Find a Local News Source You Trust, and Pay for It

It’s one way to actively sustain hope

Tucker Lieberman

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red squirrel reading a print newspaper called ‘Squirrel Daily’
Squirrel Daily by Sammy-Sander from Pixabay

Elad Nehorai wrote yesterday of the dimming interest in news and the collapse of hope:

In 2015, 67% of Americans were very interested in the news. Today, the number is at 49%, down almost 20%.

In 2020, 41% of Americans were hopeful about where the country was going. Today the number is at 22%. The numbers are even more striking among young people.

We are tired. We are losing hope. And all of that is making us cynical: believing that nothing can change, not only that things are bad, but that they can’t get better.

This is exactly what the fascists want.

We can’t turn on hope like flicking a switch. Hope has to be made. We are the ones who can make it.

Find a News Source You Trust

Subscribing to news—news that we trust, news that is useful—is one way to cultivate hope.

To decide if a news source is credible, here are five questions to ask. I’ve adapted these from the News Literacy Project.

  1. What do others say about the news source? Look up the outlet on Media Bias / Fact Check and see how it has been evaluated.

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Tucker Lieberman

Cult classic. Author of the novel "Most Famous Short Film of All Time." Editor for Prism & Pen and Identity Current. tuckerlieberman.com