Gabriella Bower

The news never sleeps, and it can often feel overwhelming to stay up to date with world, political, and industry news.  With the plentitude of options, including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, publication websites, Snapchat and so on, where do you look for news that is reliable and informative?  There are hundreds of apps out there with this very purpose in mind, but where do you start?  Start here - with my guide to the top apps that allows every bSmart woman to stay up-to-date and news savvy.

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Publication Apps

CNN

The CNN app delivers concise news updates and breaking news notifications to your phone, allowing you to stay informed without having to watch TV or listen to the radio.  Once inside the app, CNN offers a sleek interface where you simply swipe left or right to explore the various sections. Moreover, the app offers supplementary videos under two minutes allowing you to digest news quickly and without much effort.

NY Times

One great thing about this app is that you do not need to have a subscription to the New York Times in order to download or use it.  Similar to the CNN app, NY Times delivers concise news updates and breaking news notifications to your phone.  As a New Yorker, I prefer this news publication over other local papers, but if you live in another city, feel free to explore your local publication’s app.  The NY Times app also allows you to save articles for later when you find a piece that interests you but perhaps don’t have the time to read the article in full at that time. (See Pocket below)

Buzzfeed

From publishing the Stanford rape victim’s powerful letter, to partnering with Barack Obama in an initiative to engage millennial voters, Buzzfeed has been redefining itself in recent years  It’s  no longer just ‘click bait’ and fun quizzes; they are becoming a news force with which to be reckoned.  The Buzzfeed News app is easy to use and offers a ‘catch up’ tab at the top of the app, as well as an alerts tab with tweet-like blurbs that then open into their respective articles. 

NPR

NPR resembles CNN in terms of world news updates but, uses a more minimalist interface. Moreover, NPR offers audio clips and the ability to access NPR radio stations within articles, so if you enjoy listening to the news, this is a great app for you.

NPR One

NPR One is NPR’s podcast app which focuses on in-depth storytelling and allows you to create custom playlists that pertain to your interests. NPR One complements and interacts well with the NPR app but you can download one without the other and feel equally as informed.

 

Interactive News Apps

Twitter

Twitter is by far the best social media app for gettings news and curating content.  Not only should you follow every major news publication and industry publications, but to stay on the cutting edge of news breaking , follow journalists themselves.  Journalists are very active on Twitter, promoting both their own work as well as pieces by peers and people they admire and interacting with readers as well.  If you curate a solid Twitter following, you’ll be able to better use the following app, Nuzzle.

Be sure to follow accounts and publications on Twitter with differing opinions and interests. Otherwise, you pigeon hole yourself into a Twitter feed that only reflects one side of an argument.

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The news never sleeps, and it can often feel overwhelming to stay up to date with world, political, and industry news.

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Nuzzle

Nuzzle allows you to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts, and then notifies you when  three or more friends or people you follow share an article.  You can also follow particular influencers’ feeds and subscribe to their newsletters.  Nuzzle then lets you curate your own newsletter for your Nuzzle followers to see.  Nuzzle also allows you to see what friends of friends are sharing, thus not only informing you on trending topics within your social circles, but also beyond.  What is so unique about Nuzzle is how it creates a community around sharing news and articles, and the power of information. 

Pocket

Finally, Pocket is not an app where you go to discover news but it is a great smartphone and desktop tool you can use to save articles that pique your interest but don’t have time to read right away.  Once you save an article, it is available to you in a queue, even when you’re offline (like on the subway or on an airplane) -- perfect for your workweek commute. After you have read an article, you can share, favorite, delete or archive it.  I recommend ‘favoriting’ and archiving pieces that really stand out to you, so that whenever you want to refer to it or go back and share it with a friend, the article always remains in the app.

 

Gabriella Bower is a student at New York University.  Her two passions have always been fashion and philanthropy and she works to incorporate both aspects into her life as often as she can.  Read more of Gabriella’s work ranging from current trends to short essays and social justice oriented posts on her blog Read Between the hemLines.

 

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