Where is the Unbiased News?

There is no such thing as completely unbiased news, however, some sources are much more biased than others.  Ideally we want news sources where the reporters and editors are trying to deliver unbiased news.  The reporters and editors can not be completely unbiased because they have to make decisions on what to write about or print.  An unimportant detail to them may be important to you.  Yet even with a bias the facts are usually there in the article or video to inform you.

So how do we determine biased and unbiased news?  First is the video or article written to provoke emotion?  If so, it is biased.  If you become angry or fearful because of what you watched or read then it is likely it is biased.  It appears to me that the newer the news medium the more likely there is an emphasis on the sensational.  That is a very broad generalization, but I believe in general it is true.  That means that newspapers are more likely to be reliable than cable news or social media posts.  You need to remember that the news industry wants to get and keep your attention so they can sell more advertisements, so there is pressure on them to make the news sensational.

Where are the reliable sources?  I would go with the traditional news organizations like broadcast TV (ABC, CBS, NBC) and the news services (AP News, Reuters) that supply the newspapers.  Here is a site that tries to rank the bias.  I don’t completely agree with their rankings but I believe it provides a good starting point.  You need a baseline so that you can check out the accuracy of the article/video. And remember even the most reliable news sources are not always right. Note talk shows that discuss the news usually add a bias.  They are not meant to be news sources.

So when we read an article or watch a video from a reliable source we should ask ourselves if we can see a bias.  One way is to read/watch more than one article/video on the topic from reliable sources.  You can then see what has been left out or what was differently emphasized between the reliable sources.  This will help you be accurately informed.

Also be careful to note your own bias.  What you read may be totally factual but not something you want to hear.  You need to be willing to accept unwanted news.  Or you may read/watch something totally false yet it fits with what you want to believe.  You need to question your bias.  To give an extreme example, remember Pizzagate.  Here is a guy back in 2016 who travels from North Carolina to a pizza parlor in Washington D.C., armed and ready, to rescue children who were sex slaves.  They were supposed to be held in that pizza parlor for the Democratic elite. He walked into the place and found out that he was totally wrong. He believed the fake news from an unreliable alt-right source.  The sad thing is a modified version of that conspiracy theory still lives on with QAnon.

Nowadays what you share on social media makes you a news source.  Be careful in what you post or repost.  I remember reading about a guy who tweeted something he saw that had national importance.  The tweet spread like wildfire. A few hours later he realized that he had been wrong.  He posted a retraction that went nowhere.  Unfortunately, social media promotes sensational stories and not retractions.  Make certain what you post or repost is accurate news and not fake news, so that you do not have a part in spreading a lie.