A Dozen Media Outlets to Check Out (Daily)

1. Al-Jazeera (English)

We take our hats off to al-Jazeera. There is no television news channel that comes close to the breath of its coverage, from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic Circle, the Far East to the far West, and all-around Africa. In its coverage of Gaza, Al-Jazeera not only excelled but put every western channel to shame. While BBC, CNN, and other reporters were riding with the Israeli army, or conducting interviews from the comfortable safety of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, Al-Jazeera journalists were reporting from Gaza with bombs and artillery dropping around and on them. It is mostly due to Al-Jazeera that the world saw the true horror of the genocide of Gaza. Some of its journalists were deliberately targeted and killed by the IDF. It also has some of the best documentaries anywhere on topics as wide ranging as global warming, Germany’s Israel obsession, Burkina Faso’s agricultural development, and, of course, the war on Gaza.

2. Al Araby

Arabic speaking folks tend to turn to Al Araby Television Network, which is also based in Qatar and has acquired a reputation for objectivity and journalistic professionalism. It began life in London in 2015, but moved to Quatar in 2022 to focus more on the region where its core Arab audience are concentrated. Al Araby is not so much concerned with some fake notion neutrality but strongly supports and promoted the right of Arabs to freedom of expression, integrity, and political participation – a brave stance in a region dominated by dictators and monarchs. Al Araby is in fact three outlets: Al Araby TV which is a news and current affairs channel, Al Araby 2 devoted to cultural entertainment, and Al Araby al-Jadeed, which is a pan Arab news website and daily newspaper. The pages of Al Araby al-Jadeed are full of columns and op-ed opinion pieces from the Arab world’s most prominent authors. We have counted over a hundred. So all the diversity of opinion of the Arab world, with all its contradictions, is to be found at Al Araby al-Jadeed.

3. TRT World TV

The Turkish global channel, TRT World TV, started shakily in 2015. Its earlier news presentations were a bit amateurish and production values left something to be desired. But it transformed beyond recognition within a few years. It’s a slick operation with truly global coverage and solid reporting from the ground. Its coverage of the Gaza genocide was second only to al-Jazeera, and its reportage of Muslim issues is next to none. TRT has also become a gathering place for Western dissidents, like Avi Shlaim and Richard Folk, and diaspora Muslims like Ebrahim Moosa. And the channel is the only place where you are likely to see the adventures of Oruc Reis, the Ottoman Sultan of Algiers, and witness the greatness of Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi. But, in all honesty, the Turkish government PR needs to be toned down – seriously.

4. The Guardian/Observer

The Guardian is, and remains, the only truly independent newspaper in the UK; and it should be read and supported by all fair-minded folks on this best of all possible planets – the Earth. It is the only media outlet that called what happened in Gaza with the correct word: genocide. And, it has reported, the death and destruction perpetuated by Isreal with proper context, unflinching honesty, and in appropriate horrific details. It is the kind of paper where you will find investigations such as ‘Isreal demanded Google and Amazon use secret “wink” to sidestep legal orders’. And ‘long reads’ such as ‘A “magic pill” make Israeli violence invisible, we need to stop swallowing it’. It has some truly superb commentators – including the fearless and perceptive Nesrine Malik, the consistently magnificent Aditya Chakrabortty, Owen Jones, George Monbiot, and Jonathan Freedland (who always manages to suppress his love for Zionism and come out on the side of justice, Bravo!). Even though the sister paper, the Observer, which comes out on Sundays, has been carted off and sold to someone called Tortoise media, it still retains much of its original concerns for social justice, fair play, and fair reporting. And, to top it all, it is freely available to all, everywhere – not behind some ridiculous paywall. But we recommend, you subscribe, if you can.

4. The National

Across the border in Scotland, there is The National, which only emerged in 2014. It is somehow connected to the Scottish National Party, and thus, not surprisingly, champions independence for Scotland. But apart from that, it is a cracking good read, with a very strong sense of social justice. Recent front pages such as ‘How Genocide Happened’ (13 October 2015), listing the ‘damning words – from the country’s own prime minister, press and more’, and ‘What are you hiding Labour’ (19 October 2025), on secret meetings between UK and Israeli ministers, clearly show where The National stands. It is also lovely to have someone on the up and up who fearlessly puts down the UK government at every misstep!

6. Zateo

When the exceptional, sharp-witted, Mehdi Hasan, was fired from MSNBC for his stand on Palestine, he brushed his shoulders, and launched Zeteo. For the uninitiated, Zeteo is an ancient Greek word meaning ‘seeking out’ and striving’. That’s about the only opaque thing about Zeteo. The rest is as clear as micellar water; Zeteo cuts through lies, propaganda, and disinformation with hard evidence, strong arguments and with some panache. It is an astonishing success story that took the Substack world by storm. It is where you should go for real in-depth analysis, and really hard-hitting interviews with the likes of Zohran Mamdani, the Mayoral candidate for New York, Mohammad Yonus the interim Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and Eylon Levy, the British Israeli who serves as Israeli government spokesman. Splendid, gasping stuff. Zeteo declared it is not just a media company but a movement for media accountability. God speed, we say!

7. Middle East Eye

Co-founded by David Hearst, former foreign correspondent of the Guardian, Middle East Eye has become an indispensable source on the Muslim world since its launch in 2014. Its coverage of the Gaza genocide and Israel has been an exhausting regime of exposé after exposé. And it has a string of great regular contributors and commentors, including the Canadian journalist and lawyer Faisal Kutty, the former Israeli negotiator Danial Levy, the former Prime Minister of Türkiye Ahmet Davutoglu, and British journalists Peter Oborne and Jonathan Cook. Not surprisingly, it has been banned and blocked in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

8. New Lines Magazine

It describes itself as ‘a local magazine for the world’. New Lines is devoted largely to long form essays and reportage, it has carried reports about influencers in Syria, Poland’s Bisons, to Argentina’s textile industry. There is also plenty of good pieces on Gaza, Palestine, and Isreal, including first person account. It has some very good journalists, including Hassan Hassan, who covered the Iraq war for the Guardian, Faisal al Yafai, the former investigative reporter for the Guardian, and Danny Postel, formerly of openDemocracy. Most of its writers are from the area they are writing about and thus have a grasp of the local culture. When it first started some seven, eight years ago, New Lines had a great deal of fire and anger. It has become somewhat subdued since; and lost a bit of its initial edge. However, certainly worth a regular read.

9. Haaretz

Diamonds are sometimes found in coal mines. And Haaretz is a polished diamond. It is one of the oldest – founded in 1918 – daily newspaper and the only thing coming out of Israel that suggests that there is a modicum of human life still untouched by supremacy, fascism, and pathological paranoia in, what its detractors call, the ‘Zionist entity’. Haaretz not only opposes the occupation of the Palestinian territories but actively supports Israeli Arabs as well other marginalised communities. It coverage of the genocide in Gaza was both honest and eye popping. It columnists and opinion contributors are outspoken and seldom mince their words; Gideon Levy, the Palestinian affairs columnist, alone is worth his weight in gold! If the majority of the Israelis read Haaretz, peace will prevail all over the world. If only!

10. Wired

It may be a technology magazine, but Wired has a long history of investigating journalism, and strong sense of objectivity. Its analysis of cybersecurity, privacy and hacks is unmatched. Once you have flipped through coverage of technology (and some science) stories, you will come across ‘The Big Story’ about killer chatbots, the darker side of AI, Peter Thiel’s Antichrist obsession, the madness of rich white guys who want to live forever, and how tech billionaires captured the White House. Its Spring 2025 ‘Money Issue’ – who has the money, how they wield it, and what it means for the rest of us – is a superb expose of an industry awash with trillions. It should also be noted that Wired was the first to begin reporting on the dubious links between Trump’s administration and various tech bros and billionaires hungry for influence at the beginning of his second presidency. Bravery remains a virtue in these postnormal times!

11. The Atlantic

In its heyday, The Atlantic Monthly, campaigned to abolish slavery, published slave narratives, championed educational reform, and exposed racism. While the magazine printed stories by Ernest Hemingway and the letters of Martin Luther King Jr, the Atlantic Monthly press published ground- breaking fiction such as Walter Edmond’s Drums Along the Mohawk. But all that is history. The press has ceased to exist. The magazine became The Atlantic, shedding its month moniker and appearing ten times a year. (But it may yet go back to being monthly!). It does, however, its tradition of publishing detailed investigations, lengthy essays, and feisty opinion pieces. It is strongly anti-Trump; but a not-so-critical supporter of the Democrats. It championed the Christian Zionist Joe Biden and the Wall Street loving Hilary Clinton. And it has fallen as low as to promote the cult of scientology. Still, it is probably the only American magazine worth reading nowadays.

12. Daily Maverick

The only criticism we have of the Daily Maverick is that it is not a daily but a weekly newspaper. Since its launch in 2009, the South African paper has lived up to its motto to ‘Defend Truth’. It is a forceful defender of democracy in South Africa and quite objective and balanced in its coverage. We have enjoyed some refreshing South African voices here. By necessity, we suppose, it focuses on local stories but it manages to show how Africa is changing with a style of its own. It is also nice to see a periodical that is sharp in its criticism and striking in its layouts.

13. Declassified UK

Ok. We lied! Actually, its baker’s dozen, which as we all know is 13: in the good old days, when empathy and generosity were real values, bakers used to add an extra one when packing orders of twelve loafs. Hoping that genuine virtues may return to this age of post truth, we offer a bomber bonus. Focused on the nasty side of Great Britain, Declassified UK (DCUK) investigates how the British government, military, media, corporations as well as colonial legacy and empire undermine human rights and the environment not just in the UK but all over the world. It is the sort of place you go to find how many British MPs are filling their pockets with Israeli lobby funds, where in the world British troops are illegally operating, how the likes of the BBC try to fool their audience with claims to neutrality, and the pro-Israeli bias of newswire. You will also find historical analysis of colonial crimes from Ireland to Indonesia. DCUK is totally independent and its journalists really know how to investigate. So it naturally puts conventional British media to shame.

We also recommend that you read, devour, and follow: Chris Hodges, Caitlin Johnstone, Owen Jones, Carole Cadwalladr, Shaun King, Andrew Brown, Antony Loewenstein (watch his film on Germany), and Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, on Substack. Look for the English version of Egyptian publication Mada Masr, which is often under pressure from the authorities (but then who isn’t, it’s Egypt,); the independent Enab Baladi, which was originally started by women in revolutionary Daraya, Syria, and handed out in the street, but is now online and much bigger; and Byline News, Media Lens, and Novara Media, whose reporters and commentators know how to call a spade a spade (unlike BBC journalists).