It’s time for another edition of Oski Disciple’s quote of the day.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
Serious question for the DBD hive mind. I am looking for better sources of journalism and news.
I gave up my Washington Post subscription this past March in no small part because of its refusal to make an endorsement in the US Presidential race, which is a way of saying, you supported Donald Trump, I'm not subscribing to your product. I actually cancelled the sub in November in the wake of the non-endorsement endorsement. It just took until March 23rd for the sub to expire.
I don't trust the New York Times. I think the Times is all about not rocking the boat. Towards that end, they engage in "both sides" journalism, which is a clear cop out and equivalent to sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling, "LA LA LA LA LA LA" repeatedly.
CNN is a joke. It's an iteration of infotainment in pursuit of clicks.
I did make modest monthly contributions to Berkeleyside for a short while until it became blindingly apparent that this publication is driven by advocacy journalism. The journalistic ethos is much closer to my perspective, but I am still bothered by its approach to journalism and news and also find that I do not agree with many of its positions. Consequently, I have trust issues with its reportage.
The San Francisco Chronicle has been with me almost from the time I was born up until now (I didn't read it when I lived in New Jersey, from March 1975 to May 1980). But the Chron has gone to a model of what I call lazy journalism when it comes to its e-edition. Sports articles are almost always 36+ hours old. That is, reporting on Tuesday's games don't appear until Thursday. Front page stories have almost always appeared on the website the day before, sometime two days or three days before. Why should I pay for a fishwrap or bird cage liner when I don't even get that?
What is a person thirsting for news and information to do? What outlets are there that are reliable and informative? I'd like something that can give me news and info so that I can be at least somewhat reasonably informed about current events.
Any ideas, recommendations, suggestions, etc.? Your input is sought.
I feel ya. I am in the same boat. I dropped my WaPo subscription too. I keep a portfolio of news sources, which I keep in two buckets. I have the real news bucket, which I try to use objective news sources that are as moderate and objective as possible. No news source is perfect, but I've been leaning on BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, and NY Times. I have a seperate bucket for DBD sources, which comes from different sources but would never rely on them to give me the real skinny.
I struggle with this also. I have a couple of approaches, neither is completely satisfactory:
1. So far, local news seems to be less crazy than national news. This has been true for decades, maybe it was always true. I think the more $$$ in national news pushes them harder; local news is pushed less.
2. As long as it isn’t in your face, I can tolerate somewhat slanted reporting by adjusting my expectations. So I still read NYT and the Chronicle for a lot of things. But they are all moving targets.
I used to enjoy all news radio stations. All gone.
DC has WTOP which is very similar to the KCBS I remember (back in the Dave McElhatton days to show you how old I am). I don’t listen to radio other than WTOP and the occasional tune in to sports radio.
Part of it is to vet as well as you can coverage by looking at issues/events/people you actually have independent knowledge of what went on, and can evaluate the quality and slant (2 different issues) of the coverage. This is easier to do with local news.
This applies to all areas of journalism, news, sports, lifestyles, etc. Good journalism has to tell you what happened, and why, regardless of how it turns out, and point out/call out problematical situations. It can easily be contrived to become promotional.
I had already dropped WaPo before they got Trumped, as I found it kind of redundant next to what the NYT already does.
NY Times is still good for factual reporting, though you have to recognize the slant and it's easy to ignore the opinion page. Local coverage in Chron/Merc/East Bay Times is good too, supplemented by the more advocacy-based local outlets like Berkeleyside or Oaklandside. Again, just have to recognize the slant but they don't make things up.
I gave up on the Old Gray Lady long ago. I was an inveterate NYT reader when I lived in NJ, and sporadically read it after I returned to California. I even had an electronic subscription for two years until I realized they were both sidesing their reporting during Trump 1.0. Bleah.
That's when I took up with WaPo which I found more willing to ask relevant questions without just skating on reportage. I knew my days with WaPo were numbered when they started to lose staff for reasons related to editorial directives. The no-endorsement endorsement was the final straw.
I like the Merc when we lived in Los Gatos (for a year), but found it lost relevance when we moved to Berkeley. I may pick up the East Bay Times now, at least for a trial run.
Every few years I sign up for a year's subscription to the Financial Times. Their editorial slant is similar to The Economist's: Freedom of movement of goods and people is good; Climate change is real; People's private lives are their own business. It's a conservative voice I don't always agree with but can respect.
I'm very happy with the Guardian and highly recommend it. I also rely on BBC News and still get The NY Times which is flawed, as you indicated, but is still very thorough.
Yesterday, Trump crowed that we have complete control over Iranian skies. He also demanded "unconditional surrender" of Iran. I thought... "are we at war and nobody told America?"
Apropos to when I posted that I thought that the AD was two distinctly different roles of sports management and donation marketing. There is a rumor on another fan site that this is the way Cal is leaning - it will split up the sports with Riverboat Ron handling football. And then the new AD will be a figurehead who gladhands elderly donors.
BERKELEY – Twelve California student-athletes spanning seven varsity sports were named to the 2025 At-Large Academic All-District Teams, College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Tuesday morning.
A student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average or better and meet a variety of sport-specific qualifications to be nominated for the at-large academic all-district teams. Each NCAA Division I school is allotted six nominations for both the men's and women's at-large academic all-district teams (12 total).
BERKELEY – The California women's soccer team announced its 2025 fall schedule Tuesday, unveiling a 19-match slate that features 10 contests to be played at Edwards Stadium. The full schedule can be seen here.
The Golden Bears head into their second season as members of the ACC, which is widely regarded as the top conference in the sport. Cal and eight other ACC programs made the NCAA Championship in 2024, including all four College Cup teams that the Bears saw during the regular season.
BERKELEY – The Collegiate Rowers Coaches Association (CRCA) announced its list of 2025 Scholar Athletes on Tuesday, which included 14 members of the California women's rowing team.
Still buzzing from a walk-off, 447-foot home run by rookie Nick Kurtz, the Athletics hoped to keep up the excitement tonight against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
JP Sears faced off against former A’s hurler Jason Alexander. He got off to a wild start walking the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. Jake Meyers singled on a blooper just past the outstretched arms of Jacob Wilson. Both Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes scored. Myers attempted to steal second but was thrown out to end the inning. The Astros took a 2-0 lead before the A’s came to bat.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- From a four-run deficit that felt much larger to a ninth-inning rally that happened in a hurry, it was impossible to ignore the parallels between Tuesday's matchup with the Glacier Range Riders and Oakland's Opening Day triumph over the Ogden Raptors. In the end, a walk-off wild pitch gave the Ballers a series-opening victory, 6-5.
Rafael Devers got a standing ovation from the Oracle Park crowd along with two hits and an RBI. What he couldn’t get is a win, as the Giants left 13 runners on base, including three in the 9th inning, in a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday night.
The Dodgers and San Diego Padres made things interesting early in Tuesday’s contest, but the Dodgers rode a five-run sixth inning to secure their third straight victory against San Diego and their fourth straight win overall.
The day after the Padres hit Andy Pages, maybe on purpose, and Pages mean mugs the pitcher and the Padres manager yells, "Who the fuck are you?", Pages goes 4-4 with 2 HRs, a double, and a single. Guess Shildt now knows who he is.
WSU cutting most of its track and all of its field team to concentrate on distance running. I guess going back to their roots as I remember they were among the first to bring in African runners back in the seventies, including the great Henry Rono who set a world record at Edward’s Stadium in the 5,000 meters.
I'm about 4 episodes into Poker Face (19/19 Peacock?). So far it's as good as it was last year. Love how you see the murder then later you see how Charlie fits into the storyline.
It’s time for another edition of Oski Disciple’s quote of the day.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
She's right, you know.
MEDIA LANDSCAPE
Serious question for the DBD hive mind. I am looking for better sources of journalism and news.
I gave up my Washington Post subscription this past March in no small part because of its refusal to make an endorsement in the US Presidential race, which is a way of saying, you supported Donald Trump, I'm not subscribing to your product. I actually cancelled the sub in November in the wake of the non-endorsement endorsement. It just took until March 23rd for the sub to expire.
I don't trust the New York Times. I think the Times is all about not rocking the boat. Towards that end, they engage in "both sides" journalism, which is a clear cop out and equivalent to sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling, "LA LA LA LA LA LA" repeatedly.
CNN is a joke. It's an iteration of infotainment in pursuit of clicks.
I did make modest monthly contributions to Berkeleyside for a short while until it became blindingly apparent that this publication is driven by advocacy journalism. The journalistic ethos is much closer to my perspective, but I am still bothered by its approach to journalism and news and also find that I do not agree with many of its positions. Consequently, I have trust issues with its reportage.
The San Francisco Chronicle has been with me almost from the time I was born up until now (I didn't read it when I lived in New Jersey, from March 1975 to May 1980). But the Chron has gone to a model of what I call lazy journalism when it comes to its e-edition. Sports articles are almost always 36+ hours old. That is, reporting on Tuesday's games don't appear until Thursday. Front page stories have almost always appeared on the website the day before, sometime two days or three days before. Why should I pay for a fishwrap or bird cage liner when I don't even get that?
What is a person thirsting for news and information to do? What outlets are there that are reliable and informative? I'd like something that can give me news and info so that I can be at least somewhat reasonably informed about current events.
Any ideas, recommendations, suggestions, etc.? Your input is sought.
I feel ya. I am in the same boat. I dropped my WaPo subscription too. I keep a portfolio of news sources, which I keep in two buckets. I have the real news bucket, which I try to use objective news sources that are as moderate and objective as possible. No news source is perfect, but I've been leaning on BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, and NY Times. I have a seperate bucket for DBD sources, which comes from different sources but would never rely on them to give me the real skinny.
I will check out BBC and Reuters, maybe give Bloomberg a try.
I struggle with this also. I have a couple of approaches, neither is completely satisfactory:
1. So far, local news seems to be less crazy than national news. This has been true for decades, maybe it was always true. I think the more $$$ in national news pushes them harder; local news is pushed less.
2. As long as it isn’t in your face, I can tolerate somewhat slanted reporting by adjusting my expectations. So I still read NYT and the Chronicle for a lot of things. But they are all moving targets.
I used to enjoy all news radio stations. All gone.
Except for KCBS, you're right about the all-news stations becoming extinct.
I appreciate your candor and see value in emphasizing local sources.
DC has WTOP which is very similar to the KCBS I remember (back in the Dave McElhatton days to show you how old I am). I don’t listen to radio other than WTOP and the occasional tune in to sports radio.
Part of it is to vet as well as you can coverage by looking at issues/events/people you actually have independent knowledge of what went on, and can evaluate the quality and slant (2 different issues) of the coverage. This is easier to do with local news.
This applies to all areas of journalism, news, sports, lifestyles, etc. Good journalism has to tell you what happened, and why, regardless of how it turns out, and point out/call out problematical situations. It can easily be contrived to become promotional.
I had already dropped WaPo before they got Trumped, as I found it kind of redundant next to what the NYT already does.
NY Times is still good for factual reporting, though you have to recognize the slant and it's easy to ignore the opinion page. Local coverage in Chron/Merc/East Bay Times is good too, supplemented by the more advocacy-based local outlets like Berkeleyside or Oaklandside. Again, just have to recognize the slant but they don't make things up.
I gave up on the Old Gray Lady long ago. I was an inveterate NYT reader when I lived in NJ, and sporadically read it after I returned to California. I even had an electronic subscription for two years until I realized they were both sidesing their reporting during Trump 1.0. Bleah.
That's when I took up with WaPo which I found more willing to ask relevant questions without just skating on reportage. I knew my days with WaPo were numbered when they started to lose staff for reasons related to editorial directives. The no-endorsement endorsement was the final straw.
I like the Merc when we lived in Los Gatos (for a year), but found it lost relevance when we moved to Berkeley. I may pick up the East Bay Times now, at least for a trial run.
Every few years I sign up for a year's subscription to the Financial Times. Their editorial slant is similar to The Economist's: Freedom of movement of goods and people is good; Climate change is real; People's private lives are their own business. It's a conservative voice I don't always agree with but can respect.
Interesting. I'll check it out. Thanks.
I'm very happy with the Guardian and highly recommend it. I also rely on BBC News and still get The NY Times which is flawed, as you indicated, but is still very thorough.
I'll give the Guardian a go.
HAPPY SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY'S BIRTHDAY TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE
UFOS
Q.Ron Rodgers & Steve Levy, naturally
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2023/09/06/ex-packers-quarterback-aaron-rodgers-recounts-ufo-encounter/70775325007/
Why am I not surprised?
THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE
POLITICS
Yesterday, Trump crowed that we have complete control over Iranian skies. He also demanded "unconditional surrender" of Iran. I thought... "are we at war and nobody told America?"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-claims-complete-control-iran-skies/
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/video/trump-calls-irans-unconditional-surrender-122960705
Trump's poles are going up
https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3lrtqwjhd5s2s
His post reads like something from the Onion.
Baron Trump (19) has made $40m off his parents crypto scam
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/barron-trump-net-worth-earnings-35410807
SIGN ME UP
https://bsky.app/profile/echamp.bsky.social/post/3lrtmfmhe2c27
CAL
Apropos to when I posted that I thought that the AD was two distinctly different roles of sports management and donation marketing. There is a rumor on another fan site that this is the way Cal is leaning - it will split up the sports with Riverboat Ron handling football. And then the new AD will be a figurehead who gladhands elderly donors.
[NEWS] Golden Bears Earn Academic All-District Honors
https://calbears.com/news/2025/6/17/athletics-news-golden-bears-earn-academic-all-district-honors.aspx
BERKELEY – Twelve California student-athletes spanning seven varsity sports were named to the 2025 At-Large Academic All-District Teams, College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Tuesday morning.
A student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average or better and meet a variety of sport-specific qualifications to be nominated for the at-large academic all-district teams. Each NCAA Division I school is allotted six nominations for both the men's and women's at-large academic all-district teams (12 total).
[WSOC] Cal Women’s Soccer Unveils 2025 Schedule
https://calbears.com/news/2025/6/17/womens-soccer-cal-womens-soccer-unveils-2025-schedule.aspx
BERKELEY – The California women's soccer team announced its 2025 fall schedule Tuesday, unveiling a 19-match slate that features 10 contests to be played at Edwards Stadium. The full schedule can be seen here.
The Golden Bears head into their second season as members of the ACC, which is widely regarded as the top conference in the sport. Cal and eight other ACC programs made the NCAA Championship in 2024, including all four College Cup teams that the Bears saw during the regular season.
[WROW] 14 Bears Named CRCA Scholar-Athletes
https://calbears.com/news/2025/6/17/womens-rowing-14-bears-named-crca-scholar-athletes.aspx
BERKELEY – The Collegiate Rowers Coaches Association (CRCA) announced its list of 2025 Scholar Athletes on Tuesday, which included 14 members of the California women's rowing team.
Go Bears!!!
PRO
Athletics fall (hard) to Astros 13-3
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2025/6/17/24451311/athletics-pounded-by-astros-13-3
Still buzzing from a walk-off, 447-foot home run by rookie Nick Kurtz, the Athletics hoped to keep up the excitement tonight against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
JP Sears faced off against former A’s hurler Jason Alexander. He got off to a wild start walking the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. Jake Meyers singled on a blooper just past the outstretched arms of Jacob Wilson. Both Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes scored. Myers attempted to steal second but was thrown out to end the inning. The Astros took a 2-0 lead before the A’s came to bat.
Opening Day-ja Vu: Oakland Walks-Off Glacier (Ballers win 6-5)
https://www.oaklandballers.com/sports/bsb/2025/releases/202506184bwe94
OAKLAND, Calif. -- From a four-run deficit that felt much larger to a ninth-inning rally that happened in a hurry, it was impossible to ignore the parallels between Tuesday's matchup with the Glacier Range Riders and Oakland's Opening Day triumph over the Ogden Raptors. In the end, a walk-off wild pitch gave the Ballers a series-opening victory, 6-5.
Giants have new DH, same LOB problem in 3-2 loss
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2025/6/18/24451328/sf-giants-new-dh-same-lob-problem-cleveland-guardians-loss
Rafael Devers got a standing ovation from the Oracle Park crowd along with two hits and an RBI. What he couldn’t get is a win, as the Giants left 13 runners on base, including three in the 9th inning, in a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday night.
Guardians only had six hits and they won.
Yeah, having watched it I think they were lucky to win. Giants will break through more often than not with that many baserunners.
Dodgers ride five-run sixth inning to take down Padres 8-6
https://www.truebluela.com/2025/6/17/24451237/dodgers-padres-game-recap
The Dodgers and San Diego Padres made things interesting early in Tuesday’s contest, but the Dodgers rode a five-run sixth inning to secure their third straight victory against San Diego and their fourth straight win overall.
The day after the Padres hit Andy Pages, maybe on purpose, and Pages mean mugs the pitcher and the Padres manager yells, "Who the fuck are you?", Pages goes 4-4 with 2 HRs, a double, and a single. Guess Shildt now knows who he is.
ELSEWHERE IN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
WSU cutting most of its track and all of its field team to concentrate on distance running. I guess going back to their roots as I remember they were among the first to bring in African runners back in the seventies, including the great Henry Rono who set a world record at Edward’s Stadium in the 5,000 meters.
https://www.si.com/college/washington-state/athletics/washington-state-athletics-announces-significant-cuts-to-track-field-program
DBD AV CLUB
I'm about 4 episodes into Poker Face (19/19 Peacock?). So far it's as good as it was last year. Love how you see the murder then later you see how Charlie fits into the storyline.
Murderbot on Apple. Funny and only slightly violent.