So you want to figure out where to get your local news about D.C. The quick answer is us—duh. But if you’re here, you already knew that. And we’re not the only game in town. So we’ve broken down your options based on what, exactly, you’re looking for, in terms of the kinds of stories and how they’re told.

Photo by Rich Renomeron.

YOU LIKE YOUR NEWS IN PRINT: The Washington Post gets dinged for ignoring its own backyard, the District, but it still has more Metro reporters on the beat than any other print publication by a long shot, and they often have the time to break stories about policy and spin human interest yarns. Washingtonian Magazine will tell you the best doctors, restaurants, and luxury fitness trends, along with providing context to local stories with in-depth magazine pieces. The Afro publishes weekly and is the longest-running African American family-owned newspaper in the country. The Washington Informer promises “only positive news” about the regional African American community. For stories with an LGBT lens, check out The Washington Blade. Current Newspapers, which finally has a website, still sends reporters to cover ANC meetings and gets at the nitty-gritty of neighborhood-level politics in Northwest, Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, and Dupont. Street Sense, now available for purchase through an app, gives the perspective of the city from the perspective of its homeless population. Capital Community News has around since 1976, and publishes Hill Rag, East of the River, and MidCity DC on a monthly basis. And, of course, there’s Washington City Paper. Even at a fraction of the size it once was, the alt-weekly still commits itself to long-form investigations that get results. (Relatedly—if you want this important work to continue, buy them!)

YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION: Want to learn if you’re the only one who got packages stolen off your porch? Interested in finding a new nanny? Concerned about changes taking place in your neighborhood? I am a not-so-secret sucker for community listservs, which serve all these purposes and more. Most neighborhoods have one, most famously Cleveland Park, and they work by distributing emails to a list of people who’ve signed up, with varying degrees of curation. The D.C. police also have listservs for each district that will alert subscribers to the crime that has been reported. I recommend putting them in a separate folder in your inbox, lest you be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of other people’s grievances.

YOU’VE GOT A HANKERING FOR THE HYPERLOCAL: The region’s neighborhood blogs are a great way to stay abreast of what’s happening really close to home (either yours or someone else’s). Petworth News, Capitol Hill Corner, The Hill Is Home, New Columbia Heights (disclosure: Andrew Wiseman, the founder of NCH, is also a DCist contributor), Frozen Tropics (which covers Trinidad), Bloomingdale,, Congress Heights On The Rise, and The Georgetown Metropolitan are among our favorites. Outside of city limits, covering a larger geographic area, there’s ARLnow and Bethesda Beat.

YOU’RE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS OR TECH STORIES: Washington Business Journal is often first when it comes to local mergers, development deals, and other business stories. If you’re looking more for tech and start-up-related goings-on, check out DC Inno or Technical.ly DC.

YOU WANT TO HEAR YOUR NEWS OVER THE AIRWAVES: If you’d like to turn your radio dial to the local happenings, two options tower over the rest. The local public radio affiliate, WAMU 88.5, consistently uncovers novel and important stories about the region, and tells them with audio flare. Plus, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, the daily newsmagazine show, remains politicians’ favored place to announce their intentions (or lack thereof). WTOP 103.5 is another heavy-hitter, and its partner Federal News Radio 1500 AM is especially helpful if you’re a government employee. If podcasts are what you’re looking for, check out our list of the best local ones telling stories for and by Washingtonians.

YOU’VE GOT A SPECIFIC INTEREST: Urban planning aficionados need look no further than Greater Greater Washington, the longtime blog delving into issues of bike lanes and zoning variances like no other, though you’ll get a lot of great real estate coverage from Urban Turf and Curbed as well. The WashCycle blogs about biking from an advocacy perspective. If you’re looking for the ins and outs of the food scene, Eater‘s got you covered. Fans of theater should keep DC Metro Theater Arts and DC Theatre Scene close at hand. D.C. Music Download tackles the local music landscape. And if you’re looking for photos and write-ups of the millennials partying after dark in museums and attending food events, as well as interviews with performers swinging through town, you’ll find all of it at Brightest Young Things.

YOU WANT TO WATCH YOUR NEWS: D.C. is one of the biggest media markets in the country, so our local television news is, for the most part, pretty buttoned-up and professional, production-wise. When it comes to staying on top of the news and breaking investigative or transportation stories, as well as having a jolly old time, NBC 4 is the best of the bunch. WUSA is reliable, too, as is WJLA, though be warned that it’s now run by Sinclair. And Fox 5, which can be good on some crime stories, has also made some very questionable editorial decisions.

YOU LIKE SCUTTLEBUTT: Dan Silverman has created a juggernaut out of Popville, a neighborhood blog that has taken on larger and larger geographic terrain (and the skies!) since starting as the Prince of Petworth. Sure, he’s got his detractors. The biggest complaint about Popville is that some of the gossip posted isn’t verified, so take everything with a grain of salt. But what’s remarkable is how Silverman has built a community of people who want to give him all the scuttlebutt they see or hear.

YOU WANT IT DELIVERED RIGHT INTO YOUR INBOX: Well-curated newsletters are like a tasting platter. If you’re looking to get a sampling of city politics happenings, make sure to subscribe to the comprehensive District Links. There’s a decidedly more playful vibe to 7:30DC, which says it curates with “an angle towards social justice and civic responsibility.” And, of course, you don’t want to miss our daily newsletter, which’ll send you our top stories from the day each evening.