Best Geek News & Reviews Sites?

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Sudy
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Best Geek News & Reviews Sites?

Post by Sudy »

What are your picks for the most well-rounded, center-to-left, indie-leaning news & reviews sites in the following categories?

Explanation: I've been frequenting the Gizmodo & io9/Kotaku group of sites for a long time. Not because I particularly respected the writing, but because they were a quick to read, one-stop shop for many of my interests. Well, if you've been following these sites for the past several years, you know they've gone way downhill and devolved into pandering corporate clickbait rags with toxic comments sections (if they weren't always). I continue to habitually read them when I'm bored, but the experience most often leaves me feeling frustrated and depressed.

I'm not necessarily looking for hardcore journalism (outside of world news); editorial blogs are fine. But I'd like to switch to sources held to a higher standard in general.

- Gaming, primarily video games but also a sprinkling of RPG/tabletop/board/CCG (I used to read Rock Paper Shotgun, but I find their content to be a little too editorial, and it's not necessarily a quick stop for headlines)
- Science & astronomy
- Technology
- Science fiction & fantasy, general film and television
- "Real" news (i.e. world), politics, and general interest
- Not much into sports, but I wouldn't mind general highlights, especially MLB and NBA. A general interest news source might be sufficient.

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Hipolito
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Re: Best Geek News & Reviews Sites?

Post by Hipolito »

Have you tried https://arstechnica.com/ ?
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stessier
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Re: Best Geek News & Reviews Sites?

Post by stessier »

Hipolito wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 10:33 am Have you tried https://arstechnica.com/ ?
That's what I was going to suggest too. It's the only site I really use for news. Most of my other information is from the Youtube channels I've curated over time.
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Anonymous Bosch
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Re: Best Geek News & Reviews Sites?

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

Sudy wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 3:11 pm What are your picks for the most well-rounded, center-to-left, indie-leaning news & reviews sites in the following categories?

Explanation: I've been frequenting the Gizmodo & io9/Kotaku group of sites for a long time. Not because I particularly respected the writing, but because they were a quick to read, one-stop shop for many of my interests. Well, if you've been following these sites for the past several years, you know they've gone way downhill and devolved into pandering corporate clickbait rags with toxic comments sections (if they weren't always). I continue to habitually read them when I'm bored, but the experience most often leaves me feeling frustrated and depressed.

I'm not necessarily looking for hardcore journalism (outside of world news); editorial blogs are fine. But I'd like to switch to sources held to a higher standard in general.

- Gaming, primarily video games but also a sprinkling of RPG/tabletop/board/CCG (I used to read Rock Paper Shotgun, but I find their content to be a little too editorial, and it's not necessarily a quick stop for headlines)
- Science & astronomy
- Technology
- Science fiction & fantasy, general film and television
- "Real" news (i.e. world), politics, and general interest
- Not much into sports, but I wouldn't mind general highlights, especially MLB and NBA. A general interest news source might be sufficient.
Call me old fashioned, but print media remains the absolute best option in this regard IMHO. The vast majority of print gaming magazines are dead, but a handful thankfully do still remain and continue to perform yeoman's work.

I've been a subscriber to the UK-based Edge Magazine for years, and still eagerly anticipate its arrival in my mailbox every month. It lets me connect with this particular medium, industry, and hobby in a way that literally NO other platform allows for in 2023. Every month I get delivered ~100 pages on the topic I care about (computer and video games), and it provides fascinating and genuinely interesting old-school journalism on various topics I wouldn't have otherwise even been aware existed or sought out. Or, for that matter, necessarily paid attention to had I scrolled past on Twitter, Reddit, or one of the countless corporate clickbait sites you referenced. But with magazine in hand, I discover items of interest I wouldn't have found, and learn things I wouldn't otherwise have learned. Best of all, unlike social media and clickbait web sites, neither the composition of the publication nor the individual articles within are intended to make you angry. It's just there to inform, entertain, and expose you to a bunch of refreshingly different and insightful perspectives on your favourite hobby. There are some other terrific boutique gaming journals that also deliver thought-provoking stories and features, such as Lost in Cult's Lock-on gaming journal, and A Profound Waste of Time.

TLDR; do yourself a favour and subscribe to a print magazine. It doesn't have to be Edge, it could be anything you prefer. But such print magazines probably aren't long for this world, so if we can keep 'em alive for a few years longer, so much the better. Sure, it costs money, but you get what you pay for. Because as you've discovered with said corporate clickbait web sites…

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