NSMS Library

“A place to work, a place to read, and a place to relax”

Alternet
Left-Leaning news. This is a clearing house of the “alternative press,” which means that you’re going to get some staunchly left-wing reporting at this site.

Biography.Com
A great site for quick biographies of notable people.

Black Enterprise
African-American publication that deals primarily with business.

Breitbart.Com
Right-leaning news. This is, right now, one of the most talked-about news sites on the web. The creator of this site, Andrew Breitbart--who died on March 1st, 2012--became the darling of the conservative movement, but liberals questioned his reporting ethics, accusing him of running stories with little confirmation.

Also, his sites have featured selectively edited videos of speeches and interviews that can give a very different impression than the full video. Nonetheless, there’s no question that his work had--and continues to have--an impact, and conservatives argue that his stories were true, and that Breitbart just ran stories that liberal media outlets won’t touch.

If you want to read more about Breitbart--whatever your opinion of him, he was an interesting guy--there’s a great profile of him in Wired magazine that you can read here. Also, there is a detailed profile of Breitbart at the Salon.com website that you can read here. By the way, Breitbart got his start at the Drudge Report; there’s a link to it further down the page.

Capital Research Center
This is an organization that criticizes the media in much the same way that The Center for Media and Democracy does. Though liberals and conservatives will disagree (again) on the specific politics of this organization, most agree that it’s primarily conservative in its leanings.

The Center for Media and Democracy: PR Watch
The Center for Media and Democracy: Source Watch

The Center for Media and Democracy calls itself a non-partisan organization, but conservatives disagree sharply over this. In fact, the conservative Capital Research Center (which you can get to by clicking here), which rates organizations on an 8-point scale (8 is as right-leaning as you can get, while 1 is as left-leaning as you can get) gave The Center for Media and Democracy a rating of 2, which puts them in the far left spectrum of politics. Again, keep in mind that that this rating comes from a conservative organization.

PR Watch deals primarily with media spin and disinformation, while Sourcewatch is a guide for getting to know the various sources of news, be they networks or magazines. Sourcewatch gives you information about the people who own and operate these outlets, which can help you understand where you’re getting the information that you read, watch, and hear. Once again, however, keep in mind that the organization that runs these sites is one that conservatives say is sharply left-leaning it its politics.


Center for Science in the Public Interest
An excellent website about eating right, and staying healthy. This organization publishes the magazine Nutrition Action, a periodical that is all about taking care of yourself. You can get to Nutrition Action by clicking here.

The Christian Science Monitor
Center-leaning (and if you disagree with this assessment, let me know). Don’t let the “Christian Science” part of the name fool you into thinking that this is a religious newspaper. The Monitor is one of the most respected daily newspapers in the United States.

CNN
Left-leaning or Right-Leaning news, depending on where you stand politically. Liberals say this network is conservative. Conservatives say it’s liberal. You decide.

Comedy Central: The Daily Show
Comedy Central: The Colbert Report)
Left-Leaning news (though some would argue that it’s not really news). Both Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report offer humorous takes on the news. Both of these shows take a hard look at various public figures, and the news sources who cover them. For better of for worse, a number of people turn to these shows to get an insight on the issues of the day. Again, the best thing to do here is to go to these sites and judge for yourself.

Cosmo Girl
A fun site for girls with too much time on their hands.

Dirt Bike Magazine
The title says it all.

Discover Magazine
This is an excellent popular science magazine, and the website is chock full of great articles. Generally speaking, the stuff you’ll find here is easier to read than the articles you’ll find in another great science magazine, Scientific American (there’s a link for Scientific American below).

The Drudge Report
Generally Right-leaning. This was one of the first websites to have breaking online stories, meaning that the site’s creator, Matt Drudge, often beat out mainstream media outlets in reporting stories. He is not without his detractors, though. Drudge will often run stories with far less confirmation than other media outlets. At the same time, he has often led the way with stories that have become national news.

The Economist
The best description for the politics of this magazine is “economically conservative (though the magazine takes a conservative viewpoint on issues of finance, the magazine is an admirably objective, balanced publication).” This is one of the most highly respected British news analysis magazines.

In fact, this is one of the most highly respected news publications, period.

For a careful, detailed summary of the major issues of the week, this is one of the first places to look, no matter what your political background. Be aware that this magazine is heavy stuff: slow down and concentrate when you read it, and do not operate heavy machinery.

Ebony Magazine
A respected magazine that deals with African American news and culture.

Entertainment Weekly
A fun publication devoted to movies, television, music, and just about everything else that’s, you know, entertaining.

ESPN
One of the best sports sites on the web.

Factcheck.org
Centrist news (and if you disagree with this assesment, let me know). This website goes through political speeches and news stories and evaluates them for accuracy.

Fox News
Right-leaning news. The crown jewel of conservative media outlets, and the most popular cable news network. Some of the most popular names in the conservative movement--Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and many others--either have a show on this network or appear as commentators. The owner of this station, Rupert Murdoch, runs Newscorp, one of the largest media outlets in the world (in other words, he’s a guy you should know about). Murdoch also owns The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. You can read a biography of Murdoch here.

Rolling Stone--a staunch liberal publication--recently published a highly critical article of Fox News (and Fox News chairman Roger Ailes) that you can read by clicking here. The Daily Caller--a news site run by conservative columnist Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel (former advisor to Dick Cheney, who was vice-president under the George W. Bush administration)--ran a rebuttal to the Rolling Stone article, which you can read by clicking here.

Fox News’s reporting tactics have come under fire in The United Kingdom due to a scandal in which it was revealed that Fox reporters had hacked into the private cel phones of numerous people, including crime victims. Rolling Stone ran an article discussing whether or not this is occurring in The United States, and you can read it here.

As for the shows of some of the more popular Fox News personalities:
You can check out the site Bill O’Reilly’s Show The O’Reilly Factor here.
You can check out the site of Sean Hannity’s show Hannity here.

GamePro
A great video game magazine, and a great web site.

Girl’s Life
A publication devoted to, you guessed it, girl’s life. There are a lot of articles about fashion, dealing with school, dealing with friends, and dealing with life in general.

Glen Cove Record Pilot
Our local newspaper (and it would be great if the Glen Cove Record Pilot had a site like this).

Guideposts
Religion-based (mostly Christian) website that offers stories of inspiration.

Hot Rod
The classic magazine of cool cars.

Huffington Post
Left-leaning news. One of the most-read online liberal media outlets. Interestingly enough, one of the co-founders of this site is Andrew Breitbart, who went out on his own to found the conservative news website Breitbart.com. There’s a link to it further up on this page.

J-14 Magazine
Chances are if there’s a celebrity that every middle school student is talking about, you can read about it here.

Jet Magazine
A respected magazine that deals with African American news and culture.

J-Vibe Magazine
A magazine that deals with Jewish news and culture from a teenage perspective

Macworld

Media Matters for America
Left-leaning news. This is a website that analyzes various news stories (almost all of them conservatives) and points out alleged inconsistencies and falsehoods. Conservatives say that these pieces of analysis are themselves riddled with inconsistencies and falsehoods. Again, this is a website in which you need to go to it, read the pieces carefully, and decide for yourself.

The person behind Media Matters for America is George Soros, a multi-billionaire who conservatives accuse of being the man behind a vast underground network of liberal media loutlets (such as Media Matters) and political organizations (such as Moveon.Org). In many ways, Soros is the left-leaning counterpart to Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation media sources (such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York post) are right-leaning in their politics.

Mother Jones
Left-leaning news. This is a long-running magazine that analyzes current from a decidedly liberal point of view.

MSNBC
Left-leaning news. Many say that this network has become the liberal answer to the right-leaning Fox News. Among the better-known commentators at this station are Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz.

You can check out Rachel Maddow’s show by clicking here.
You can check out Ed Schultz’s show by clicking here.

National Geographic
One of the premier nature magazines, celebrated for it’s incredible photography. The site is short on articles, but it includes plenty of those photos.

National Public Radio (NPR)
News--with the political slant bitterly disputed--plus many other programs. If you want to see people argue passionately, all you need to do is listen to people from opposite ends of the political spectrum discuss National Public Radio. Conservatives call it ground zero of liberal media, an outlet that is quick to criticize conservative groups while giving liberal groups a pass. Liberals argue that NPR goes to great lengths to be fair and non-biased. Liberals also point out that NPR is public outlet--funded with contributions and government money--so that their news is far freer from corporate influence than other news outlets. If ever there was a news outlet in which you need to check it out and decide for yourself, it’s this one.

NPR’s two main news shows are Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
You can check out Morning Edition’s website here.
You can check out All Things Considered’s website here.

In addition to news, NPR also has a number of interesting shows, such as This American Life (a show that features interesting offbeat stories), Fresh Air, an interview show in which host Terry Gross talks to just about everybody and anybody, and Radiolab, a fun and offbeat science show.

You can check out:

“This American Life” here,
“Fresh Air” here,
and Radiolab here.

The Nation
Left-leaning news. The grandaddy of liberal news magazines.

The National Review
Right-leaving news. The grandaddy of conservative news magazines.

The New Republic
Here’s another magazine where people on the left and right will disagree about its politics. People on the right will say its a liberal, left-leaning publication, while those on the left will say it’s a far more moderate publication (in fact, one of it’s former editors, Andrew Sullivan, is primarily conservative in his opinions, although the politics of Andrew Sullivan are yet another thing that people on the left and right disagree on).

This is an important news analysis magazine, and has been called, on more than one occasion, “The In Flight Magazine of Air Force One.”

Newsday
Center-leaning news (and if you disagree with this, let me know). Long Isand’s newspaper. People disagree over where this paper stands politically.

Newsweek
People disagree over where this magazine stands politically. Once again, liberals tend to criticize it for being too conservative, and conservatives tend to criticize it for being too liberal. And once again, the best way to figure out where this magazine stands is to check it out for yourself.

The New York Daily News
Generally Right-Leaning. One of the four major New York newspapers (the other three are The Post, The Times, and The Wall Street Journal).

The New York Post
Right-Leaning. One of four major New York Newspapers (the other three are The Daily News, The Post, and The Wall Street Journal). The owner of this paper, Rupert Murdoch, runs Newscorp, one of the largest media outlets in the world (in other words, he’s defintely a guy you should know about). Murdoch also owns Fox News and The Wall Street Journal).

The New York Times
Left-Leaning. One of four major New York Newspapers (the other three are The Daily News, The Post, and The Wall Street Journal). Conservatives will argue that this paper is the most liberal newspaper on the planet. Liberals argue that it’s a respected newspaper that does an excellent job of recording the news. Among the featured columnists are Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, Frank Rich and Paul Krugman, both of who express liberal views.

Nutrition Action
This magazine is an excellent guide to eating right, and avoiding unhealthy foods. The link takes you to the archives, in which you can download a number of interesting articles. The organization that runs this site, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, is also an excellent website. You can get to them by clicking here.

PC World

Political Cartoons
This is a huge compendium of political cartoons from About.com. Not only can you browse the best cartoons of the week, but you can also see cartoons from the past.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Left-leaning news, plus many other programs. People get into the same arguments over public television that they get into over National Public Radio. Once again, conservatives accuse their news of being ultra liberal, which liberals contend that the news coverage is reasonable and balanced. Just like National Public Radio, if ever there was a news outlet in which you need to check it out and decide for yourself, it’s this one.

PBS has a number of television programs that you can watch online. They are too numerous to list here, but you can jump straight to the menu of shows you can watch online by clicking here.

Politico
Centrist news (and if you disagree with this assesment, let me know). Popular news analysis website.

Politifact
Centrist news (and if you disagree with this assessment, let me know). Pulitzer Prize winning site that investigates the truthfulness of news stories and public figures. Best know for the “Truth-O-Meter,” a section of the site that rates the honesty of specific quotes by notable people from all sides of the political spectrum.

Popular Science
New gadgets, new discoveries, and a whole lot of other cool stuff. This is a fun, fun site.

Click here for The Center for Media and Democracy’s description of their organization.
Click here for The Capital Research Center’s description of their organization.

The Progressive
Left-leaning news. Classic publication with staunchly liberal views.

Radio Control Car Action
The title says it all. One of the best magazines for RC modeling and racing.

Right On Magazine
Sort of an African-American version of “J-14,” this magazine has the latest about fashion, music, and celebrity news.

Rolling Stone
Left-leaning news, but better-known for entertainment reporting. Known mostly for its in depth stories on entertainment personalities (mostly in music), this magazine also has strongly liberal political articles.

Salon
Generally left-leaning news. One of the first online news magazines (along with Slate), this publication also prints many cultural stories as well.

Scientific American
One of the most respected magazines of its kind in the United States. The articles are complex, and require slow, deliberate reading. Still, if you’re a science fan, this is a great resource.

Seventeen
Popular teenage magazine that’s been around forever.

Shojo Beat
A lot of online manga at this site...

Shonen Jump
...and a lot of online manga at this site as well.

Slate
Generally left-leaning news. One of the first online news magazines (along with Salon), this publication also prints many cultural stories as well.

Sourcewatch

The organization that operates this site is The Center for Media and Democracy, calls itself a non-partisan organization, but conservatives disagree sharply over this. In fact, the conservative Capital Research Center, which rates organizations on an 8-point scale (8 is as right-leaning as you can get, while 1 is as left-leaning as you can get) gave The Center for Media and Democracy a rating of 2, which puts them in the far left spectrum of politics.

Spin Magazine
Left-leaning news, but better-known for entertainment reporting. Just like Rolling Stone, this magazine is known mostly for its in depth stories on entertainment personalities (mostly in music), this magazine also has strongly liberal political articles.

Sports Illustrated
The best-known sports magazine in the United States.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design)
This is an amazing site. It’s a huge collection of talks from the annual TED conference, which collects some of the most interesting names in science, technology, entertainment, and just about everything else. One rule of the conference is that each speaker only has 18 minutes for their talk. If you go to this site and click on some of the most popular talks, chances are that they’ll amaze and inspire you.

Teen People
All the pictures and gossip you could want about everyone famous.

Teen Vogue
Young-adult version of the popular style magazine.

Thrasher
A popular skateboarding magazine. It’s short on articles, but there are a number of videos here.

Time
This is one of the oldest , best-known news magazines in the country. What makes it so useful is that you can search for full-text articles from EVERY magazine ever published. This can be a lot of help for your school work.

Transworld Skateboarding
Among the most popular skateboarding magazines out there. The site is short on articles, but has a number of videos.

USA Today
Center-leaning news (and if you disagree with this assessment, let me know). This newspaper is best-known for having some of the shortest and most concise stories of any newspaper. Some say the stories are too short, and that they don’t provide the depth that news stories need. At the same time, this is one of the best websites to get a quick idea of what’s going on in the world. Also, their sports section is fantastic.

The Wall Street Journal
Right-leaning news. Better known for it’s financial coverage, the Journal is also a respected newspaper for hard news. The paper’s editorial page--which was always conservative--has become more so since Rupert Murdoch bought the paper recently. To find out more about Rupert Murdoch--he’s an important news figure--read the annotation for the “Fox News” link above.

The Washington Post
Center leaning news (and if you disagree with this assessment, let me know). One of the major newspapers in the country, especially because it comes out of the nation’s capital. The paper features a large editorial section, in which you can read opinions from all sides of the political spectrum. This, by the way, is another one of those news outlets in which liberals and conservatives differ as to the paper’s politics: liberals say it’s middle of the road, while conservatives say it has a liberal bias.

The Week
Center-leaning (an if you disagree with this assessment, let me know). This is great magazine. Each week, it provides a summary of every major news story, with summaries of reactions on both the liberal and conservative sides of the aisle. The great thing about the online site is that it provides links to every editorial that it mentions in one of these news summaries.

The Weekly Standard
Right-leaning. Popular magazine of conservative opinion.

Wired Magazine
Much like Popular Science, this is a fun magazine devoted to all things technological.