As editor of The Liberty Daily and owner of Discern Report, I spend more time sifting through headlines than 99.999% of the population. I’m sure there has to be someone out there who does absolutely nothing other than read and/or watch various news sources who might have more hours logged everyday than I do, but I definitely put in the time 365 days per year.
My feed carries over 300 conservative news sites, blogs, and video channels that updates in near-real-time and I read the headlines of about 90% of it daily. That’s literally thousands of headlines that I read with hundreds of the stories scanned and dozens fully read or watched. I have a unique understanding of the biases, styles, and nuances of these outlets and as a result I know who to trust, depending on the topic.
This is extremely important today, perhaps more than ever, with so many important events hitting us incessantly. On today’s episode of The JD Rucker Show, I’ll be going through as many of these outlets as possible with my assessments of the good, bad, and ugly. I’ll also be taking calls and reacting to chats as they come in to keep it as interactive as possible. This will also help me to learn more about other outlets; any time I do a show like this I get word about outlets that I need to add to my feed.
Here’s a sampling in no particular order of a dozen of the outlets I trust and why. Considering I read through so many every day, this list should NOT be construed as encompassing. I could write about 50 outlets I like but that would be too long. Twelve is a good starting point, and I’m sure I’ll talk about many more during my show today. Here’s the abbreviated list…
The Gateway Pundit
When it comes to speed of getting out breaking stories, few can compete with Jim Hoft’s outlet. They’re on the ball with the headlines and they have no problem with getting a little “fringe” from time to time. Sometimes their reporting is very short, but it’s fast so there’s always a tradeoff.
Revolver News
If The Gateway Pundit is often fast and thin, Darren Beattie’s Revolver News is often slow and thick with their original content. But they have the luxury of going in-depth with older important stories because they curate the breaking news from other sources on their homepage so they have the best of both worlds. Their coverage of January 6 is unmatched and their adherence to the MAGA philosophy us unquestionable.
Liberty Sentinel
Alex Newman is the most underrated journalist in America today. He has a sharp mind and a clear vision of the geopolitical threats Americans face today and into the future. If I had $100 million laying around I’d build a news outlet around him because the only thing he lacks is reach.
The Epoch Times
Of all the corporate news outlets out there, The Epoch Times is generally the most trustworthy. They are not afraid to call out Covid vaccines, voter fraud, or any of the other “taboo” topics the vast majority of corporate media sites avoid. An added bonus is that their economic news coverage is lowkey stellar; I would argue they have a better grasp of financial realities than sites like Bloomberg that supposedly specialize in money-talk.
Zero Hedge
Some have a problem with the “allegiances” held by the guys who run Zero Hedge, but I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to distinguish between any self-serving propaganda and the real news they deliver. And if The Epoch Times is stellar at delivering financial news that’s on-point, Zero Hedge does the deep dives some people need to get the full financial picture.
End of the American Dream and The Economic Collapse Blog
Michael Snyder is definitely polarizing. Some love him. Others can’t stand him. He’s an alarmist at times, but he puts in the time to do the research and draw conclusions based on an appropriate combination of facts.
Just The News
John Solomon’s outlet takes great care in being accurate. That’s part of their namesake, which means they will sometimes be a bit slow on delivering the news. On the other hand, they often get scoops. But whether the news is hot-off-the-press or a reiteration of what was being reported the day before, you can trust whatever they publish is going to be real and verified.
Alt-Market
Brandon Smith is a genius. I disagree with him from time to time as his assessments can occasionally be nihilistic, but for the most part he nails it. He’s an economic stallion who adores freedom and is willing to recommend actions the vast majority of journalists would think are too “fringe.” For this reason I read everything he ever posts.
Todd Starnes
It’s funny that in an article about news bias I find myself invoking my own bias about Todd Starnes. The Fox News refugee has really shined as an independent news outlet of his own, and I’m biased because I consider him to be a friend. But like Just the News, he and his team go to great lengths to make sure every word they publish is accurate. They also add the speed that other similar news outlets can’t match. If a story breaks, chances are high that Starnes has a story up within minutes.
Headline USA
If any news outlets deserves to be bigger than they are, it’s Headline USA. They do a fantastic job of getting the most important news patriots need to read, but for whatever reason they don’t get nearly the attention they deserve.
RAIR Foundation
Of all the outlets on today’s list, RAIR is the one that takes the most heat internationally. They’re often accused of being “Islamophobic” because their articles expose Islam, terrorism, and unchecked migration from Muslim nations into Europe. They don’t hide their concerns about these issues and as a result they get negative labels. But I’ve never seen them post anything that’s inaccurate. Being critical does not mean they’re wrong.
Natural News
Mike Adams, who I consider to be a friend, has put together one of the most controversial news sites on the internet. They’ve been cancelled more than other “fringe” sites like Infowars to the point that their links aren’t even allowed on Facebook. Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, you couldn’t post their links there either. But they’re absolutely fearless and tackle topics that others won’t touch. My only complaint is that some of their stories are aged. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; just because a story broke last week doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be talking about it today.
Again, this list is far from comprehensive. It’s a starting point from which I’ll launch today’s show. We’ll be talking about a lot more news outlets and I’ll take calls from people who will almost certainly offer up outlets I’m not currently watching. Tune in at 5am Pacific on Rumble, or catch me on shortwave at 7490 kHz or 13845 kHz.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
