My go-to sources of news:
These are some of my go-to news sources. A disclaimer: you will find a progressive, socially liberal and economically centrist or left-of-centre viewpoint in most of these papers. I love sources that are more academic and analytical in nature, and you would certainly not find any of those click-baity, sensational news sources here. The best way to formulate informed opinions is to expose yourself to diverse viewpoints.
The Economist: As someone who wants to expose herself to a progressive, centrist and liberal view of the world, The Economist tops my list of news sources. The magazine is usually well-argued, factually correct and balanced. I also love listening to the Economist Podcasts and really like their polling predictions when I am following different elections.
The Financial Times: The FT needs no introduction. It is the authority when it comes to news in general but in particularly their analysis on everything economics, business and finance is unparalleled. I religiously follow the columns and podcasts of Gideon Rachman, the Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Martin Wolf, the Chief Economics Commentator, Soumaya Keynes, columnist and podcast host and Adam Tooze, contributing editor and Professor of History at Columbia University. The FT aligns itself with economic liberalism and advocates for free trade and markets. For anyone who supports the tenets of liberal democracy and classically liberal politics, the FT is the paper of choice.
The New York Times: My go-to newspaper for news on the United States. I love their OPEds and investigations. Again, left-leaning and progressive.
The New Yorker is an American magazine that is known for its journalism, commentary, essays, fiction and much more. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, the magazine along with The Atlantic and Haper’s Magazine was the preferred news source among college-educated readership in the US. Since 2014, the magazine has won eight Pulitzer Prizes. Its readership is mostly left-wing and liberal.
The Guardian: Personally, The Guardian is my go-to source for British news. The paper adopts a left of centre stance, and its readership is usually socially progressive and left of centre. It has produced some of the best investigative journalism in the past few decades such as the Panama Papers.
The BBC: I usually follow the BBC for its coverage of British and international news. As the national broadcaster, its coverage is usually factually accurate, and it follows the principles of journalistic integrity. I usually read it more for its factual coverage of events rather than analysis.
Politico: It is a digital media company which covers politics, policy, and power both in the US and across the globe. It is known to be centrist on issues concerning American politics and atlanticist (emphasizing the transatlantic relationship between the United States and Europe) on those relating to international politics.
The Atlantic: It is an American magazine that publishes pieces on politics, foreign affairs, culture and the arts, business and the economy, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 as a literary and cultural magazine, providing a platform for leading thinkers to analyse key political and social issues of the time, including education and the abolition of slavery. It was founded by Francis H. Underwood and writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Greenleaf Whittier. Originally focused on literature and cultural commentary, The Atlantic has evolved into a general-interest magazine that caters to serious readers and thought leaders. The publication is known for its in-depth reporting and long-form journalism, and while it maintains an independent editorial stance, its coverage often reflects a center-left perspective on political and social issues.
The Associated Press and Reuters: The Associated Press (AP) and Reuters are widely regarded as factually accurate wire services that provide objective news coverage on politics, the economy, and a diverse range of global topics. Both agencies supply news reports to media outlets worldwide.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit cooperative news agency, and its reports are circulated among its member newspapers, radio, and television broadcasters in the United States and beyond. Since the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes, AP has won 58 Pulitzer Prizes, including 35 for photography. Ad Fontes Media rates AP as having a Middle bias score and as a reliable source for analysis and fact-based reporting.
Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters and is one of the largest international news agencies. It provides news and financial information to professionals in the financial, media, and corporate sectors. Founded in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter, Reuters was the first news agency in Europe to report President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Ad Fontes Media rates Reuters in the Middle category of bias and as a reliable source for analysis and fact-based reporting.
Foreign Policy: It is an American news publication which specialises in global affairs, current events, geopolitics and domestic and international policy. It was founded in 1970 by the Harvard professor Samuel P. Huntington and his friend Warren Demian Manshel as a platform for offering an alternative perspective on American foreign policy during the Vietnam War. The publication is known for balancing between academic research and general readability. Ad Fontes Media rated foreign policy to be balanced/in the Middle category of bias and as a reliable source for analysis and fact-based reporting.
Foreign Affairs: It is a bi-monthly American magazine that is published by the Council on Foreign Relations. The magazine specialises in international affairs, geopolitics and U.S foreign policy. It is considered to be one of the United States’ most influential and authoritative magazines on foreign policy and has published influential pieces like Samuel P. Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations? (1993). In recent years, the magazine has published work by influential thinkers such as John J. Mearsheimer, Francis Fukuyama, Hillary Clinton, Robert O. Keohane and Ashton Carter.
The New Statesman: The New Statesman is a British political and cultural news magazine. At the time of its inception, it had socialist roots, and was connected to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) founders Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members of the Fabian Society such as George Bernard Shaw, who was also the magazine’s founding director. At present, the magazine is known for its socially liberal, centre-left and progressive political stance. According to the magazine’s editor, Jason Cowley, it is a magazine ‘of the left, for the left’ but also ‘a political and literary magazine’ with ‘sceptical politics’. Throughout history, the magazine’s contributors have been people of immense political and literary importance, such as John Maynard Keynes, Virginia Woolf and Bertrand Russell amongst others.