While it’s true that American University is known for its political activism, students with crazy busy schedules often find that it can be difficult to carve out enough time to keep up with what’s going on just a few metro stops away from campus. In order to get some advice on how students can successfully keep up with the ever-changing political climate, I consulted Professor Scott Talan from the School of Communications. Below are some of his key suggestions on how to become a politically knowledgeable student at the most politically active school.
First Thing’s First: Find Your Sources
While it’s often easiest to keep up with politics through quick sources like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, they’re not always the most reliable and often have strong biases. Generally, you take a risk when consuming biased media, as Professor Talan says “you believe you are getting the full story and everything you need to know [when] the odds are you’re not.” Instead, he suggests finding one or two prime sources that are at the political center. This way you can focus your intake on quality media and won’t get distracted by the less credible media that constantly crops up in our Facebook feeds. Some good, reliable sources include AP, NPR, USA Today, and CBS. Also, take a look at Pew Research Center’s Survey on Trust Levels on News Sources by Ideological to see where your sources lie on the spectrum.
Notifications On!
Once you’ve found your go-to sources, get their apps. Most news platforms have apps that make it quick and easy to get articles, videos, and more. One of the best things you can do to help keep you involved is “[being] signed up to notifications from your key news sources” (Talan). Many of these apps will give you a range of notification types, from breaking news to all news stories, and only these stories will pop up on your phone. The little captions from the notification gives a quick synopsis of the situation and gives you easy access to read or watch more. Good apps that provide these features include CNN, AP, and the News app on iPhones.
Try a Podcast
Podcast are a great way to listen to news on the go, like when you’re walking to class, working out at the gym, or just really good at multitasking while doing other work. News from podcasts can range from international to local news and make it easy to keep up. You can get podcasts from the Podcast Apple automatically downloaded from Apple on iPhones, Overcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and many other sites or apps. The choice is yours to make.
Suggested sources:
CNN: From my interview with Talan I learned that this was one of his preferred news stations. CNN is a national news station with an available mobile app which makes it easy to get information
The Washington Post: This being our local newspaper, the post will be able provide easily accessible news of what is happening on “The Hill” right to your phone. Also check out The Lily that is published by The Washington Post. The Lily focuses on informing and empowering, and places a large emphasis on women’s issues.
The Daily Podcast: This podcast by The New York Times comes out everyday with the latest news in politics. Episodes are only 30 minutes long, so they are great to listen to while you’re on the shuttle, taking the metro, or just working out.