News, To Me

How do I become a better informed citizen while protecting my peace?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several conversations with friends and family about how they’re keeping up with the news.

My relationship with news consumption is something I’ve pondered over the years, albeit in the back of my mind, but it's come into the forefront ever since Inauguration Day.

I didn't realize how much this topic was weighing on my mind until the thoughts spilled out of me in my journal the other morning, largely an effect of those conversations I've been having and things I’ve been reading.

It compelled me to broach the topic here on The Conscious Consumer because writing is how I process.

Now before I go any further, I'll start by saying that I’m admittedly a little nervous to post this type of piece because of 1) the current political climate, and 2) my fear that I’ll be seen as ignorant or uninformed.

But I would be doing myself, and those who might feel similarly to me, a disservice if I don’t honestly explore this topic.

So with that disclaimer aside, let’s get into it.

I’ve never considered myself “a politics person” nor have I ever been the type to consume a lot of news. That probably has something to do with my upbringing, i.e. mine wasn’t a household where the news channel was always on. In fact, the only vivid memories I have of watching the news as a kid was when 9/11 happened and when, in the event of a snowstorm, we needed to check if my brother and my’s schools were closed. Regularly watching or reading the news just simply wasn’t something I observed many adults around me doing, aside from my grandfather and his newspaper.

The most consistent news consumption I’ve ever partaken in was reading theSkimm every day for several years. This fell to the wayside at some point once they started expanding beyond their original reporting. As a somewhat early adopter of their newsletter, I didn’t like how many content streams they were adding (hello, shareholder value) and thus never noticed when their emails seemed to disappear from my inbox one day.

It’s been a long time since then—before the pandemic I think—and I never found anything to replace it. Instead, I’d see things on social media or hear about them from friends, family, or colleagues, occasionally looking into something further on my own.

I’ve admittedly relied on, without intending to, the ethos of “if it’s important enough I’ll hear about it.”

I remember when the news first broke of the January 6th attacks on the capitol. I had just moved into my new home and was sitting on a barstool, awkwardly positioned up against my kitchen counter. I didn’t yet have a kitchen table so this was my makeshift work station. I was on a work call first thing that morning when one of my colleagues briefly mentioned what was going on. It seemed that everyone but me knew about it.

When I confessed to not having heard yet, I was met with a “what?! you didn’t see that?” response. While I will never know my colleague’s intent, I, as a sensitive person, interpreted that as a criticism of my lack of knowledge. Instant shame crept in.

I quickly googled it and clicked into the first result I saw—a minute-by-minute update of what had been unfolding at the capitol. But rather than a relief of “being in the know,” it felt like an instant barrage.

As I scanned the updates, the anxiety crept in. This wasn’t going to help me focus on getting any work done. I closed the tab, resolving to come back later that day and read a fully-formed article about what had happened.

Experience tells me that any time I compulsively check the news, it isn’t helpful. Last year's election was a good reminder of this, when I realized that refreshing the vote count in my browser every 10 minutes wasn't going to change the outcome.

I'm able to more closely read and process events when I do it on my own terms. I also find news that is written after the event has occurred, not during it, to be more valuable than a play-by-play.

So that brings me to the questions I find myself pondering.

I believe it’s important to be an informed citizen, especially so that I can exercise my right to vote. But what does being “an informed citizen” mean?

As our world has become increasingly more online, the pressure and expectation to be informed has spread to a global point of view. While there's certainly nothing bad about that—knowing how other countries live feeds curiosity, open-mindedness, and compassion—I think our society tends to focus too much on what’s going on overseas and in the White House than in our own backyards.

I’ve tried to pay more attention to local news than international, or even national for that matter, ever since the pandemic because that’s when I learned the impact local politics can have. I also feel like I can make more of a difference in my own city, like my actions and vote are much more powerful.

That begs my second question. Once one is informed, then what? Does being informed matter if all we do is vent and talk about events in an echo chamber? Or does it matter more when it compels us to action? What if we are informed and do neither? Does that count for anything?

Being informed is a prerequisite to healthy discourse that creates change. Where it seems to be ineffective, and perhaps unhealthy, is when we put it on display to signify to others, “I know what’s going on,” using our knowledge as social currency rather than material for vulnerable, productive conversations.

Now what is the “news,” anyway?

Oxford Dictionary tells me the news is “newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.”

Hopefully we can all agree that what constitutes news these days runs the gamut (I’m looking at you, obscure clickbaity headlines that have nothing of substance behind them).

When I say news, I think of current events mainly in the realm of politics, environment, and culture; things with lasting impact.

Unfortunately the speed at which things can be reported, combined with the publisher's incentive to keep eyeballs on their site for as long as possible, results in an overwhelming amount of information. Information that we as citizens have to parse out.

I used to think of news as material that was time-sensitive, but in my experience that urgency is manufactured.

How often do we really need to know about something as it’s happening? Save for emergency situations that are threatening your very physical being, such as fire evacuation notices that are sadly becoming all too common here on the West Coast, I dare suggest that little else is truly that important. I don’t see much difference in finding out about an event while it's unfolding, with facts still to be determined, versus reading about it the next day, or even a few days later for that matter.

I think this is where the social currency trap comes in. Because we're collectively so plugged in and the news arrives instantly in our pockets, it creates a natural divide for those who choose to consume on their own terms. *raises hand*

It's as if one end of the spectrum has a constant IV drip of news to their bloodstream, push notifications alerting them to events left and right. And then there’s the other end, with their heads in the sand.

While I know what's going on at a high level, I do veer towards that latter end of the spectrum. I think I tend to avoid a lot of what’s happening because it is so plain awful and because I feel quite powerless.

More and more I wonder though, how much of my ability to ignore is a direct reflection of my privilege (privilege that isn't so guaranteed these days).

Shame is the emotion that surrounds a lot of this for me. But where does it come from? Is the pressure I’m feeling induced by those around me or does it come from discontent within myself?

It’s ironic how, in a time of a true news barrage given the current administration’s flooding the zone, I feel the need to consume more while I’m noticing a lot of people consuming less.

It's as if the two ends of the spectrum have flipped, recognizing a need to see what the other side feels like.

Are we so different, then? The people I’ve observed taking a step back aren’t saying “no news” but rather are recognizing that their previous consumption habits, be it social media, news apps’ push notifications, etc. are no longer serving them and they want to be more intentional about their consumption.

Granted, I’m not suddenly going to download multiple news apps and turn on all push notifications. I am very mindful of opening myself up to information overload and adding to my anxiety. Instead I want to figure out an intentional way to be more informed about what’s going on.

And that starts with baby steps.

On the local level, City Cast Portland has become somewhat of a regular listen for me, particularly their Friday news round-ups. They deliver informative commentary on key things developing in my backyard, with a healthy dose of sarcasm and humor.

On the national level, I resubscribed to theSkimm last week to see how that feels. It worked for me before, so why not give it another try?

A couple other resources I’m intending to check out further are Ground News and

Emily in Your Phone

(I first learned of her on this interview and the frequency with which she is recommended lately means something).

Now I'd like to conclude this post with an ask—where & how do you get your news, and if you have a go-to source, what is it and why?