Laurie4b Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 When I am following a news topic, I will often click through links on several sources etc. The trouble is, outside of a few major news organizations, I am not sure whether I am reading something from a source that has a slant or that may be unreliable, such as a tabloid from a different country. (I had no clue the Daily Mail was a tabloid until someone from the UK on here pointed it out.) Someone asked on another thread about a source called the Federalist, for instance, and wanted to know their slant. I think it would be useful to have it in one place. I don't think there is anything wrong with a site having a slant; in fact I read a couple different sources one of which I know has a conservative slant and the other a liberal slant. I figure I'm getting a fuller picture that way. But if I've clicked on a site that is new to me, I am often not sure if there is a slant in their general stories and it isn't always obvious on a quick perusal of the site. If I know that the conservative side will tend to say x and the progressive side will tend to say y and I read a conservative saying y, that has more significance than a progressive saying y. So, for example, Krauthammer (a conservative commentator on Fox) slamming the grand jury decision on Eric Garner as "incomprehensible" means something different than if a progressive commentator said the same thing. When people move out of their box, their words carry different weight than if they are simply seeing things from within their normal "bubble". I know the major US outlets, but I don't know the ones that aren't as mainstream, and other than knowing now that the Daily Mail is a tabloid, and the BBC is very mainstream, I don't know anything about foreign news sources. I thought a thread like this could be useful for a lot of us. If you could, just label slant without any derogatory comments so that it doesn't derail. For instance, please just say, " Mainstream, but tends to a liberal/progressive slant" or "Tends to a conservative slant" or " partisan Democratic publication" or "Is a tabloid though sometimes they print accurate news" etc. I'll try to keep up with the thread and periodically update this post so that in the end, we'll have all the sources in one post. I figure the news source that is most likely to cause caustic remarks is Fox. If we can agree that it has a conservative slant, then can we skip any scathing remarks? Thanks! Starting the compiliation: (won't be able to do it all at once): US Center +/- NPR- center to slightly left LA Times fairly neutral leans left WSJ- center/mixed (WSJ has left of center reporting, topic selection, and news, and a solidly right/conservative editorial board) The Atlantic- center to slightly left Al-Jazeera is fairly neutral but I think it would appear to be progressive to people in the US because its reporting on the Islamic world is more neutral than typical US-based news sources. Left CNN- left MSNBC- far left Ha'aretz out of Israel strikes me as liberal-leaning compared to the Jerusalem Post. Vox--slants liberal Right Fox--leans right/conservative Blaze- far right and skews facts horribly in a fear mongering way Washington Times.is conservative-leaning Chicago Sun Times is conservative-leaning Breitbart leans towards Tea Party conservatism. Tabloids Daily Mail Really sensational tabloids and also unreliable "news" sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 This site gives a rundown for UK newspapers. It's a bit out of date: The News of the World no longer exists. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 This site gives a rundown for UK newspapers. It's a bit out of date: The News of the World no longer exists. L Thanks. Perfect! This is exactly what I was wanting to compile. I think you were the one who first brought my attention to the Daily Mail. :) I have a question though. What is a mid-market tabloid? Is that better than a red-top tabloid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thanks. Perfect! This is exactly what I was wanting to compile. I think you were the one who first brought my attention to the Daily Mail. :) I have a question though. What is a mid-market tabloid? Is that better than a red-top tabloid? It's not a designation I'm familiar with, but the site says: The tabloids in turn have been divided into the more sensationalist mass market titles, or "red tops", and the middle-market papers. The Daily Mail is quite sensationalist enough for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I forgot to mention: UK politics are, in general, to the left of US politics, so read the designations with that in mind. For example, it would be political suicide for a politician in the UK openly to suggest the dismantling of the single-payer National Health Service. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Mondo Times offers a lot of this type of information, and you can learn more about how media sources are rated for popularity, content quality, political bias and credibility here. (The ratings are submitted by members based on their impressions of different newspapers and other media sources, so it's similar to what you're attempting to do here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Mondo Times offers a lot of this type of information, and you can learn more about how media sources are rated for popularity, content quality, political bias and credibility here. (The ratings are submitted by members based on their impressions of different newspapers and other media sources, so it's similar to what you're attempting to do here.) So, the reviews are from regular folks who want to vote? I'd love to see news organizations rated by a group that does actual fact-checking, etc. Because I think credibility is established on whether or not they are reporting accurately, not whether Joe Schmoes think it's credible, i.e. they like/don't like its politcal leanings. Also, distinguishing from pundits and opinion shows and the news programming. I like how the Washington Post offers its "Pinocchio" ratings, but want someone to do that for the NEWS! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 So, the reviews are from regular folks who want to vote? Yes. The OP called for regular people to comment on the slant and reliability of various news sources. The resource I posted does that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Slightly different than what you are asking, but you might like the radio program & website for On The Media. http://www.onthemedia.org http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Media Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Al-Jazeera is fairly neutral but I think it would appear to be progressive to people in the US because its reporting on the Islamic world is more neutral than typical US-based news sources. LA Times has a left-wing slant but is more neutral than many major US newspapers. Chicago Sun Times is conservative-leaning, as is Washington Post. Breitbart leans towards Tea Party conservatism. Ha'aretz out of Israel strikes me as liberal-leaning compared to the Jerusalem Post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 From where I sit, US news: CNN is centrist (and it astonishes me to find people calling it left-leaning! It is not) Fox News is, of course, highly to the right, and I wouldn't trust their opinion pieces at all USA Today is fairly neutral AP and Reuters are generally neutral Pro Publica leans fairly hard to the left, but not so much as Alternet and ThinkProgress The NY Times wants to be progressive, tends towards centrist The Washington Post also tends towards centrist, though I find their opinion pieces mixed Al Jazeera America leans towards the left Edit: Centrist and neutral are not synonymous. Centrist means advocating a position somewhere in the middle - that's US politics, not rest-of-the-world politics! Neutral means not advocating much of a position at all. You can advocate a position not simply through your opinion pieces, but through what you choose to report on and what you choose not to report on. In general, the older news sources tend to be pro-Establishment, even if they disagree with the particular people in power today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 The Economist is reliable and slants fiscally conservative & socially libertarian. It's similar to The Wall Street Journal but less conservative on social issues (that's probably due to being based out of the UK rather than the US). NPR is reliable and slants liberal. The Washington Post slants liberal. Perhaps the PP who claimed it slants conservative was thinking of The Washington Times? Most of the major U.S. newspapers slant liberal. Their tabloid-y rivals often slant conservative, probably as a way of increasing readership (think The New York Times vs. The New York Post or The Boston Globe vs. The Boston Herald, etc.) Mother Jones is way-liberal The Nation is more liberal than typical but not quite as far left as Mother Jones. The Atlantic is liberal to centrist depending on the specific article. The Weekly Standard and The National Review are conservative in an establishment way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Huffington Post is left. The Federalist is right. Slate is left. Salon is left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Thought of another one: Reason is on the right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Reason is libertarian (more left on social issues and more right on economic/market ones). Christian Science Monitor is fairly neutral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Perhaps the PP who claimed it slants conservative was thinking of The Washington Times? Yes, the Washington Times, thank you. I'll add The Hill as another conservative DC source I just thought of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 The Week is pretty neutral - they have opinion pieces that run the gamut in their online content, their print edition only summarizes everyone else's opinions. I throw it out there because if anyone is looking for a magazine subscription that will let them feel informed about absolutely everything without reading a tome like The Economist every week then it's a great pick. Fine no matter what your outlook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 You know, this all reminds me of a page at TVTropes (everything reminds me of a page at TVTropes) explaining English Newspapers. Just keep reminding yourself: The Daily Fail is what Vernon Dursley reads. Now that can NOT be good. "The Mail - news for people who lock their nephews in the cupboard!" They have one for America, Australia, and Ireland as well. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the Useful Notes at TVTropes. (Hey! I'm a poet and don't know it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Also, Reddit is good for current events and discussion on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 Thanks everyone! I was out tonight but will try to compile tomorrow. What about Vox? Does anyone know about that? I've only recently encountered it. I'm guessing it slants liberal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Thanks everyone! I was out tonight but will try to compile tomorrow. What about Vox? Does anyone know about that? I've only recently encountered it. I'm guessing it slants liberal. I really liked Vox to begin with, but now it seems they're trying to slug out quantity w/o much regard for quality. I would prefer to see fewer but deeper pieces. I agree that it slants liberal, but (IMO) not tremendously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Should we toss out the names of news sources that simply aren't reliable? Like Natural News? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Should we toss out the names of news sources that simply aren't reliable? Like Natural News? Sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Personally, I rank Mercola with Natural News. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 NPR- center to slightly left CNN- left MSNBC- far left Fox- far right Blaze- far right and skews facts horribly in a fear mongering way Washington Post- left WSJ- center/mixed The Atlantic- center to slightly left Personally, the closer to the center a news source is, the more reliable I tend to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Well, in addition to the Daily Mail, The Sun is also an unreliable tabloid. I'd love to see a list of others like Natural News that are just complete bunk. People post this stuff on FB and so often it's from really bad sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'd love to see a list of others like Natural News that are just complete bunk. People post this stuff on FB and so often it's from really bad sources. Drives me crazy when I see some of the bunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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