[gt_]

I come across reverence for these publications regularly but I don’t say anything because I fear bipartisan reactionism would label me a conspiracist before I have a chance to defend myself.

I actually get most of my news filtered through HN comments and from independent podcasts by journalists I trust.

[randcraw]

I treat news like it was an claim about nature by a scientist. Do other (independent) experts agree? If not, then I'm not ready to accept the claim yet. But if so, and the argument seems sound, then I'll tentatively consider believing it.

Or if opinions on the proposed news/idea are mixed or absent, I'll look at how bold the claim is and how disruptive the consequences of accepting it. Bold claims must offer more compelling support (or more undeniable) than mild claims, be that support evidentiary or logical.

Without sound support, at most I'll consider a claim to be plausible and perhaps intriguing. But it's not really trustworthy yet as news, and certainly not as science.

[Erlangolem]

I love this outlook, and I share it. I’d add that I like to take patterns of claims into account, past and present. Patterns of claims can be illuminating as to the reality of underlying motivations, even where claims are true. Sometimes claims are accurate, but by presenting only one segment of a story the reader’s conclusions are moulded a specific end. For example claims that video games cause violence recur in predictable ways, as do PR submarines.

Another useful filter is to identify which of Logos, Pathos, or Ethos is being employed most. Is an article trying to support its claims with citations, original research, and sound logic? Or is it just calling everyone who disagrees with it immoral?

[eldavido]

HN is too narrow. My personal gripe with some of the beliefs here:

- Belief that product/engineering/tech always trumps distribution. Sometimes it does. Often it doesn't.

- Way too focused on software as "tech" to the exclusion of everything else (physics, science, etc). Super-focused on programming languages, dev tools, anything that touches code.

Re: "bipartisan reactionism", my wife sits a little left of me politically so I tend to read more conservative news (e.g. WSJ), whereas she gives me the scoop from NPR and NYT. We meet in the middle. It's nice.

[BoiledCabbage]

> I actually get most of my news filtered through HN comments and from independent podcasts by journalists I trust.

Hacker news is not a great news source. A very limited view, a very hash filter, an echo chamber with extremely like-minded people on tech.

As a result you get the frequent ideas that tech is the solution to everything (in fact it's horrible at most human nature problems), and the bias that the majority of people on here have been brought up with privilege even if the don't like to admit it, and are also currently living a life of privilege - most don't know what the world looks like for even the majority of Americans.