The New Media Movement Is Here: 20 News Sites Kicking Our Generation Into Action

At the height of the 2012 presidential election season, Gallup reported that “Americans' distrust in the media hit a new high this year, with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.”

As disappointing as the numbers are, they're not much of a surprise to Americans such as yourself, who have already sought out alternatives to mainstream news sources.

Unfortunately, however, most Americans haven't. Television, the home base of mainstream media, remains the primary news source for most Americans regardless of age group, level of education, political affiliation, race or income bracket.

Online news sources are becoming more and more popular, as one might expect. But a solid 50% of Americans ages 18 to 65 and over still get the majority of their news from TV – with just over one in five, or 21%, getting their news primarily from online sources.

Couple this with the statistical fact that “someone who watched only Fox News would be expected to answer just 1.04 domestic [political current event] questions correctly – a figure which is significantly worse than if they had reported watching no media at all,” and it's no wonder trust is down and cynicism is up when it comes to the news.

But it's not just cynicism that is the problem. After all, cynicism can be a catalyst for ideas, action, and, ultimately, for provoking change. However, what's utterly useless both socially and politically, and what has become a cancer of the American mind, is apathy.

While many might think their "not being into" politics has no effect on political outcomes, au contraire. Silence is a loud vote of support for the status quo. Think about it: an apathetic population isn't moved to press for better government, a better economy, better environment, better education – even something as simple as rent control in your building.

The devolution of a society's freedoms is contingent on the apathy of its populace, just as the evolution of those freedoms is contingent on the engagement of its populace. This is particularly true for young generations because they – I might say we – are the ones shaping the future either actively or passively.

What does all this have to do with media? A Pew study from 2012 also shows that “only 5 percent of people under 30 reported they follow news about 'political figures and events in Washington' very closely.” Put bluntly, while the average Fox viewer knows nothing about the actual news, the average 25-year-old appears to know even less than that.

These sobering statistics indicate what many already know: that the majority of today's youth, roundly thought of as Millennials, aren't engaged one iota in politics. That politics and pop culture are, in fact, at cross purposes with one another.

But I didn't come here to hand you a half empty glass of doomsdayism. There is, in fact, a light at the end of the tunnel – and the light is alternative, online-based media.

Tuning Into our Devices

While TV remains the biased behemoth in news, its audience is aging. The same Pew study from 2012 showed that "only about a third (34%) of those younger than 30 say they watched TV news yesterday; in 2006, nearly half of young people (49%) said they watched TV news the prior day.”

While digital streams aren't fully replacing TV just yet, more and more young adults are taking in the news through social media and online searches than ever before. A full 83% of 18- to 29-year-olds own a Smartphone, and of Smartphone owners “78 percent report using their device to get news in the last week.”

In addition to this majority, the Media Insight Project reports that “Smartphone owners are two and half times as likely to get news through social media as those without Smartphones, twice as likely to use search engines and aggregators for news and to get news alerts, and more than twice as likely to share news.”

Even Smartphones aside, the report continues, the numbers are still skewed in favor of digital news streams for today's generation: “Younger adults are more likely to find news through web-based media. Younger people are three times more likely to discover news through social media than adults age 60 and older. Similarly, people under 40 are more likely than those 40 and over to discover news through internet searches and online news aggregators.”

So, what we've got is a younger generation on the apathetic side of the political fence, a TV-watching generation that still tunes into the news largely via the box in their living room – and a graph that's shifting toward the wide open expanse of the Internet for future news consumption.

Here's the upside, because with this shift comes an opportunity for alternative online news sources to turn apathy into engagement and cynicism into a demand for social and political change.

The Gallup poll showing distrust in U.S. media concluded, “On a broad level, Americans' high level of distrust in the media poses a challenge to democracy and to creating a fully engaged citizenry. Media sources must clearly do more to earn the trust of Americans, the majority of whom see the media as biased one way or the other. At the same time, there is an opportunity for others outside the 'mass media' to serve as information sources that Americans do trust.”

In short, alternatives to mass media have a clear window of opportunity right now to turn things around: by gaining the trust and attention of an age group that continues to flock online in search of everything from jeans to animal videos. Yes, entertainment is important, too, which is why news delivered in short, punchy, even humorous style could do wonders to align pop culture with politics in a new way.

Multimedia reports that combine video, audio, social media and text have already proven to engage today's younger audience to news – so expect to see more of them. Just because truthful information is the path to our personal and societal evolution, doesn't mean it has to be delivered in a way that bores us. With the world now, literally, at our fingertips, it's time to get even more creative with the ways we take in and give out media – sharing, tweeting, posting, updating, streaming, thinking, commenting, organizing.

As the past two weeks in Ferguson, Missouri, have revealed, and as the Occupy movement showed us several years before, the public's knowledge of what is taking place in this country and beyond its borders is only as empowered as our ability to be informed – presented with truthful information that forces us to ask the important questions about ourselves, our society, our politics, our country.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote so long ago: “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

With that in mind, Occupy.com has put together a starting list of 20 alternative media outlets (in alphabetical order) that we feel form a solid base for the new media movement that is now emerging. Click on and let's move.

Al Jazeera America – After earning a reputation as one of the most globally trusted media channels, the Qatar-owned company recently launched a large and growing operation focused on U.S. coverage.

Alternet – Shows glimpses of mainstream style, but still a great source for a wide array of news with straightforward and honest, factual reporting.

Democracy Now – Home to mainstay truth-telling journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, whose engaging and timely commentary along with video covers a wide spectrum of national and global stories.

DeSmogBlog – Great source for climate-related news, which follows the motto, "Clearing the PR Pollution That Clouds Climate Science."

Disinfo – Has shocking and oddball articles you won't find elsewhere.

Mother Jones – As they say it themselves, “smart, fearless journalism” and a mainstay in the alternative media sphere for decades.

Moyers and Company – Brought to us by the long-time investigative journalist and respected thought leader Bill Moyers, combining insightful interviews with strong articles on the leading political and economic subjects of the day.

Popular Resistance – Aggregating alternative news and resistance movements around the country and worldwide.

ProPublica – Journalism, particularly the investigative sort, in the public interest.

Reddit News – Updated continuously, sourced from across the Internet by its users

Russia Today – This outlet is Putin-owned, so be wary of any news concerning Russia, but when it comes to reporting U.S. politics and news, RT offers some of the best.

The Center for Public Integrity – A recent Pulitzer Prize winner, this team produces some of the hardest hitting, most thoroughly investigated reports out there, particularly in relation to tax evasion and the role of money in the electoral process.

The Daily Beast – Independent, intelligent news infused with irreverent tone.

The Hill – Hardly underground, but gives a surprisingly un-biased account of political events and news in the capital.

The Intercept – Probably the hottest development in U.S. media, the site launched earlier this year with renowned journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill following the Edward Snowden leaks, and promises a new brand of fearless, fact-telling journalism.

The Real News Network – With “no advertising, government or corporate funding,” this online video news provider based in Baltimore bridges TV and Internet with strong alternative views and professional newsroom reports.

Think Progress – One of the most impressive, wide-ranging and popular online outlets providing short, insightful news reports across the political, economic, social and environmental spectrum.

Truthdig – The current media home of author and journalist Chris Hedges, the site's motto is “drilling beneath the headlines.”

Truthout – The non-profit organization and news team delivers independent, unbiased essays and analyses on a daily basis.

Yes! Magazine – The optimistic, up-beat side of the news revealing the people and projects focusing on solutions that build stronger, more resilient communities.