News is broken. How to stay informed anyway.

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth — written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hey all,

Even my barber and I were discussing it the other day: Where does one ‘get the news’ these days? As I told her, it’s indeed an issue I think about a lot.

Some weeks ago, a guy online had complained at me he has to subscribe to the New York Times — otherwise he won’t be informed about what’s going on in the world, he asserted.

He implied a binary, one that is false: Subscribing to the NYT or not ‘getting the news.’

As a trans freelance journalist, I often contemplate our (broken) news ecosystems and wonder: Can my career survive this? And, how do I — just as a consumer of the news — stay informed?

Overall: I am of two minds. On the one hand, yes, media is dying, absolutely true. Institutional media is, at least. Opportunities for a freelance journalist such as myself are few and ever dwindling, seemingly.

And, counterintuitively perhaps, many new players are innovating, even thriving. Many are filling in the gaps where local news has been decimated for example, like wildflowers sprouting after ground is disturbed.

Many people, especially of a certain age, crave a ‘one stop shop’ way of getting the news — just one newspaper or TV station or whatever. I’d argue that such a world has long since ceased to exist. People get news from a mix of social media and YouTube, newsletters and podcasts, in addition to the more traditional TV or radio or newspapers and magazines, whether digital or print.

In general, I think in 2026 it’s wise to audit your own media diet and decide which social media platforms and outlets are no longer are consistent with your own values and make changes accordingly.

Not all social media companies are equally evil — even though several of the big ones are very evil. Not all news organizations are equally evil — even though several of the big ones are very evil.

Regarding the New York Times: In my view, this publication’s utility has diminished over recent years — in part because of its devotion to particular ideological projects like spreading deadly misinformation about trans people.

Other billionaire-owned media companies are more right-leaning nowadays and less good at conveying “the news” — which is their supposed purpose. Some institutional media orgs have become unapologetically anti-trans (Atlantic, Harper’s). Or The Washington Post, which has been gutted by Bezos. Also see: righwing pundit Bari Weiss’ disastrous ascension at CBS.

Personally these days, I still subscribe to a few bigger publications (New York, The New Yorker) and a few medium sized ones, like The Believer. (I’ve contributed to the latter and to The Cut.) I also try to support a few independent creators that I particularly appreciate. Like presently I pay for Law Dork and the If Books Could Kill Patreon.

In general, I suggest you consider whether and how you want to imbibe “the news.” These days, outlets of various sizes tend to offer assorted ways to access their content, from podcasts to newsletters to videos to following them on whatever social media platforms to, yes, subscriptions.

I’ve always tended to have an omnivorous media diet, myself. I tend to sign up for many newsletters, which I then unsubscribe from, as I desire. I similarly often listen to new podcasts (including ones that may offer news enrichment), and I drop shows if I find them less my thing.

Repeating myself but: I quit Twitter in 2021, finding the unpoliced transphobic harassment on that site untenable. This included an incident wherein a Guardian UK commentator sent her transphobic followers after me because I’d published about my gender. I was newly out and couldn’t handle any of it. (I had already quit all Meta-owned platforms.)

After a blissful few years away, I joined Bluesky finally in 2024. As a journalist but also “just” as a consumer of the news, myself, I have found Bluesky very useful, in both respects.

A site like X is driving people rightward and it has been shown to negatively impact with (mental) health. In my view, unless you’re a journalist or academic covering right-wing propaganda, there is no valid reason to be on X anymore.

Musk’s vile politics notwithstanding: X just isn’t useful, these days. Unlike X, Bluesky doesn’t sink links. Unlike X and Instagram/Facebook: Bluesky just isn’t algorithm driven; it simply shows that chronological scroll.

I tend to be following 500+ journalists etc. on Bluesky at any given moment, active accounts whose perspectives I want to hear*. I put a lot of thought into who I follow and I’m constantly refreshing who I follow, too.

Fellow writers: I got this response, when I surveyed my own subscribers last year …

Where to get the news? Larger outlets worth checking out: Guardian US, WIRED, The Nation, The Verge, Mother Jones, ProPublica, The 19th and Xtra.

Here’s a great resource:

Other recommended independent creators:

Here are a some exciting newcomers to the food journalism scene …

Here are a few (newer/independent) regional sites …

Here are some more great independent ventures …

ICYMI: The Onion bought InfoWars — some actual good news. I did subscribe …

This was a fantastic CMD:

ICYMI, I was on Cancel Me, Daddy, last year discussing the transphobia at the NYT. (As some of you have maybe heard: That heinous Times podcast mini series that we unpacked on CMD recently received a Pulitzer nomination, barf. 🤮 Truly so depressing.)

Here are a few other podcasts I turn to, to both ‘hear the news’ and analysis of it, from politics to culture …

I’ve enjoyed these newsier Amanda-hosted episodes of WCDHT of late …

Here are some culture-leaning podcasts I keep up with …

And a few more that make me LOL …

Adored their latest, with John Waters. His ‘I don’t think so honey’ was, unsurprisingly, a masterwork of the form.

For those who subscribe to the NYT “just” for the cooking content, here are some alternatives …

For those who subscribe “just” for the puzzles … Puzzmo is what I periodically recommend.

It is challenging, staying informed despite this fractured landscape.

I also know for a fact it’s absolutely possible to follow the news and not support the likes of the NYT.

Good luck,
Sandy

*Yes, some of the above are substacks. I’m a vocal critic of substack and I moved this very newsletter off of there a year and a half ago — which was the right move, no regrets. I also know that it’s a complicated calculus for larger creators whether to move off it.

**Yes, I follow a few writers who are employed still by the NYT and Atlantic, etc. Some are former colleagues and/or folks I just respect that much.

Last thing! I’ll update this post probably as further good ideas occur. Thanks to those who’ve written me already, sharing your favorite publications. I don’t mean this post to be comprehensive, just an offering … Places to start.

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today, a newsletter by me — author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

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