Moodsurfing has often commented on the importance of limiting reading and watching sensationalist stories during a time of crisis. But a question that seems to be coming up these days is where one can turn for reliable information that is not sensationalist.
I have created this blog post as a place to store some recommendations for keeping up with the news without getting stressed out. I will be updating it from time to time.
Scientific and Medical Resources
Nature is one of the best resources in this list. The news stories are thoughtfully written with excellent commentary about their potential significance. They also allow you to have a sense of what might be happening in the scientific world in the near future. As with most of the sources in this list, their coronavirus coverage is free.
The Journal of the American Medical Association is probably the best medical resource for news stories. Their news coverage is separate from the journal articles. It is the news coverage that I think is the best resource for keeping up to date. All of the coronavirus information at JAMA is free.
The New England Journal of Medicine also has good coronavirus coverage but it is less broad in its scope and the stories are a bit harder to understand if you don’t have a medical background.
General News Sources
The New York Times is a reasonably good resource. Stories are sometimes a bit sensationalist but they are well written and reflect the consensus of experts on a subject. You can sign up for their Coronavirus Newsletter and coronavirus news is free.
The Christian Science Monitor has been working particularly hard to avoid being sensationalist while at the same time providing readers with the information that they need. Sometimes it feels almost as if the effort to avoid sensationalism results in a loss of important content but if you’re feeling triggered and still want to stay reasonably up-to-date this is a good source. Their coronavirus coverage is free.
The Economist was in the past one of the better sources of information combined with thoughtful commentary about the implications of a news story. I have less information about how well they are doing these days. Coronavirus coverage is not free from The Economist.
Please feel especially free to comment about these sources, and to suggest others.
– Peter