Ask the Readers: Best Objective News Source?
So acting in line with our new year's resolution, I thought I'd post a more conversational topic to you, our readers.
It's not uncommon for someone to tell you to quit listening to main-stream media and to "get the facts." But where exactly are these "facts" found? I've got my opinions, but do you have any news sources you've found that you think are truthful and objective? Do you think they exist?
Leave a comment and let us know!
5 Comments:
I surely don't know. If there are any, let me know. Some used to say Fox news, but I've seen enough of that channel to know it can be very slanted, not to mention shallow with pop culture coverage and garbage! But I always feel out of the loop because I don't know any current events since I never watch any news!
I think you should narrow your search from "truthful and objective" to merely "truthful". "Objective" usually means "biased in the same way I am" - and even if there were a way for the media sources act apart from their own biases, to objectively report news you'd have to know all the facts. That's a lot to ask of a news medium. I think it's enough to recognize the biases and limitations of each source, and do your own filtering.
The best method I know for judging both the biases and the truthfulness/accuracy of a source is comparing several sources over time.
That being said, here are my suggestions:
- Give up on TV news. Even when it's accurate, the medium doesn't allow for much depth or analysis. Avoid especially the 24-hour news stations, unless you're a big fan of mindless repetition of sensationalist drivel.
- If you want international news, I think the BBC is the best. news.bbc.co.uk is fairly comprehensive. It's not my favorite for domestic news, but it's still in the top tier.
- In paper, I prefer the NY Times. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are ok. I steer clear of USA Today.
- On the radio your options are pretty limited, unless you consider extremist left- and right-wing punditry to be news. NPR is almost certainly your best bet here.
Although I certainly don't think that all the sources are the same (some are clearly low-quality) each source has its own biases. Each one also has made its mistakes and reported its share of inaccuracies.
Yeah, we don't really have TV at the house, and the few over-the-air channels we do get, we haven't watched since The Office dropped off. But to me, the content at NYTimes, Washington Post, and other public newspapers online seems be less and less news-worthy.
I agree with James that if you recognize where they are coming from and therefore what their definition of objective is, I really like BBC as well - I have their international homepage as the homepage on my computer. But that's also because I really try to keep up with what's going on internationally...
I was just given a website that has a lot of info on what the different candidates stand for - I'll check it out and get back to you...
How's the baby and the belly???
- Kate :)
Thanks for y'all's comments and input!
Belly and baby are both doing great! We just had a checkup this week and everything is progressing nicely. Hopefully we'll be posting some end-of-pregnancy belly shots here soon.
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