As far as I can tell, just about the only person in the "main stream media" that actually does investigative reporting is Rachel Maddow. Bill Moyers has a weekly show, and his work does count, but it is not really a news show. I can understand why so many people don't understand what is really going on in America. It is because the politicians they elect are constantly lying to them, and the "reporters" just go onto the next question. For instance, the talk of "Death Panels" or McConnell's "Bailouts" are talking points, and outright lies. The story should be 99% the fact that that politicians, or has beens have to lie, or that they are lying, and 1% what the actual lie is. This way they score no points for lying and are trashed in the media for not telling the truth instead. Like it should be. The news should be "Top ten lies of the day".
After spending the bulk of my career writing solely for newspapers, I stepped into the blogosphere a year ago and discovered a whole new world of financial advice.
The World Wide Web is host to hundreds of financial bloggers, who provide everything from solid counsel to something of a support group for the budget-challenged.
The advice you get in the blogosphere is different from what you see in the newspaper for a variety of reasons. It's sometimes profane and often directed toward a single topic -- including such things as student debt or frugal living. And the bulk of bloggers base their advice on personal experience, rather than straight reporting.
You've got to be careful too, because some bloggers make money by promoting products.
That said, much of it is wonderful, helpful, encouraging and uniquely well-suited to the just-graduated set, who are still trying to get a toehold on their financial lives.
If you haven't stepped into the Web's wonderful world of money blogs, here's a guide to some of the best -- and often largely unknown -- sites.
Jesse Michelson is a 22-year-old computer programmer from Utah who writes a blog called the Personal Finance Firewall ( www.pffirewall.com). Recently out of college and helping support his wife through graduate school, Michelson recently wrote one of the clearest explanations you could find anywhere about how to use the government's income-based repayment plan to pay your student loans.
Trent Hamm, at www.thesimpledollar.com, grew up certain that the only thing to do with money was to spend it on something that gave you immediate gratification -- such as a video game or a giant television.
This led to his economic ruin and subsequent revival as a born-again budgeter. His financial Armageddon became a cautionary tale for his blog, showing where he went wrong and what he'd do differently.
Brad Chaffee, www.enemyofdebt.com, aims to promote financial responsibility and, not surprisingly, the importance of paying off debt.
Among his more engaging posts is "How I Lost $60 in Three Seconds," which explains why you ought to have an emergency fund -- even when you're broke.
The consistently delightful blog at www.budgetsaresexy.com is written by twentysomething J. Money (his pen name), who recently wrote a funny post about the intricacies of real estate pricing.
The short version: He hopes some "spendthrift" will pay an exorbitant price for his neighbor's home, which could save home values in the whole neighborhood.
I've become a Facebook fan of the Frugal Dad (http://frugaldad.com) for words of wisdom, such as "If you need the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to afford a home, you can't afford a home."
The $8,000 will be gone in a flash, he says. But the mortgage will last 30 years. Even better is his recent post explaining the mental process you ought to go through before buying more stuff.
