Should I just go back to LA Times print edition?

October 4, 2018 9:05 AM

l want to glance at the headlines each morning on my computer (US and World news). And, I HATE AUTOPLAY VIDEOS. Ideally, a grid of pictures with headlines under them, click to open story. And, NO AUTOPLAY VIDEOS! Any suggestions? I would prefer not to pay, but if that's what it takes, I'll do it.

I'm looking for current events (Tsunami, shootings, scientific discoveries, Supreme Court Hearings) more than politics but I'll happily ignore the politics articles if there aren't too many.

I was relying on CBS Local news (which I can barely tolerate because of their autoplay videos, but otherwise is what I want - an easy to navigate grid of pictures with headlines under them), until I realized, I'm only getting local news. I was 5 days late finding out about the Palu Tsunami! No bueno. Plain old CBS news seems kind of OK, but cluttered and, $%*% autoplay videos.

Let's solve the "How to block autoplay videos" problem NEXT week (I've tried all the extensions), and stick with the news website question this week. Thanks!

posted by bluesky78987 to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

I use google news. I can set it up to see whatever topics I choose (world news, science, food, etc.) I just glance at it every morning and click on that which interests me. It brings up all different news sources.
posted by MountainDaisy at 9:23 AM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

You sound like a candidate for an RSS reader. I use Inoreader, which has a free plan. The LA Times's RSS feed is here. You subscribe to that on the reader and all articles will be presented chronologically, with a brief summary and a picture, and you can click through to read the whole article on the LA Times website. Almost every news outlet has an RSS feed as well, and many will have feeds only for specific topics.
posted by mustardayonnaise at 9:32 AM on October 4, 2018

CNN "lite" ?
posted by exogenous at 9:35 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

I do email newsletters. Basically every news site will send you a morning newsletter, plus there are aggregated ones that hit the big stuff from everywhere (I like Daily Pnut) . NY Times has like 400 options.
posted by brainmouse at 10:01 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have shut off autoplay on firefox on my laptop with reasonable success. I have not been able to shut it off on Chrome.
Firefox - in about:config set
media.autoplay.enabled to false
posted by theora55 at 11:11 AM on October 4, 2018

The text-only version of NPR is here: https://text.npr.org

And the Christian Science Monitor has a nice text-only version here: https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/text/textedition
posted by wenestvedt at 12:12 PM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

The LA Times headlines load with javascript turned off. I use the Quick Javascript Switcher extension to toggle it.
posted by Dmenet at 2:28 PM on October 4, 2018

I pay for a digital subscription to the Seattle Times. The regular newspaper web site has annoying ads. However, paying subscribers get access to a "print replica" and a couple of other viewing options with much less intrusive advertising.

I don't know about the LA Times, but several major newspapers offer big discounts on trial subscriptions -- usually on holiday weekends.

I'm happy to pay for web access to my city newspaper. I rely on them everyday.
posted by valannc at 3:39 PM on October 4, 2018

An LAPL library card will give you free access to the LA Times and other major US cities.
posted by brujita at 9:00 PM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

I pay for a digital subscription to my local paper and read the online print replica version. Only ads I see are the ones in the print edition. And I see no videos.
posted by COD at 9:12 PM on October 4, 2018

Yes, autoplay videos are the worst! I subscribe to the e-edition of The Times, and it works really well—it’s a digital replica of the print edition which you can read it online (on a Web browser on either a regular computer or a tablet, and even a smartphone, though the experience isn’t as optimal on a smartphone!). You can either read the articles directly in the layout, or else click on an article and it will come up in a separate window with just the article’s text. My one complaint is that unlike the old microfilm edition (which they may still make available to university libraries), not all of the zoned editions are in the e-edition; Saturday's e-issues only show the Hot Property real-estate section for the Westside, which does me no good in Orange County. I mean, I know the days of the O.C. or Valley editions are long gone, but it would be nice to see some of the local content appear in the e-edition. Here’s a sample link that should show you what at least the first page looks like of the L.A. Times’ e-edition. (The only drawback, price-wise, is that after an introductory discount, it’s pretty much the same price as home delivery. But no dead trees!)
posted by kentk at 12:26 AM on October 5, 2018

The Guardian never seems to have autoplay videos, and their US coverage is comprehensive.
posted by Francolin at 1:53 PM on October 5, 2018