PBS NewsHour
Shares rank 12 of 16 news outlets by recommenders
Recommended for balanced, charitable, informative coverage of mainstream views from both parties. Critics say the back half of the broadcast is more opinionated and softer.
Recommended for balanced, charitable, informative coverage of mainstream views from both parties. Critics say the back half of the broadcast is more opinionated and softer.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Charitable, tempered coverage of both parties
“They present a more reasonable, tempered, and charitable perspective on both political parties”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “PBS News Hour West to go dark after ASU discontinues contract” “clearly puts a lot of effort into representing most mainstream views charitably”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “PBS News Hour West to go dark after ASU discontinues contract” Boring, informative, and steady
“Blissfully boring and informative”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “PBS News Hour West to go dark after ASU discontinues contract” “PBS News Hour is all three.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “PBS News Hour West to go dark after ASU discontinues contract”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Back half more opinionated and softer
“The first half is usually solid, the back half is, well, usually more opinionated/softer.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “PBS News Hour West to go dark after ASU discontinues contract”
Other news outlets people recommend
The four most recommended other news outlets, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNN Lite | 34 | 54 | 39% | 12 | — | — |
| The Guardian | 33 | 44 | 43% | 12 | — | — |
| Ars Technica | 32 | 62 | 34% | 9 | 16 yrs6 owners | — |
| text.npr.org | 23 | 1 | 96% | 8 | — | Approved |
| PBS NewsHourThis page | 6 | 1 | 86% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“clearly puts a lot of effort into representing most mainstream views charitably”
“they managed to stay the course”
“Blissfully boring and informative”
“The first half is usually solid, the back half is, well, usually more opinionated/softer.”
“news hour west was 90% a waste of time anyway”
“They present a more reasonable, tempered, and charitable perspective on both political parties”
“PBS News Hour is all three.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.