I usually read the news on-line at the Guardian website. I like reading what is going on in the world from the perspective(s) of the left, and I appreciate the range of opinions you can find in that spectrum and the balanced, fair way in which issues are presented. Their in-depth articles are often illuminating, and contribute to an increase in social consciousness. In particular, I have recently been reading a series of articles on the fringes of society by Amelia Gentleman, winner of the 2012 Orwell Journalism Prize.
These are truly brilliant pieces of writing, with an enviable clarity of presentation and humanity in the treatment of difficult subjects. She never takes the easy, sensationalist approach; instead, she allows the reader to form his or her own judgement of the situations described and to understand the reality of people living in social exclusion. They make for an engrossing, often challenging, trip to the dark corners of capitalism, and they are a refreshing antidote to the (deeply wrong) majority view that the people who inhabit them are sub-human. I whole-heartedly recommend reading them thoroughly!
England riots: the personal cost
Life in a Young Offenders' Institution
Behind the Scenes at a School for Troubled Youngsters
Benefit Fraud: spies in the welfare war
Disability Benefits: why the new tests are failing
Caring for the Elderly: a day in the rounds
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