It's a brilliant question -- the optimum daily news diet. I find listening to NPR in the morning is a solid minimum dosage of daily headline news. Supplemented later by Bloomberg, Fark, HN, Drudge, etc...

The way one processes news cycles- is very much determined by your personal rhythm and energy levels. Here's an interesting take on the optimal time for everything from the WSJ > http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100008723963904441800045780182...