News Stations - which ones are not bias and tell the TRUTH?

catsareniice1

I never know what news channel to watch to get the real scoop on issues.

emily1004

There are no news outlets that are 100% un-bias. This is because they allow the news to be sold with advertising. The Communications Act of 1934  was signed into law by FDR, part of this law allowed news organizations to sell ads. (This was amended in the 1996 by Clinton, but it didn't change any laws on advertising. The law is far more complex but the other parts are not really relevant.) In the 1950's the Nielsen TV ratings started monitoring demographics of who was watching what. This gave TV stations more information on who was watching their programs. Giving more insight on who they were targeting. Now most don't care what the content is, they just want to sell ads for the most money. So the more outrageous it is, the more people tune in. Everything gets so political because it sparks emotions in people and politics sell. They sell very well.  Some news organizations are a little better than others but that's just personal opinion. 

The internet is the worst for information, because of all the misinformation.  You can put almost anything on the internet that you want with little to no consequences. I always laugh at people that say "I educated myself or I did the research" when it turns out their only research was a google search.  

If you really want to educate yourself, read the laws. Read cases and the justices opinions. Don't google search of the laws, but the actual laws. A lot libraries have law books, including published cases and opinions. 

snp605

I agree that all news outlets have their own agenda that is driven by their (perceived) demographic base. However, I don't discount all internet research. I think the key is to draw your information from several independent sources and then putting it together with what you may already know. There are things like world events that you are not going to be able to look up in a library and trying to read the 1000+ pages of the things like the healthcare law even makes the people who get paid to do that for a living scratch their head.

If you read critically even reading biased accounts of an event is helpful because you learn to read between the lines a bit and understand the concerns of each side by what they report and what they fail to report. If I'm trying to learn something I might go to say CNN, Fox, Wikipedia, Politico,Wall Street Journal as well as some local news sites to where the event is occuring. The biggest danger I think is reading one or two stories from the same or similar sources especially blog sources and thinking you are informed on a topic. If I read an opinion blog on something and it references a particular study or statistics I go look those up for myself and read the independent material on it. Sometimes it solidifies my agreement with the blogger and sometimes I'm made aware of a bias or skewing of material so I look more critically at those areas in the future when I read something they write.

MommyLiberty5013

I agree with PPs. Get news and stories from a variety of sources. Also, read the news with a critical eye. Each person, even you and I, have a perspective or slant on an issue or story. Be aware that this exists and then be aware that anything that does not speak directly to the what, where, when, and who is probably an opinion. Opinions have bias.

catsareniice1

Thanks everyone.

I was watching Bill O'Reilly the other night. He states his show is all based on facts. Claims that is why his show is called The O'Reilly Factor.

Thoughts? 

MommyLiberty5013

catsareniice1 said:

Thanks everyone.

I was watching Bill O'Reilly the other night. He states his show is all based on facts. Claims that is why his show is called The O'Reilly Factor.

Thoughts? 

That guy is a tool box. I am a social and political conservative too, but he is full of crud information-wise and personality-wise he is a dork. His show is sensationalist journalism, just like his CNN counterparts would be. It's all meant to inflame and stir up emotions. Look elsewhere for informed news. 

emily1004

MommyLiberty5013 said:

catsareniice1 said:

Thanks everyone.

I was watching Bill O'Reilly the other night. He states his show is all based on facts. Claims that is why his show is called The O'Reilly Factor.

Thoughts? 

That guy is a tool box. I am a social and political conservative too, but he is full of crud information-wise and personality-wise he is a dork. His show is sensationalist journalism, just like his CNN counterparts would be. It's all meant to inflame and stir up emotions. Look elsewhere for informed news. 

I agree MommyLiberty. I'm not even 100% sure Bill believes what he says, but he gets high ratings being an instigator and feeding on peoples emotions. The better the ratings, the better the money. In television/media, it's ALWAYS about the bottom line. It is a multi-Billion dollar industry and keeps a lot of people employed. I laugh when people call it the "liberal media". While some are self-described "liberals" the majority of the people running the news organizations including those who sit on the boards, and the stock holders are politically very conservative and very publicly support the GOP. Money talks.

My source: I have an H who's worked in the sports/entertainment industry for over a decade. I use to work in the media, and I worked for Nielsen. Now I'm a paralegal. I'm not just pulling this stuff out of my a$$.

vlagrl29

I don't care for bill o reilly or hannity.  they both drive me nuts.  Honestly I've stopped watching Fox News all together.  They tend to annoy me now with the talk of still trying to get rid of ACA and sueing obama.  really?

rayray738

I get my news from NPR.org and BBC.com online.  They tend to be pretty straightforward and just stick to the facts.  I also just go to news.google.com and read the trending stories to get a general idea of what is going on.

BlueBirdMB

Nobody totally tells the truth.  You can't report on every single thing, so the things that they choose to report creates a slant in a certain direction.

Also, I think it's important to note the difference between news broadcasts and opinion shows.  Hannity, O'Reilly, etc, they are all opinion shows and are meant to have a slant.  They're not even making any bones about it- they are biased period.  You can choose to watch or not depending on if you agree with their bias.  News broadcasts steer away from expressing opinion and simply state facts.

Sisugal

Facts may be skewed to meet an agenda.  THe cup is 1/2 full and the cup is half empty - both are true facts about a cut that meets the 1/2 mark.
You need to look at the fact AND the the commentary that accompanies the fact. The commentary supports and agenda. When you understand the agenda - then you can "filter" the news.

I watch Brett Baire on FOX and like his news reporting - very little commentary. Catherine Herridge is also a straight shooter with her reporting with no commentary.
I watch FOX, CNN, MSNBC (when I can stomach it) and listen to PBS.  It is interesting to see how the same event is presented on different media.
Do not only watch one source.

O'Reilly is NOT a news source - his is an opinion/entertainment show  Same with Hannity. They both have an agenda they are promoting.