my reading list

The US news media is terrible. It's really almost inconceivably shitty.

I know, this is hardly a revelation. But I was reminded of it afresh after talking to several progressive friends/relatives who had been relying on mainstream American news sources (albeit liberal ones) for news of the Freedom Flotilla massacre, and realizing that the gap between their knowledge of those events and mine was a chasm. And these were people who'd been actively trying to find something other than the stream of utter bullshit known as the official Israeli propaganda line.

This made me to stop and think about where I get my news, particularly about Palestine and the Middle East, and reminded me that I shouldn't keep those sources to myself. So I've made a short, entirely non-exhaustive list of the news sources I routinely go to when I want the truth, in the hopes that you too, dear reader, will have a light to turn to when the unrelenting barrage of crap that passes for news in the United States gets you down.

I don't check all of these sources every day. But if you read even one of them once a week, you'll probably be better informed than the vast majority of Americans.

MSM (that's Mainstream Media for the uninitiated)
The Guardian--if you only read one source for international news, read The Guardian. This British daily also has one of the best websites I've ever seen, with an incredible editorial/commentary section, Comment Is Free, that allows way more diversity of opinion on a huge variety of topics than would ever fit in a print edition.
Al Jazeera English--sometimes awesome, sometimes inane, but they actually have correspondents on the ground in places where shit happens in the Middle East, and no squeamishness about showing the reality of war. You can watch the TV channel online on their website.
Haaretz--the "liberal" Israeli daily. There are serious limits to liberalism in Israel, but you'll often find more debate about the wisdom of Israeli policy here than in the pages of the New York Times.

Alternative Media
There are many great alternative radio programs, all of which can be listened to online from anywhere in the world now, but Democracy Now! still holds the gold standard.
Socialist Worker--whenever I want not just facts, but analysis of the significance of particular events, this is the first place I turn. The newspaper of the International Socialist Organization had a crap website for years, but they've made up for it in the past couple by developing an awesome site that's updated daily during the week. With literally hundreds of volunteer reporters embedded in the front lines of every struggle around the country, and links to smart and insightful commentators around the world, the SW website has become a one-stop shop for grassroots activist news. I'm a particular fan of the new Critical Reading blog, collecting the best reporting and analysis from other news sources around the interwebs.

Blogs/Websites
Electronic Intifada--a great all-around news source for all things Palestine.
Mondoweiss--excellent commentary on Israel/Palestine by a variety of writers, with a particular focus on the American Jewish community.
In Gaza--Eva Bartlett's blog from Gaza, where she's been for about 18 months now. Along with Tales to Tell, this was my primary news source during Operation Cast Lead.
Jewbonics--the blog of another friend who's on the ground in Gaza now, with a focus on Jewish anti-Zionism, but also many fantastic eyewitness reports from Gaza.

Twitter
For a long time I didn't get Twitter. Then came #iranelection, and a bunch of people realized Twitter had incredible potential as a grassroots, from-the-front-lines news source. Even in situations where you may not have internet access, there is almost always someone with a cell phone. This makes Twitter an ideal medium for communicating instant news updates from rapidly developing situations like protests--I used it during the Gaza Freedom March, then followed people on Viva Palestina 3, and it was my primary news source during the Flotilla massacre. I don't go on Twitter every day because it's a definite time-sucker. But for breaking news, I can't recommend it enough.