The Daily Parker

I have meant to post this for a while: a list of the media I regularly consume. This may help visitors to the Daily Parker more easily decide whether something I post is crap or (more likely) researched more than the typical Internet meme. (The title comes from an essay by Mark Twain.)

The impetus to post this came from my Facebook feed, which contained a number of suspicious memes and posts from close friends today. In each case it took me about 30 seconds to fact-check them and gently remind people to slow down before posting things that they feel must be true. There is so much going on this week (I'm writing on 2 June 2020) that we have no need for bullshit. Simply posting first-class news stories says enough.

Here, in descending order of how much I rely on them, are the media that I consume to get information. Where applicable I have added the amount I pay or contribute to the source on an annual basis (updated 1 June 2024):

1. National Public Radio / WBEZ-Chicago ($1200)
2. The Washington Post ($120)
3. Block Club Chicago ($100)
4. The New York Times ($240)
5. The Atlantic ($80)
6. The Economist ($319)
7. The Guardian UK ($120)
8. Talking Points Memo Prime ($120)
9. Crain's Chicago Business ($169)
10. Puck News ($100)
11. Andrew Sullivan ($100)
12. James Fallows ($60)
13. The BBC
14. NBC
15. The Chicago Tribune ($8.50 per week!)
16. New York Magazine ($64)
17. The New Yorker ($100)
18. New Republic ($40)
19. Rolling Stone ($64)
20. Scientific American ($99)
21. Consumer Reports ($39)
22. Snopes

Yes, I really do spend that much on being informed. And I'm about to spend less, because the Chicago Tribune charging $8.50 a week is not at all worth it.