Last week, I blogged about The Washington Post’s utter incomprehension of new media.  In the spirit of not just criticizing but actually offering constructive solutions, I wanted to suggest four news sites worth checking every day.

1.  The New York Times — still the best site by a major paper.  Strengths:  It treats its front page as a constantly evolving version of its print edition, and does a great job of balancing reporting and blogging (it is the only major paper I know of that keeps a rotating list of its blogs in a prominent place on the main page).  Its blogs actually break news.  Drawbacks:  it still doesn’t quite “get” video, and its “most popular” box is too far down the page.  It’s ad-heavy, which I guess is to be expected, but the pop-ups, banners, and min-ads before video can get pretty annoying.

2.  McClatchey — probably the best example of a major media company (they own dozens of papers) “getting” new media.  Strengths:  Great layout, strong integration of news feeds and blogs by foreign correspondents (some of which rank among my favorites anywhere).  Prominent attention to feature stories.  Able to integrate best work from newspapers all over the country.  No ads.  Drawbacks:  Not many.  Major stories only rotate once a day, like a print edition.  Site is a bit text-heavy, but I like it.  Reporters get bylines only if they have the lead story.

3.  The Washington Independent (and affiliates) — a brand new effort by the Center for Independent Media to publish an online “newspaper” to compete with old media giants. CIM has established similar “papers” (all with Independent in the title) in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico (do I sense a swing state trend here?).   Strengths:  Some really good reporters, particularly Spencer Ackerman (who may be the best blogporter in the industry) and Sridhar Pappu.  Young, scrappy, hungry — they’re already providing some of the best coverage of key stories like the SOFA controversy. No ads. Drawbacks: They’re still learning their way.  Reporting sometimes involves commenting on other people’s stories as opposed to new content (as if I’m one to talk).  Small, so their coverage tends to focus on a few (albeit important) stories.  Their layout is getting better, but it’s still a little clunky.

4.  ProPublica — another new kid on the block, but one with the pockets to have a real impact.  Founded in order to fill a growing gap in print media’s investigative reporting capabilities.  Strengths:  They’ve drawn some top-flight talent and given them the leeway to explore issues in-depth.  If the first few stories are any indicator, they’re going to be outstanding.  Despite being a non-profit, they have the resources to compete with the largest media operations in the country.  No ads. “Scandal Watch” feature is great.  Drawbacks:  Still fairly new, and they don’t have much content yet.  Their news feed is merely an aggregator of other sources — and is unlikely to change, since their mission is to focus on in-depth reporting.  News aggregator is near the top of the page, above actual reporting.  Layout is still a bit clunky.  Weak, non-intuitive integration of RSS feeds and blogs.

Those are the first four I look at every day.  In addition, I use Google Reader as my RSS reader, which enables me to track 150 blogs and news feeds.  And let me be clear here:  I said track, not necessarily read.  I do have  a life (although Molly is increasingly wondering whether I’m married to her or my MacBook Pro).

What are your must-read news sites?

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