me show you what's best for you."

Essentially, how do I frame this? Are there a couple of particularly strong specific examples that I should stick to? I have lots of trouble with these kind of discussions because I try to cover everything, and then my argument becomes confusing to follow, or we get stuck quibbling over a minor point. I'm also not sure if I should try to bring up big-picture points about the issues with modern American journalism as well, so he might notice how some of his other favorite sources, like CNN, have some of the same problems.

My dad is a really smart guy, and I owe him so much for encouraging the development of my critical thinking. However, I think seeing bullshit like this on the cover of a trusted source is toxic, and I don't think he's immune. (And clearly I'm not the only one who takes issue with it.) I am extremely proud and lucky that my father is as open-minded and intelligent as he is, but as I get older, I notice his prejudices more and more. I wish he could understand just how pervasive prejudices and "isms" are, and that all stereotypes need to be held suspect and interrogated for their actual accuracy and relevance. I guess that's another whole conversation, isn't it?

I also think that the conversation would go better if I had a magazine to compare it to, and maybe replace it with, but I don't know which magazine I should go with. I'm a child of the internet generation, and the news articles I read come from all over.

Thanks in advance.