By Rachel Rippetoe |
Recent research funded by the NACS Foundation discovered that only 39 percent of college students read newspapers. As young adults, we care about the world around us and want to be informed, but we just don’t have the time to leisurely flip through an issue of the New York Times or turn on CNN.
Many college students in the past have gotten their news from comedy news shows like “The Colbert Report” or “The Daily Show.” Now that these shows have essentially come to an end, some students may be struggling to get the news in an efficient and entertaining way.
From scrolling through your Twitter feed to checking your email, here are a few fun easy options for getting informed about local, national and international news.
Apps- For the Smartphone Fanatics
The Beacon Mobile app has an NPR tile- Check out the far left corner of our Beacon app, you can find a link to the NPR News mobile site!
AP Mobile- This popular news app, created by The Associated Press, brings together thousands of news sources from around the world to provide easy access to all the most important national and world news. It’s easy to scroll through all the headlines and press releases addressing topics from sports and entertainment to world politics. It even has a link to AP Radio!
Circa News- This is also a popular app for reading the news quickly and efficiently. Circa saves you time by breaking complex news articles down to the meat of the story, giving you all the info you need including quotes, photos, and maps, but leaving out any extraneous details. Circa also allows you to track news stories that interest you so that you can stay up to date on topics that are important to you.
Now this News- This news outlet devoted solely to mobile devices makes it easy to get news highlights. The app consists of short simple video clips that bring attention to major topics in national and world news. The app takes very little brain power because each video highlight has a minimal amount of information. Although, this can be appealing, it’s important to supplement this with other news sources to have a more in depth understanding of world issues.
Vox Report- Vox Report, separate from Vox Media, is a different kind of news entirely. Vox Report came out of the fiery pit of the Ferguson debates when there was a lot of criticism about bias in the media. VR is a way to get first person accounts of world and national news. Essentially, you get to be the reporter. If you attend an important world event, snap some pictures, take a video, and write about it and it will appear on the app. While some find first person accounts more trustworthy for certain events, there is likely to be bias in an unprofessional story or account of an event, therefore Vox Report should mainly be used in addition to other news sources.
Twitter Accounts- For the Social Media Maniacs The Oregonian (@Oregonian)- This is an easy way to get regional news ranging from the final score in a Trail Blazers game to local events, weather, and even crime reports. The account generally posts at least one story an hour, often more. The account shares articles about world and national news as well.
Willamette Week (@wweek)- If you’d prefer for your feed to not get cluttered with 20 to 30 local news articles a day, Willamette Week, posting articles from one of Portland’s most popular weekly newspapers, is a good account to follow. The account generally posts three to four articles a day about politics, events, and everyday life in Portland. If you are just interested in local government and politics, try following the publication’s City Hall and regional politics reporter, Aaron Mesh (@AaronMesh).
CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk)- This account is a good replacement for CNN’s regular twitter account which often gets clogged with promos for television shows or events that the television network hosts. This way, you only get the important national and world news events. The account offers links to CNN breaking news articles and generally tweets every hour or so. If you are just interested in CNN reports of World News, try following CNN correspondent, Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN).
The New York Times (@nytimes)- The famous publication’s twitter posts links to breaking news and special reports. Expect 5-10 posts an hour including updates on world news, entertainment news, political campaigns, and sports.
Reuters Top News (@Reuters)- This account brings you top and breaking news, pictures, and videos from around the world. It posts a few articles every couple of hours covering the basics of world news.
Hollywood Reporter (@THR)- Those interested in film and entertainment news will enjoy following The Hollywood Reporter. They get breaking entertainment news out rather quickly and tweet several interesting feature articles on upcoming film and television projects along with profiles of popular actors.
Websites- For the Laptop Lovers Vox (http://www.vox.com/)- Vox Media is a straightforward news outlet that gives readers the jist of the most important news topics of the week. One of its best features is something called “Card Stacks” in which it presents you with notecards of information on specific topics. For instance, there is a card stack called “Everything you need to know about vaccines” and there are 18 short digital notecards with the most important and relevant facts about vaccines.
Fusion (http://fusion.net/)- Fusion News is indeed a fusion of satirical humor and real news. It has a really fun format with lots of relevant stories told in a fresh and hip new way. Its articles focus on world and national news and justice along with lighter topics like music and pop culture.
Email Subscriptions - For the Email Enthusiasts The Skimm (http://www.theskimm.com/) - This fun little newsletter will email you daily with the most interesting tidbits of the most popular articles of the day. It’s a good way to get informed without having to use too much brain power or reading time.
New York Times Free Newsletters (http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/)- The best part about these NY Times Newsletters is the options they provide. You don’t simply sign up for a broad overview of the last new york times article, you pick between specialized newsletters from Theater to Breaking News to Opinion articles.
BBC Free Newsletters (http://pages.email.bbc.com/subscribe)- These newsletters are essentially just a summary of the BBC’s best feature articles of the week, but how cool and cultured would you feel to be getting your news from the UK?
Text Alerts- For the Emoji Experts
NBC SMS Alerts (http://secure.nbcnews.com/_tps/_accounts/msnbc/smsinfo)- If you text NEWS to 622639, NBC will text you the breaking news of the day (generally about one alert a day). This way news is coming directly to you, you don’t even have to search for it.
KOIN 6 Text Alerts (http://koin.com/text-alerts/)- If you want local breaking news and weather alerts, KOIN is your best bet. You’ll be the first to know about snow days!
Public Alerts (http://www.publicalerts.org/signup)- These alerts are less about news and more about safety. You will receive text alerts about suspicious people in your area, upcoming severe storms, and even upcoming earthquake warnings.
