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Mike Bell & Steak Shapiro Host First Show Together in 13 Years

BSM Staff
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Mike Bell & Steak Shapiro Host First Show Together in 13 Years

92.9 The Game hosts Steak Shapiro and Mike Bell held a long overdue reunion on the air on Tuesday, as the former co-hosts did a show together for the first time in over a decade.

Dating back to their days on 790 The Zone in Atlanta, Shapiro and Bell hosted together for eight years.

Now Shapiro co-hosts in the late mornings alongside Sandra Golden, while Bell works afternoon drive with Carl Dukes. Steak said he was excited to tack on a five hour show with Bell, filling in for Dukes.

“I am thrilled that you have welcomed me into your home,” Shapiro said. “This is your home.”

Remembering some of the past moments hosting together, Steak brought up Bell’s ability to come up with various bits that were used on the show.

“It would take him like eight hours, but the results were just spectacular,” Shapiro said. “I still know guys to this day that have the Bell’s Bits CD.”

Bell’s creative abilities were what helped him land the job to co-host with Steak. Shapiro remembered when Bell flew to Atlanta for the final interview, and Bell told Andrew Saltzman, who was the co-founder and president of 790 The Zone at the time and is now the executive vice president and chief revenue officer of the Atlanta Hawks, that he would kill for the job.

“Salsa goes, ‘What is it gonna take to get you here?’ I go, ‘Get me here, I’d shoot my kid’s sister for this job,'” Bell said.

Bell and Steak also remembered the time a Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputy served Bell with a lawsuit from his previous station in Fort Myers, Fla. while on the air. Bell was being sued for violating a noncompete clause in his contract.

“Apparently I was gonna be the example,” Bell said. “They were gonna enforce the contract on me.”

“That was a first, though,” Steak responded. “Being served papers on the air in that case. And the rest is history. Mike has been the top dog for a lot of years. So a lot of years together.”

Trump Town Hall Delivered CNN’s Biggest Audience Since March 2022

BNM Staff
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Trump Town Hall Delivered CNN’s Biggest Audience Since March 2022

The controversial May 10th town hall event featuring 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was at the center of the news world during the week ending May 14.

The town hall, moderated by Kaitlan Collins and held at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire to an audience of Republican and independent voters who’ve previously voted for Trump, drew 3.308 million total viewers including 781,000 within the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. Those figures could not top Fox News Channel’s five most recent Trump town halls — two from Mar. 2020, one in May 2020, another in June 2020 and one post-election (on “Hannity”) in June 2021 — which ranged from 3.54 millions to 5.11 million. Nor did they best President Biden’s first post-inauguration CNN town hall from Feb. 16, 2021 (3.64 million total/902,000 adults 25-54).

Nonetheless, it was CNN‘s most-watched telecast in total viewers since President Biden’s State of the Union address on Mar. 1, 2022. It also delivered their best 25-54 performance since their New Year’s Eve celebration with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen from New York’s Times Square on Dec. 31, 2022.

A special edition of “Anderson Cooper 360” which followed the town hall on May 10 was cable news’ runner-up telecast of the week among adults 25-54 (as listed in the rankings at the end of this article.)

On the following night, for the May 11th edition of “AC360”, Cooper defended his network’s to carry the event, stating “the man you were so disturbed to see and hear from [on the night of May 10] — that man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president,”

Cooper added. “You have every right to be outraged today, angry and never watch this network again, but do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?”

The May 11th “Anderson Cooper 360” posted 616,000 viewers including 137,000 adults 25-54, placing behind MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” and FNC’s “Fox News Tonight” although the demo delivery was a mere 2,000 viewers (aged 25-54) behind “Hayes.”

These figures were also on-par with its usual levels: for Monday May 1 thru Thursday May 4, “AC360” averaged 604,000 viewers and 141,000 adults 25-54 within the 8-9 p.m. hour.

Cable news averages for May 8-14, 2023:

Total Day (May 8-14 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.140 million viewers; 137,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.755 million viewers; 85,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.462 million viewers; 95,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.185 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.108 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.107 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.101 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.082 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (May 8-13 @ 8-11 p.m.; May 14 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.434 million viewers; 140,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.161 million viewers; 117,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.701 million viewers; 161,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.317 million viewers; 35,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.141 million viewers; 37,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.108 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.107 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.091 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.060 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. CNN Town Hall “Donald Trump and NH GOP Voters” (CNN, Wed. 5/10/2023 8:00 PM, 70 min.) 3.308 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 5/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.838 million viewers

3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.708 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 5/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.692 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.665 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 5/12/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.497 million viewers

7. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.289 million viewers

8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 5/8/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.210 million viewers

9. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 5/11/2023 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.181 million viewers

10. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Town Hall Analysis” (CNN, Wed. 5/10/2023 9:10 PM, 50 min.) 2.152 million viewers

263. Eric Bolling The Balance (NMX, Mon. 5/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.543 million viewers

428. Varney & Company (FBN, Mon. 5/8/2023 11:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.290 million viewers

450. Forensic Files (HLN, late Tue. 5/9/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.267 million viewers

464. Highway Thru Hell “(1117) Know When To Hold Em” (TWC, Sun. 5/14/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.259 million viewers

518. Squawk on the Street (CNBC, Mon. 5/8/2023 9:00 AM, 180 min.) 0.223 million viewers

731. Cuomo (NWSN, Thu. 5/11/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.136 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:

1. CNN Town Hall “Donald Trump and NH GOP Voters” (CNN, Wed. 5/10/2023 8:00 PM, 70 min.) 0.781 million adults 25-54

2. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Town Hall Analysis” (CNN, Wed. 5/10/2023 9:10 PM, 50 min.) 0.438 million adults 25-54

3. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.338 million adults 25-54

4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 5/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.306 million adults 25-54

5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.298 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 5/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.277 million adults 25-54

7. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Town Hall Analysis” (CNN, Wed. 5/10/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.253 million adults 25-54

8. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 5/11/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.252 million adults 25-54

9. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 5/12/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.251 million adults 25-54

10. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Wed. 5/10/2023 11:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.246 million adults 25-54

19. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.210 million adults 25-54

316. Forensic Files (HLN, late Tue. 5/9/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.076 million adults 25-54

400. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 728” (CNBC, Thu. 5/11/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.059 million adults 25-54

402. Greg Kelly Reports (NMX, Thu. 5/11/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.059 million adults 25-54

510. Highway Thru Hell “(1116) Triple Play” (TWC, Sat. 5/13/2023 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.041 million adults 25-54

575. Mornings with Maria Bartiromo (FBN, Tue. 5/9/2023 8:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.035 million adults 25-54

612. Banfield (NWSN, Mon. 5/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.032 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Michael Kay: Don’t Blame Yankees for MLB’s Greedy Streaming Deals

BSM Staff
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Michael Kay: Don’t Blame Yankees for MLB’s Greedy Streaming Deals

The New York Yankees played their select game on Apple TV+ last week, and some fans were frustrated with another streaming-only contest.

On The Michael Kay Show on ESPN 98.7 FM in New York on Tuesday, co-host Don La Greca echoed a caller’s sentiments that it’s absurd to have to demand fans add on streaming services in order to see the games.

“I get the Prime thing, and if you’re a Yankee fan you get Prime, and you’re gonna get 30-40 games a year,” La Greca said. “But for the Peacock, which is once in a blue moon, and the Apple TV which is once or twice a year, no it’s ridiculous.”

Kay, the voice of the Yankees on YES Network, made it clear that games being exclusive to a streaming platform beyond the ones on Amazon Prime Video is out of the organization’s hands.

“The Yankees had nothing to do with games on Apple and Peacock,” Kay said. “That’s the greed of Major League Baseball just like the greed of the NFL putting that playoff game on Peacock. That’s the league.”

Kay broke it down further, explaining that 85 percent of Yankees games are either on YES or Prime. The remaining 17 games get divvied up between networks like ESPN and FOX and then the streaming platforms. He said people need to take their complaints to the league office and not the Yankees.

“So people’s anger at the Yankees is misplaced,” Kay said.

“All the games were free at one point until 24 years ago, MSG got the games and people’s heads exploded because most of the games were on MSG,” he added. “Things do evolve, sometimes not to your liking. And if you’re an older family in Albany, and you’re getting your games with the rabbit ears and stuff like that, my heart goes out to you. But this is the way sports are going. It’s not just baseball.”

Stephen A. Smith: I ‘Feel Destined for Hell’ When I Debate Tim Tebow

BSM Staff
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Stephen A. Smith has had his fair share of heated on-air exchanges while hosting First Take through the years, but not everyone Stephen A. has debated has been treated the same.

In a recent episode of his podcast The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith said he had a difficult time debating Tim Tebow when he would appear on the show. Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion at Florida with Urban Meyer, is an analyst on SEC Network and contributes college football analysis across ESPN. He is one of the most respectable and likeable personalities amongst his colleagues.

Tebow’s good nature made it hard for Smith to get fired up to battle Tim’s points.

“I’ve tangled with Ryan Clark, I’ve tangled with Marcus Spears, I’ve tangled with Dan Orlovsky,” Smith said. “About the only person I didn’t tangle with was Tim Tebow, because he’s my friend and he’s a very nice guy. And damnit when I get on him too much, I almost feel like I’m destined for hell, cause he’s such a wonderful, wonderful human being and I almost feel like I deserve to be crucified for insulting him.”

Tebow is a devout Christian and has never shied away from expressing his faith publicly. Stephen A. wasn’t mocking Tebow for his religious beliefs when he set he felt like he should be crucified, just trying to make a point that Tim is too nice to really have a passionate back and forth with.

Final season of SEC on CBS to Open with South Carolina and Georgia

BSM Staff
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Final season of SEC on CBS to Open with South Carolina and Georgia

CBS has announced its schedule of SEC games for the 2023 season, the final year of its current media rights deal with the conference. But only three matchups are known since the SEC waits to unveil game times each week until the season begins.

The network will air 15 SEC games this season, including the conference championship game on December 2.

It all begins on September 16 when South Carolina takes on defending national champion Georgia. The Bulldogs annual rivalry game with Florida in Jacksonville will air on CBS on October 28.

The other game announced was its Black Friday game on November 24, featuring Missouri at Arkansas.

Games airing on CBS will also be available on Paramount+.

There will be two weekends where CBS will have an SEC doubleheader. The first is on October 14 with a game at noon, followed by its game of the week at 3:30. The other is on November 4, where the first contest will be at 3:30 p.m., with the game of the week in primetime at 7:45.

The network also announced two games featuring service academies. Air Force will take on Navy at noon on CBS on October 21, and the annual Army/Navy game will be on December 9 at 3 p.m.

CBS’ lone bowl game broadcast, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, will be on December 29 at 2 p.m.

CBS will carry Big Ten games starting this season. The SEC and ESPN announced an exclusive agreement on a media rights deal in 2020, that will see the conference’s top games leave CBS.

Doris Burke: Dave Pasch Did Great to Recognize Significance of Jayson Tatum Injury

BSM Staff
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It happened in the first 30 seconds of the seventh and final game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, but it surely set the tone for what was to come. As he drove inside the paint for a layup, Celtics all-star forward Jayson Tatum injured his ankle and was visibly in pain, but remained in the game, playing 42 minutes. He concluded the contest with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and one steal on 5-for-13 shooting from the field, and stated after the game that he felt like a shell of himself throughout the night as the Celtics were eliminated by the Heat.

Had it not been for the shrewd observations of the ESPN Radio commentary team of Dave Pasch and Doris Burke, the impact the impediment was having on Tatum might have gone unnoticed. In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Doris Burke discussed what it was like to cover the series and spoke about the Heat as the team gears up for an NBA Finals appearance. After answering a question, she asked show host Rich Eisen what he noticed about Tatum, which led him to divulge that he was listening to their broadcast on the radio and commended their performance.

“The first inkling I had was when you were pointing [it] out – because again I was listening to you on Monday night – when Tatum came out with four minutes to go in the first quarter,” Eisen said. “And you’re like, ‘What’s up with that? This is Game 7.’ That means there’s something significant, and you and Dave Pasch caught wind of that right away and I thought, ‘This has all the makings.’ Tatum hurt; bad three-point shooting and turnover problems.”

Tatum has played the entirety of the first quarter in games throughout the postseason, indicating to Pasch and Burke that something was amiss when he was taken out after eight minutes of play. They communicated as such on the broadcast, making listeners like Eisen aware of the significance of the moment, and effectively fulfilled their obligations as game announcers.

“Dave, to his credit, was all over it,” Burke said of Pasch. “He kept hitting it throughout the course of the broadcast.”

Paul Allen Says FOX Could Use USFL for NFL Relegation

BSM Staff
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The English football leagues are systematically organized in a manner where teams can be relegated or promoted based on the standards of play, ensuring leagues showcase teams consistently committed to winning. The topic came up Tuesday on Paul Allen’s show on KFAN. He talked about Everton FC, who was on the verge of finishing in the bottom three of the Premier League, meaning the team would be relegated to the English Football League Championship. Yet it avoided relegation with a 1-0 win on Saturday over West Ham.

“Everton is one of maybe three [or] four teams that have never been relegated,” the Minneapolis host said. “They’ve never been good enough to win the whole damn thing, [but] they’ve never been bad enough to be relegated. It’s kind of Minnesota Vikings-like in a way.”

With competitive integrity is an issue in various major American pro leagues. It takes many forms including teams “tanking” for draft picks or not investing the necessary funds. Allen believes it might be time to consider a system of this nature in the United States.

“I think it would be amazing if we had that in one of our core four leagues,” Allen said. “I’m not asking for an entirely new philosophical change, and it’s important to note that the way that ownership structure is set up. the way that TV deals exist; [and] the pure amount of money involved.”

According to Allen, there are teams in the National Football League that have consistently struggled and would be worthy of demotion to the United States Football League (USFL), an entity in which FOX Corporation holds a minority ownership stake. He hypothesized that the Birmingham Stallions could be promoted to the NFL for one year and be given a check worth a reported $321 million from national media rights.

“The Houston Texans or Chicago Bears going down to the USFL would not get that money,” He said. “Now what you have is you do not want to be relegated because you are losing out, in the NFL’s case, [on] that cool check that every owner in the NFL just received…. It’s not entirely pure profit, but keeping the lights on.”

Paul Allen then pointed to another, more recent example in the Oakland Athletics, a team destined for relocation to Las Vegas, Nev. and on pace for 30 wins over the 162-game season. Moreover, the team is last in attendance and garners the lowest payroll in the game, leading baseball fans and media members to question whether they are trying to compete for a championship.

“The Oakland A’s have relegated themselves – they’ve been awful for so long and we are all enamored and we glom on to Moneyball,” Allen said. “That franchise has been absolutely hideous almost nonstop since Moneyball days. As a matter of fact for the most part, they’ve been a feeder system for other teams.

Shan Shariff: Stephen A. Smith is Right To Tell Kyrie Irving to Quit Playing

BSM Staff
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Shan Shariff: Stephen A. Smith is Right To Tell Kyrie Irving to Quit Playing

“Kyrie Irving lives in another world of delusion when it comes to media coverage,” Shan Shariff said on Monday morning when talking about the Dallas Mavericks’ guard’s plea to the media to stop talking about him.

On 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that morning, Shan & RJ discussed the way ESPN has been talking about Irving and his offseason plans. Shariff said that the network” has “hasn’t just been speculating. They’ve been reck-ulating,” referring to just how over-the-top some of the coverage of his impending decision has been.

The duo also played audio from Stephen A. Smith, who said on First Take last week that the only way for Irving to ensure people don’t talk about him is to not play in the NBA.

“Respectfully to Kyrie Irving, who doesn’t want us talking about him. Yeah, don’t play basketball,” Smith said in the clip played on Shan & RJ. “We talk about basketball. Nobody’s talking about his personal life. Nobody’s talking about the tweets from months ago. Nobody’s talking about all the things that he’s gotten himself involved with, headline wise or whatever. It is not disrespectful to talk about you. Kyrie Irving, a superstar basketball talent. It is not disrespectful to talk about you playing basketball.”

Shariff, who has a history of defending Dallas teams and players and even his own show from Stephen A. Smith’s criticism sided with the ESPN star this time.

“He wants to be able to play basketball and not have anyone on TV or radio talk about it or anyone at the games have a microphone and put it in front of his face,” Shariff said. “That’s what he wants. So, just stop playing. Quit. Stephen A’s right about that realistically.”

Kyrie Irving will be one of the most-watched free agents this offseason, with the Los Angeles Lakers a prime candidate to land his services unless past behavior issues make it a non-starter for ownership.

Al Michaels: I Hope We Don’t Have to Flex Any Thursday Night Games

Derek Futterman
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Last week, NFL owners approved flex scheduling for Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football. The move gives the broadcast property the ability to flex up to two games between Weeks 13 and 17. NBC’s Sunday Night Football and ESPN’s Monday Night Football have the same privilege.

Throughout last season, many fans and media pundits recognized play-by-play announcer Al Michaels’ displeasure with aspects of the schedule. In fact, many of them applauded the league for its decision on social media in order to ensure Michaels receives better games to call. Michaels has gone on the record previously stating that he knows all the games will not be as thrilling as expected and that it is difficult to play on a Sunday-Thursday schedule more than once.

“Flex [scheduling] is fine,” Michaels told Barrett Sports Media, “but I’m hoping that the games as scheduled are good enough that we won’t have to flex.”

Now, teams will be able to play on Thursday nights up to two times per season, making some teams immediately ineligible for flex scheduling, but still potentially inconveniencing fans. John Mara of the New York Giants and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers previously criticized an iteration of the proposal and were among the cohort of owners to continue to vote against it.

The league’s executive vice president and chief operating officer of NFL Media, Hans Schroeder, said in a statement to Yahoo Sports that fans were used to the changing schedules on the other broadcast properties.

“We have Week 18 games, where all games are listed as ‘TBDs’ and could go any time on Saturday afternoon or Sunday,” Schroeder said. “And we have wild-card, divisional and playoff games that could get scheduled on short notice, so I don’t want fans to think we aren’t going to be sensitive to that and won’t do our best to communicate thoroughly and as early as we can.”

Amazon Prime Video and the NFL entered into a 11-year media rights agreement in March 2021 worth approximately $1 billion per year to the rights for Thursday night games. The OTT streaming service and other local channels accumulated an average of 9.58 million viewers over its 15-game package. The metric was down 41% from the previous year’s figure of 16.2 million it amassed over FOX, Amazon, NFL Network and other local channels, but attracted the lowest median viewer age (47) since 2013.

5 Media Sources You Can Count On To Deliver News, Not Misinformation

BNM Staff
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5 Media Sources You Can Count On To Deliver News, Not Misinformation

The internet is a beautiful thing, except when it is not. At a tap of your finger it brings a world of information, or a firehouse of disinformation. Rabbit holes of conspiracy theories and unvetted “news” from every angle of the political, medical and economic spectrum. The internet is NOT to be trusted, and frankly the world needs to get off the web at least 22 of the 24 hours in a day. 

Gone are the days when trusted filters with long track records and editors with green-shaded visors poured over copy for sources and evidence. Today, we are bombarded with tweets, blogs, and aggregates written by anyone with a computer who claims “I do my own research”. 

So, as a public service I here now recommend the following list of 5 vetted, trusted sources of information and news which have systems in place to avoid misinformation, and when they make mistakes, retract and revise. Yes, the New York Times and many in the mainstream media made huge errors in the run up to the Iraq War, but they later admitted as such and chastised themselves.

This list will consume under 2 hours of your day and allow you to sound smart at dinner parties, pick a President, know the sports scores and go about your day.

1. Turn off cable news, unless there is a major breaking news; a new war, a school shooting, plane crash or otherwise. And then tune into CNN which has the world’s largest TV reporting staff, way ahead of any other domestic broadcast service. The rest of the time, CNN and the other major cable networks MSNBC and Fox are filled with comment and opinion. While that can be entertaining, it is not news and not necessary. My guilty pleasure is Rachel Maddow. 

2.  Watch one or more of the 3 evening network TV broadcasts and 60 Minutes on Sunday. Even watching all 3 nightly news programs takes less than an hour if you fast forward through the commercials. They are a quick 18 minutes of news, a summary of the top stories of the day reported with perspective and in most cases experienced journalists. They have seasoned editors who vet each story and best of all, there is no time for opinion. No commentators, just news. CBS is my favorite, NBC a close second. But that’s subjective, the most popular is my former place of employment for nearly 20 years, ABC. CBS has 2 excellent Washington political correspondents, Ed O’Keefe and Robert Costa, former newspaper reporters (Washington Post) with an emphasis on straight reporting, rather than looks and performance. NBC has Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O’Donnell and Peter Alexander, with years of experience. ABC has Jon Karl, Martha Raddatz, Pierre Thomas and the up and coming Mary Bruce, all of whom know their stuff. 

But perhaps most important, the process at the networks makes for few mistakes. Each script is reviewed by “the rim”. That consists of a senior producer, the executive producer and in most cases, the anchor/managing editor. Opinion, error and bias are flushed out. As are grammatical mistakes. 

3.  Respected national newspapers: The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Reading the top stories in these papers takes more time, but each has more actual reporters than television, radio or blogs. Their reporting is straight and dependable. And in an hour over morning coffee you will be educated and filled with data and information that will be useful when you encounter the hate filled disinformation flooding your direction each day on the internet. 

4.  If you have time, move to the second tier of newspapers on line. More regional in their coverage….the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution or your local paper. 

5.  The Daily podcast. An arm of the New York Times, this half hour or so audio deep dive into one subject of importance makes one smarter. Each weekday morning the hosts who are decidedly not radio veterans with big voices or rapid fire cadences, interview a Times reporter about a story on their beat. From the Supreme Court to Congress to the White House and beyond. Another guilty pleasure: Countdown with Keith Olbermann, decidedly from the left, but smart and a great writer/performer. 

That’s it. We would all be better served by limiting our intake. Choose a few of the myriad of would be news organizations. Make your own list, chosen after they have earned your trust. I know I have left out the scores of narrowly focused internet outlets from Politico to the Daily Beast. Mostly because they are insider type publications or in many cases aggregators which merely take from other news sources and re-publish to the internet. I’m not saying don’t read them but they can be done without for the general reader. 

Also save your precious time by avoiding the tabloids, from the NY Post to the Daily Mail. And agenda publications like Breitbart and Daily Caller. They are not dependable, and they are filled with conspiracies and disinformation. 

Use Facebook, TikTok and Instagram to share memories and photos, not conspiracies. And Twitter to alert you to ongoing events or breaking news. But switch to your trusted sources after the alert. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, my feed has become a deluge of hate and right wing drama. 

It’s hard to look away, but we would all be better off if we did. 

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