News is the daily bread of civic nourishment. But as with food, it’s important to vary our diet with quality ingredients. One of the questions we get most often is how to find coverage that is unbiased and significant. Over the years, we’ve developed several principles to guide news consumption. Or just skip it.

Five principles for news

1. Rely on many sources. No single source of news will give you comprehensive perspective on current events. People who rely on one source miss alternative perspectives and even actual events. Many journalists develop long-term relationships with credible sources, but the expertise of each source is different. Journalists also have personal perspectives, and some news outlets also dictate a bias.

2. Seek out disagreeable ideas. One negative side-effect of social media is that we are seldom exposed to ideas we find disagreeable. Thus, when we do encounter conflict, we are flabbergasted. Worse, our ideas may be wrong if we never test them against others. You won’t (and shouldn’t) agree with every idea you read, but read them nonetheless so you know why you disagree. The trick here is to find and read credible opinions that are opposite your own to test your ideas against the best form of the opposing viewpoint and not a “straw man.”

3. Read news long after it happens. At some point, news becomes history. You needn’t wait that long to find out what happened, but breaking news is notoriously hurried and inaccurate. Delay your consumption of news in order to allow journalists time to get the story straight and for commentators to process it fully. Avoid initial, half-baked ideas.

Beware the three stages of news. When something happens in politics—whether it be new legislation, an electoral victory, or a scandal—the story undergoes three stages. Stage 1: “Side A” seizes on the initially reported facts and highlights why it makes them look good or the other side bad. Stage 2: “Side B” explains why the event isn’t all that bad for them or good for the other side. Stage 3: Side A explains why Side B is wrong about its further explanation. Always wait to develop an opinion until you have digested all three stages.

4. Opt for print journalism. Television is the worst way to get your news. Avoid it at all costs. Most topics can’t be explained, much less debated, in ten minutes. But most television segments are even shorter than that. Television makes us think we’re experts, when we haven’t even begun to grasp the issue. Moreover, television uses personality, body language, and tone of voice to influence and deceive viewers. None of these tricks are available on the written page. Readers can digest news at their own pace and catch bad arguments more easily.

5. Read past headlines. Editors use headlines to create interest (and, on the internet, clicks). Headlines should convey a story at a glance, but they often embellish or focus on controversial but unimportant elements.

Five places to get news

Memeorandum.com. Memeorandum aggregates political news from nearly every perspective. You will find news from mainstream and alternatives sources. Memeorandum will help you understand which stories are receiving the most coverage (it lists these first), and help you find alternative views that you might otherwise miss.

Data-driven election coverage. Around election time, the media starts to focus on polling and the “horserace.” If you want to engage in this affair, cut out the middleman and read the data crunchers directly. The following all provide data-driven analysis with slightly different flavors: FiveThirtyEight, Princeton Election Consortium, The Cook Political Report, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

Insider newsletters. Washington insiders are preoccupied with gossip and other things not inherently important for average Americans. But Washington insiders are powerful and drive the political narrative, so if you want to understand American politics, you should follow their conversations. The premiere newsletter is Axios AM by Mike Allen.

Local and regional newspapers. For coverage of local elections, your local or regional newspaper is best. But be aware that most local and regional newspapers have local biases or are financially unable to cover certain stories and instead resort to using coverage from other papers to fill in gaps. “The New York Times,” for instance, cannot be trusted to impartially cover bankers and the investment community writ large.

Radio. While print news is better, radio can play a positive role in your news diet. But avoid radio that relies heavily on advertising (especially “talk radio” where hosts tend to rant and rave without a filter for truth or relevance). We recommend National Public Radio for a mainstream focus and Democracy Now! for a focus on working people.