Media you should follow during this pandemic 

No I don’t believe the virus is a military designed bio-weapon.

No I don’t think there is any connection with 5G.

No I don’t think I want to be Facebook Friends with you at this stage.

It’s funny how we turn to real life to detox from social media, but with the lockdown we will be forced away from real life to detox on social media.

As people start to rely on social media conspiracies during the lockdown to make sense of these extraordinary events, picking your source media is more important than ever. Other than the incredible range of opinion shapers on TDB, you should also consider the following outlets to get you through this Pandemic with information that won’t make you believe the shape changing Lizard aliens are taking over the planet using a one world Government.

Watching the 7pm alters of lite entertainment, Seven Sharp and The Project, struggle to cover the pandemic without cheering audiences, sly jibes and grunty guffaws is like watching a toddler attempt brain surgery or the ZM breakfast morning crew trying to define genocide.

AUT’s Asia Pacific Report: Their extraordinary coverage of the Pacific during this pandemic is an essential resource for what is happening in our region that simply has no peer.

TVNZ Breakfast: John Campbell’s compassion and professionalism as a journalist is needed now more than ever. Every week day breakfast,  the Pandemic is explained and explored with a genuine care. This country owes him a bloody medal for his extraordinary broadcasting talent. John is walking this path with us and he makes the journey far less frightening. He is a bloody national treasure.

Thomas Coughlan, Henry Cooke & Luke Malpass at Fairfax: All three of these journalists have been light years ahead of the coverage of the pandemic  and have all provided the most insight into what the existential changes to our economy and society will start looking like. They are daily must reads.

Waatea News: The best Māori Journalism right now, incredible grass roots coverage of how Māori are facing the pandemic.

Te Ao with MOANA on Māori TV: Best current affairs right now, Moana Maniapoto as host is laser like in her delivery of the hard questions.

NewsRoom: Are doing the best day to day journalism covering the Pandemic. You must read them daily.

Bryan Bruce podcasts: Asking what country we want to rebuild into post the pandemic. They appear on this blog.

Working Group: 2pm Friday MagicTalk: Funniest political panel show in NZ and was the first to point out that the pandemic was far more severe than everyone in January thought it was. Sean Plunkett and I carry Damien Grant for 60minutes and pretend the right wing have philosophical credibility so I can bash it down week after week.

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice going into this pandemic and 2020 election – please donate here.

If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.

TDB Team 2020.