How Alternative News Sites Are Blowing Up the Internet

Who has the time anymore to sit down and watch the news on TV? For that matter, who has time to pick up a newspaper? Between work, family, a social life, binge watching Netflix, and reading the latest top 10 list, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to devote to traditional news. With the social climate today, by the time news actually makes it to a traditional news outlet it is yesterday’s news.

Following this trend, many alternative news sites are making their way to the forefront of the online community, providing readers with faster news while giving a much more interesting presentation. Not only do these news sites provide the information more quickly, but they often cover topics that are simply glossed over by the traditional news outlets. For many readers, this actually helps to make the news worth reading.

 

Alternet is a news website that features a unique organizational structure when compared to traditional outlets. With a wide variety of different news categories, they organize their topics in a way that people can easily find what they desire. One day readers might find a specific political agenda only to see it replaced with the opposite on the following day. This balance is much more effective at keeping readers.

 

Raw Story alternative to traditional media has two overarching categories: news and opinion. The news featured here tends to offer stories that are bizarre and often-times sensational. Despite this, Raw Story often does an effective job at conveying the pertinent information and giving readers exactly what they need from the news: the raw story.

With a steadily growing reader base, Sign of the Times focuses on the stories that expose potential governmental biases. They focus on the stories the traditional news wouldn’t dare touch, challenging those in power and offering a real look at the problems that exist around the world. Though certainly a niche site, they do a great job at getting the information out there.

 

The International Human Press (ITHP) is, in some ways, structured like the ever-popular forum news site Reddit. They use a system where users click on an image of a halo if they agree and the pitchfork if they disagree. In a way, this is an ingenious method to better judge what readers want to see.

How Do They All Fit Together?

The one common thread that seems to weave all of these news sites together is a flair for the dramatic. People are pressed for time today and without catchy titles to draw them into an article readers simply gloss over the headlines. By using this extra punch, these alternative news organizations are able to draw readers in and give them stories that are actually of interest.

With alternative news sites taking over as the dominant force in journalism, the goal is no longer to find that one major breaking story. Instead, it is to give readers the news they actually want to read – the news that has an impact on their everyday life. When news sites can deliver this, they are sure to grow their readership quickly.

 


Do you follow any of these sites? Where do you get your news from? Let us know in the comments!


 Additional image: The Undergraduate Times

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Joseph Macolino
Joseph Macolino
When Joseph is not writing for his Evorath fantasy series, he tries to spend time honing his physical prowess to one day become the Punisher. Most of the time, he just ends up perfecting the art of procrastination by watching Netflix, reading other good fantasy books, or playing some mindless game. Follow him at Evorath