Topic: News Aggregators

The Media Research Center analyzed over 600 stories on Apple News, finding that the platform went 96 consecutive days without featuring a single story from a conservative outlet in its top stories section. The discussion explores how news aggregation apps on mobile devices and browsers like Firefox act as primary "attack vectors" for political propaganda. It is suggested that micro-services architectures, rather than human editors, may be driving this content selection.

The show concludes with the "Tip of the Day," featuring BizToc.com, a business news aggregator and scraping operation backed by Mark Cuban. The hosts sign off with their traditional "Crackpot and Buzzkill" personas, followed by a series of end-of-show music mixes and classic audio clips.

The discussion traces the history of newspaper bias and the eventual failure of the "objective" journalism model. The hosts explain how the loss of local advertising and classifieds destroyed the financial viability of print media. They also note the modern trend of using AI tools like ChatGPT to rewrite and republish existing reporting from major outlets.

Adam Curry details his sophisticated "Freedom Controller" system, an RSS aggregator and information management tool developed with Dave Jones. He describes a rigorous preparation cycle involving 780 feeds, C-SPAN monitoring, and deep dives into Form 990 tax filings for nonprofits. This process culminates in a structured rundown and the generation of detailed XML-based show notes.

The hosts provide instructions for the No Agenda News Network, a community-driven news aggregator. They urge users to submit unique, independent reporting rather than mainstream feeds or large alternative sites like InfoWars or Natural News. The goal is to maintain a feed of singular and useful information for the "slaves of Gitmo Nation."

A viral video of a father shooting his daughter's laptop after a Facebook post is debated as a potential hoax. Adam Curry explains the technical benefits of using OPML files for the No Agenda News Network aggregator.

A draft proposal from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggests a government-led overhaul of the media industry to save struggling news organizations. The plan includes requiring news aggregators like the Drudge Report, Digg, and Reddit to pay for content through copyright licenses. The hosts argue that taxing aggregators will further damage the news industry's failing business model.