For those who are
interested in politics, society and news, there is a LOT of information
available in print and online... how can we find time to sort through it
all to discover what is true?
First off, we need to accept that Media Bias is practically impossible to avoid because even the act of choosing what to report and what not to report is a form of Bias. But we can take some counter-measures to help ensure we are getting a broader view of issues by developing and using a Reading list. A well-rounded Reading List should include several sources for news, information and opinion, including sources that "lean" the other way... whichever way is "other" from your own perspectives.
And don't overlook web sites that specialize in fact checking. These are very useful for verifying the information in a politician's speech or debate responses, or before passing on along an email with "facts" about something or someone. In my view, a person who passes along defamatory or hate-filled email without first checking the validity of the information is at best lazy, and at worse irresponsible or even malicious.
Here is my Reading list... what's yours?
Centrist News and Information Sources
The BBC - http://www.bbc.com
The Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com
The Economist - http://www.economist.com
Conservative-Leaning News and Information Sources
Washington Times (e-Edition subscription) - http://www.washingtontimes.com
Fox News - http://www.foxnews.com
Liberal-Leaning News and Information Sources
Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Science, Religion, Faith and Spirituality
BeliefNet - http://www.beliefnet.com
Scientific American - http://www.scientificamerican.com
Fact-Checking
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia
Fact Check - http://factcheck.org/about/
PolitiFact - http://www.politifact.com
Snopes - http://snopes.com/info/aboutus.asp
Polls and Surveys
Real Clear Politics - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/about.html
First off, we need to accept that Media Bias is practically impossible to avoid because even the act of choosing what to report and what not to report is a form of Bias. But we can take some counter-measures to help ensure we are getting a broader view of issues by developing and using a Reading list. A well-rounded Reading List should include several sources for news, information and opinion, including sources that "lean" the other way... whichever way is "other" from your own perspectives.
Bear in mind that Perspective and Bias are closely related.
And don't overlook web sites that specialize in fact checking. These are very useful for verifying the information in a politician's speech or debate responses, or before passing on along an email with "facts" about something or someone. In my view, a person who passes along defamatory or hate-filled email without first checking the validity of the information is at best lazy, and at worse irresponsible or even malicious.
Here is my Reading list... what's yours?
Centrist News and Information Sources
The BBC - http://www.bbc.com
The Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com
The Economist - http://www.economist.com
Conservative-Leaning News and Information Sources
Washington Times (e-Edition subscription) - http://www.washingtontimes.com
Fox News - http://www.foxnews.com
Liberal-Leaning News and Information Sources
Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Science, Religion, Faith and Spirituality
BeliefNet - http://www.beliefnet.com
Scientific American - http://www.scientificamerican.com
Fact-Checking
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia
Fact Check - http://factcheck.org/about/
PolitiFact - http://www.politifact.com
Snopes - http://snopes.com/info/aboutus.asp
Polls and Surveys
Real Clear Politics - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/about.html
No comments:
Post a Comment