PS: This post was from February, 2013. Now it’s 2017: Try this post instead.

Staying on top of the latest issues in the political realm is important. But instead of turning on the TV, many citizens worldwide are now visiting the Web, social media sites, and niche blogs to get the latest information.

Why? Modern media consolidation means U.S. mainstream news channels are now owned by only a few companies, including Disney, GE, Viacom, and Time Warner. This severely limits the number of voices and investigative journalists that have a platform in our modern media landscape.

But a free and open Web means there’s now an opportunity for citizens of any background or political leaning to have a platform to voice their opinions and share relevant political news. In the past few years, plenty of new websites and blogs dedicated to politics and political commentary have popped up all over the Web.

Millions of Americans visit these blogs every day, so which ones are the best for news and commentary? Here, PeopleCount.org lists our top 10 political blogs, in no particular order:

1. Daily Kos – The Daily Kos features political analysis on U.S. current events from a liberal perspective. Political figures are featured on the site too, such as Congressman Brad Miller, Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, and Senator Barbara Boxer.

2. Politico – Politico covers political news with a focus on national politics, Congress, Capitol Hill, lobbying, advocacy, and more. Though it is a popular website and blog, there is also a print version of Politico with a circulation of 32,000 and distributed for free in Washington, D.C.

3. Salon – Salon.com boasts an audience of 10 million monthly unique visitors. It covers breaking news, politics, culture, technology and entertainment through investigative reporting, commentary, criticism, and personal essays.

4. The Conservative Voice – The Conservative Voice has more than 100 columnists writing on healthcare, the economy, education, and the government, as well as the latest political news.

5. Jezebel – Jezebel writes on culture and politics for contemporary women. It frequently posts pieces on political legislation affecting today’s women across the nation and abroad.

6. FactCheck.org – Those wondering who’s really telling the truth in the U.S. political sphere will love this site. FactCheck.org monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

7. ThinkProgress – An outlet of the Center for American Progress, ThinkProgress was founded in 2005 and focuses on hard-hitting political news and analysis with a liberal lean.

8. The Hill – Founded in 1994, The Hill reports on the intersection of politics and business, covering Capitol Hill, K Street, Wall Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is non-partisan and has a print circulation of 24,000, the largest on Capitol Hill. The Hill is read by 100 percent of Congressional offices, the White House, political pundits, association executives, lobbyists and corporate leaders.

9. PolitiFact – PolitiFact is a product of the Tampa Bay Times. Every day, PolitiFact’s reporters and researchers examine statements by political leaders, rating their accuracy with the Truth-O-Meter – True, Mostly True, Half True, Mostly False and False. The most ridiculous falsehoods get the lowest rating, Pants on Fire.

10. AlterNet – AlterNet aims to inspire action and advocacy when it comes to issues like the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more. AlterNet was founded in 1998 and boasts 2.3 million monthly unique visitors.

Do you have a favorite political blog? What is it? Share yours in a comment below.

(Image courtesy JanneM, Flickr)