About Newsprism

To help guide consumers of online news, Newsprism.com ranks the web’s best news and commentary by quality, influence, and political orientation. Over 440 links to news sites, columnists, blogs, humor sites, talk radio/TV sites, polling sites and the like are included.

Newsprism focuses on the American news scene with an emphasis on political news. The aim is to create a political balance in, and a diversity of approaches to, news reporting and commentary in order to help consumers get a more nuanced look at all sides of the issues of the day.

All rankings and decisions regarding inclusion at Newsprism.com reflect the judgment of Dr. Preston Coleman of Gainesville State College in Watkinsville, Georgia, in consultation with interested scholars, journalists, and publishers. The rankings only take into consideration news organizations' online platforms, not, where applicable, their print and/or broadcast platforms.

With the exception of the Newspapers/News Magazines section, all links are color-coded by political orientation. Left-leaning news sources are denoted by blue text; right-leaning, by red text; and centrist, by purple text. Black text denotes sources that have not yet been analyzed for political orientation.

The 36 news sites at the top of the site are ranked from far left to far right, with eight non-partisan sites placed in the center. Left- and right-wing sites are chosen based on the quality, depth, and scope of their news coverage and commentary along with their influence and reputation. The sites in the center are chosen based on their non-partisan, (relatively) objective approaches and include sites focused on news, politics, polling, fact checking, and analysis/evaluation of reporting.

The Top Twelve News Sites are based on a combination of the quality, scope and depth of reporting and commentary, as well as reputation and influence. The Top Twelve Commentators are based on a combination of quality and depth of commentary, as well as reputation and influence.

The Leftwing Columnists and Rightwing Columnists, and the Leftwing Blogs and Rightwing Blogs, are chosen based on reputation, influence and quality, and are listed in alphabetical order.

The sites under the Humor, Aggregators, Talk, Sunday Mornings, Wire Services, Faith-Based, Labor, International, and Business categories are chosen based on reputation, quality, and search engine rankings. These sites are not separated by political orientation, though Humor, Sunday Morning, and Labor are generally dominated by the left, and Talk, Faith-Based and Business are generally dominated by the right, with Aggregators, Wire Services, and International being more centrist.

Newspapers and news magazines are chosen based on a combination of circulation and online traffic, as well as reputation and influence. They are listed in alphabetical order irrespective of political orientation. A balance between geographical regions is also taken into consideration.

Heroes and Villains are chosen for the quality of their wit and the integrity of their work, or the lack thereof.

Dr. Coleman holds a doctorate in Media Studies from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia. He’s taught at the University of Iowa, American Intercontinental University, Kennesaw State College, and Gainesville State College and has won awards for his research and teaching, including the Robert Bostrum Award for Outstanding Research and the Ann Matthews Purdy Award for Outstanding Faculty Member. In 2004, Dr. Coleman was the official announcer at the Libertarian Party National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Newsprism.com has been online since December, 2005.