Club Benefits
15 Best Alexa Skills for News
Alexa lets you stay abreast of the day's news with its included default Flash Briefing skill, which you can customize to your liking. But beyond that, there are more defined skills that offer in-depth looks at certain topics. From politics to sports to weather, here are the best news skills to add to Alexa.
Illustration: Tom's Guide; Shutterstock
Get traditional with Alexa flash briefing
Just say, "Alexa, what's my Flash Briefing?" to get a customized audio news report each morning. You can pick from all of the most popular worldwide and local news sources, including NPR, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and more. In most cases, the sources get added to your Flash Briefing, and you can arrange the order in which you hear them.
Tap into local news
Many news stations and newspapers offer skills so you can hear your local news in your Flash Briefing, whether you live in Washington D.C., Austin or anywhere else.
Keep an eye on the weather
While Alexa can tell you the weather, it doesn't provide the detailed forecasts of Big Sky. This skill offers forecasts based on your street address, and can tell you what's expected on an hourly basis. You have to link your Big Sky account with Alexa for it to work. If you don't have a Big Sky account, Ask Wxbrad delivers an in-depth and entertaining forecast in your daily Flash Briefing.
Dig curated news from Digg
Let the crew at Digg comb the Internet for the most interesting articles of the day, then give it to you as part of your Flash Briefing. You can pick from politics, tech, entertainment and sports.
Satisfy your scientific curiosity
Get science news from those who know what they're talking about. Curiosity Daily is produced by Curiosity.com, and answers frequently asked questions about science and technology each morning, from why we spread fake news to how a planet sustains life.
Stay informed with Marketplace
Economics and lifestyle publication Marketplace delivers daily news in economics, pop culture and technology. You'll hear from Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood, hosts of the site's podcast Make Me Smart.
Become a Washington insider
Politico's Playbook delivers the essential news from Washington in a bite-size portion — the audio report crams the day's big takeaways in politics into just 90 seconds.
Stay on top of tech news
Tom Merritt brings you the big tech news each day through the Daily Tech Headlines podcast. He also interviews newsmaker from the world of technology.
Score sports news from ESPN
Hear sports news as interpreted by the team at ESPN. Once you enable this skill, you'll get the latest results and scores in your Flash Briefing each morning. Fox Sports also has a Flash Briefing skill.
Laugh at Jimmy Fallon's monologue
If you prefer your news through a humorous filter, The Tonight Show skill plays Jimmy Fallon's latest monologue on demand. You'll also get some show extras like hearing which guests are scheduled.
Savor The Daily Show's political spin
For a more barbed approach to the news, listen to The Daily Show's Trevor Noah take on the most relevant headlines. Warning: not suitable for all ages.
Enter the BBC's world
Get a more international perspective on the latest news with the BBC World Service. The skill plays the latest headlines as part of your Flash Briefing.
Keep track of the market
Quartz updates its news about business throughout the world three times a day, helping you to stay on top of what's happening in the markets and financial world.
Catch up on pop culture news
Anyone who ants to stay up-to-date on the entertainment world should enable Pop Culture & Movie News. This skill brings you the latest current pop-culture insights, from books and comics to movies, television, games and music. Once you enable this skill, you'll get tidbits about upcoming entertainment in your daily Flash Briefing. It's interesting and, best of all, concise.
Keep an eye on Reddit
Redditors will love Daily Cup of Tea. Enable this skill, and Alexa will read you the top news headlines on Reddit and a joke in your Flash Briefing. Like a cup of tea, it's a great way to relax while you take in your morning news. There's also a non-Flash Briefing version of this skill with the same name, so at any point in the day, you can say "Alexa, open Daily Cup of Tea" to get the top Reddit headlines, quotes, jokes, tips and facts. You don't even need a Reddit account to use either skill.
