BMW Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I really enjoy reading the discussions on politics and current events - many of you teach me how to evaluate perspectives and media biases, etc. Honestly, I am not that good at it, and if left to myself, could easily be swayed by reporters. So, how do you do it? Are there news sources that you find trustworthy? What are they? If you take some basic news story about so-and-so or about a happening, where do you go from there? And for that matter, who do you not trust and why? Thanks, Bee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I think it is only human to have certain biases, and to see the world through our own filters. All news sources tend to reflect the world view of the news agency. They are all slanted to some extent, even if they try not to be. I think if we keep this in mind and piece together the story from a variety of sources we can come close to the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I really enjoy reading the discussions on politics and current events - many of you teach me how to evaluate perspectives and media biases, etc. Honestly, I am not that good at it, and if left to myself, could easily be swayed by reporters. So, how do you do it? Are there news sources that you find trustworthy? What are they? If you take some basic news story about so-and-so or about a happening, where do you go from there? And for that matter, who do you not trust and why? Thanks, Bee I don't entirely trust any one news source. I assume that every story has more information. It's less about what is being said than what is being left out. If you only watch CNN/FOX or only listen to NPR or only read the NYT you are missing something that ISN'T being reported. I think the key is to think through every story critically. And to never trust one voice. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I read the BBC news website (World news). It is no perfect by any means but it does have a legal obligation to be non-biased. It also covers politics in the USA very well. There is a radio station the BBC World Service, which is excellent, very trustworthy (unless you are Robert Mugabe) and is free to listen to live online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 My husband would say that BBC is too liberal. He listens to Rush Limbaugh :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Honestly none. I encourage ds, who is very attentive to the presidential candidate race going on, to do his own search for the truth and not to rely on the media. He's found some pretty interesting things. I like listening to Neal Boortz, Sean Hannidy, Rush Limbaugh etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 If you only watch CNN/FOX or only listen to NPR or only read the NYT you are missing something that ISN'T being reported. I think the key is to think through every story critically. And to never trust one voice. Jo :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieAir Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I don't trust any news sources entirely. I like to listen to NPR. I don't like to watch the news or read the newspaper because often it is so badly done (especially local TV news and newspaper) that it makes me cringe. I listen to NPR while I'm driving, so it's not really something I take time out of my day to do. I know they are left leaning and I keep that in mind. My MIL and my mom watch FOX News--waaaaaay too much of it--and then quote it to me or direct me to links. I have tried watching or listening a few times and it makes me ill. I get a headache from all the people yelling and talking over one another and I think their perspective is more skewed than NPR, though in a different direction. I listen to NPR, look around at news online, and go to links people post here. The links posted here seem to come from a variety of sources and viewpoints and I appreciate that variety. I think it helps to give me a more balanced perspective when I look at news that is presented from more than one angle. I don't believe there is much in the way of straightforward, unbiased news these days. It seems what was once valued in journalism has been abandoned almost entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 My husband would say that BBC is too liberal. He listens to Rush Limbaugh :rolleyes: I totally agree. I think Americans in general will find it too liberal in comment and content. I find it excellent for factual information about World news, but avoid the 'opinion'. It is impossible, as someone pointed out, for news to be unbiased. I must admit, I have enjoyed my break in Denmark away from any news. I now listen to a jazz station with no words... For a short time I listened to 'China Radio' which is an English language station broadcast by the Chinese government. This was a great way to test my 'propaganda detection levels'. It was actually great fun, very upbeat, with Chinese language lessons. Dh rolls his eyes! :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 For a short time I listened to 'China Radio' which is an English language station broadcast by the Chinese government. This was a great way to test my 'propaganda detection levels'. :001_rolleyes: That's a great phrase- propaganda detection levels- I like it. I like listening to the feuding talking heads for this reason. It sharpens the "propaganda detection" skills. Just because what they are saying could be considered "biased" doesn't mean it doesn't accurately portray peoples beliefs- and that is important to know. It is a skill to identify the factual errors, the red herrings, and non-answers. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I trust no one source, instead I try to read/listen to as many points of view as I can. I listen to BBC & NPR but also Neil Boortz (don't care for the Sean or Rush). I read BBC online, NYT, Washington Post, but also read Reason Magazine and The Economist. My own Atlanta Constitution is awful in more ways than one. As for T.V., I like CNN International better than the Atl. based broadcast. BBC World, News Hours with Jim Lehrer, but I also like to watch Special Report w/ Brit Hume and News Watch on Sat (don't like most all the other personalities) on Fox. I don't do all this everyday, but instead mix up what I read and watch over the week. Much of what is reported is the same whether it's on Drudge or Democratic Underground, it's just the filter in which it's reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaNY Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I read the BBC news website (World news). It is no perfect by any means but it does have a legal obligation to be non-biased. It also covers politics in the USA very well. There is a radio station the BBC World Service, which is excellent, very trustworthy (unless you are Robert Mugabe) and is free to listen to live online. Legal obligation or not, I've noticed an anti-Israel bias in their reporting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I agree that it's best to get news from more than one source. I mostly read Fox News online, but I don't like to listen to talking heads of any variety. They all get on my nerves. Sometimes late at night when I can't sleep I watch CSPAN. There's something surreal about watching Congressional debates at 2 am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 As others have said, I don't trust any of them. :D They all have a slant of some sort. That said, if I watch news on TV I usually tune into a show hosted by someone I generally agree with like Lou Dobbs. If I am interested in hearing about a breaking story from all angles I flip around to CNN, FOX, and other cable news. I watch zero network news. I don't listen to much news/talk radio, but occasionally I tune into NPR which serves as a nice, although biased in its own way, balance to some of the more conservative views I often choose to listen to. Online I try to go for more than one source as well. I often look at CNN World and The China Post which is based in Taiwan, so you hear a lot of specifics about what is going on in Asia, but it is not anti-American. There is some basis in truth on most sides, usually. It can be a challenge to sort it all out. Perhaps a four year degree in logic and rhetoric should be a prerequisite to viewing news! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Wall St. Journal, CNN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Personally, I think Boortz is hideous, and there's no way I could write my opinion on Rush. Usually it's the BBC or Pacifica radio. One of the many reasons I do enjoy those two is because they aren't afraid to say some negative things about the Israeli government and the treatment of the Palestinians. It's amazing to me how lopsided American news can be. Hehe! How about "I can always "trust" Rush to give me the conservative side of the story" :D As I said my dh loves him. He says "Rush Limbaugh isn't biased, he's RIGHT!" Personally, I don't want a biased perspective even if I share that bias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I watch/listen to/read a lot of different sources. I also watch lots and lots of Congress on CSPAN, that is at times far more telling. When my hubby was deployed he would often laugh about the news because it was so far off. He said it's like they take one piece of one incident, another piece of a second incident, a few rumors and when they think they have enough information they make a story out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Plus, I'm really picky about grammar and those sorts of things. So, my favorite, listen-to-it-all-day-long news source is NPR. However, I also read at least a few articles a day online from various newspapers/newswires. And I listen a few times a week to the conservative talk folks on the AM stations. It helps me think more critically about what I hear and read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 For factual reporting with a minimum of opinion, I read Reuters or AP wire stories (linked from Yahoo news). Our daily paper is the Financial Times mainly because it covers the oil industry well, but since they're fairly conservative for Europeans they end up centrist for the US (did that make sense?) In the same vein, we also get the Economist. For an unabashedly progressive view, I read the Nation, the New Yorker, Harper's and the Atlantic (the last 3 aren't primarily political magazines, but do some commentary). I would subscribe to a conservative publication if it offered a nice mix of bobo (bohemian bourgeouis) articles, but I've never found one that was like the New Yorker or Atlantic but from the right. I like my political commentary mixed with travelogues to interesting places and interviews with writers or artists. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 For factual reporting with a minimum of opinion, I read Reuters or AP wire stories (linked from Yahoo news). Our daily paper is the Financial Times mainly because it covers the oil industry well, but since they're fairly conservative for Europeans they end up centrist for the US (did that make sense?) In the same vein, we also get the Economist. For an unabashedly progressive view, I read the Nation, the New Yorker, Harper's and the Atlantic (the last 3 aren't primarily political magazines, but do some commentary). I would subscribe to a conservative publication if it offered a nice mix of bobo (bohemian bourgeouis) articles, but I've never found one that was like the New Yorker or Atlantic but from the right. I like my political commentary mixed with travelogues to interesting places and interviews with writers or artists. Any suggestions? I've always liked Christian Science Monitor but they may be too liberal. anyway here's the link if you are interested. http://www.csmonitor.com/ Reason is more conservative (Libertarian) but no travel talk. http://www.reason.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I used to subscribe to Reason and I did enjoy it. They do have a nice mix of articles. Thanks for the recommendation! ETA: I didn't really mean a travel magazine with political commentary. It's just that my favorites all combine general interest articles with a smaller proportion of political stories. Right now I'm reading about a woman who swam the Northwest Passage in the New Yorker. Of course they had their normal commentary upfront but there's a lot more there to peak my interest than all politics all the time. Reason was much more in that vein than something like the Weekly Standard for example. I stopped subscribing when I forced myself to cut my subscriptions down to 6 because when we first moved to the US I was like a kid in the candystore with periodicals and the paper started to be overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I try to read/watch both liberal and conservative sources so that I can get an idea of how they may differ from one another. This helps me to come to some sort of concensus about what might be *really* occurring, LOL, which is generally something between the two extremes..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Legal obligation or not, I've noticed an anti-Israel bias in their reporting. This is a very, very good point. Sometimes trying to be neutral can lead to ignorant reporting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 ...The Economist. I also like to read the NY Times, when I can, as well as a (conservative) local paper. I *might* watch CNN or Fox, but not if I can help it. :-) I like listening to the radio more. Again, a combination of a (conservative) local station, and NPR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.