tib

I was thinking about the political views of the members who discuss here and I started to wonder what are good media outlets that almost all of us deem credible? It seems that any "facts" brought up by either the left or right on here are discredited as propaganda by the opposite side, keeping the endless battle of

Lefty: Well here says _____

Righty: That place is full of conspiracy theroies, anyways here says _____

Lefty: That place is nothing but propaganda, anyways this place says _____

and so on forever....

Is there any middle ground that both sides accept as straight up, unspun news and therefore can actually debate on topics instead of simply refuting each other's sources? Or is a fair media outlet based on political views and therefore impossible to be completely palatable to everyone?

benjamin

tjb,

I tend to check out http://news.google.com and read a couple of articles on the same story if there's a chance there might be bias. A good balance would be to read such leftist rags as the New York Times and Washington Post, then find the same story in the Weekly Standard and Washington Times. If you want the most dry, boring writing possible but can be relatively sure there isn't any spin, check out anything published by Reuters or the Associated Press.

News.google.com also has an unsurprisingly amazing search feature on it, so if you're looking for a specific topic, it'll find it.

Note: the Weekly Standard is an unabashedly conservative editorial outlet, so if you find yourself agreeing with everything they say, just keep in mind that its a source of editorials and not strictly news, and is thus not likely a complete picture of whatever the topic is.

Nightshade

BBC tends to be fairly unbiased but I have noticed it is taking a bit of a swing at Bush lately so I have started cross referencing articles as Benjamin was saying just to get a fair view of both sides and what the middle ground really is.

Jessica

all media is biased, one way or the other.

DVPGSR

There is a heavy, left-leaning media bias today. Fox News is considered more conservative by most because they are the most centrist of all the news outlets...and that too is too far to the right.

I tend to read from USAToday. They are pretty much an unbiased source. However I like to read the other outlets as well, although I take it with a grain of salt. This way I can better understand the arguments coming from the left so I can argue a counter point easier.

benjamin

"There is a heavy, left-leaning media bias today."

I disagree. Can you cite a study that proves it? It seems to me that the only proof generally offered is the statement itself, and studies by such groups as the media research corporation are so flawed as to be useless.

"Fox News is considered more conservative by most because they are the most centrist of all the news outlets..."

I don't know who you're thinking of that considers Fox News to be centrist, but they're living in a fantasy world. Take a quick look at the Fox News commentary lineup and you'll find such neoconservative psychopaths as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Alan Colmes is both a centrist and a wimp, and doesn't really do anything for the "fair and balanced" image that Fox News has tried to cultivate through advertising and not through content.

Check out Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.

DVPGSR

Coming from a person that has extremely liberal views of course you would disagree. Why would you acknowledge a bias in the sources that reafirm your beliefs. I wish I had a source you would deem credible that supports this...but for the same reasons you do not think there is a bias in the media is the same reason that the NY Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS will not. But read any editorial page from the NY Times, or their book reviews with an open mind and you can see which way they slant. Or watch the nightly news from NBC, ABC, & CBS with an open mind and see which way they slant. Just tonight Tom Brokaw told a blatant lie which was a shot at the Bush administration. In reference to the war in Iraq he said, "And with only the support of Britain," The whole world knows that it was a lot more than Britain that went to war with the US, so why does he have to lie to twist the news to the left?

GenXer

If a media outlet we get info. from depends on ratings for their survival, then many times it's biased to whatever will get people to watch/buy whether it's "left" or "right." That eliminates a lot them being a flawless source every time...
Getting info. from several sources and distilling it for ourselves is still the best way.

dliske

While I can't cite a particular study, Bernard Goldberg, paints a fairly poignant picture of liberal media bias in his book, "Bias. A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News." This coming from a journalist who worked side-by-side with his friend Dan Rather and experienced the bias first hand. It should come as no surprise that when his book was learned of, and after two earlier op-ed pieces about the subject, he was effectively black-balled. Do you really need a study? Spend enough time on the net and you will find plenty of examples. You just need to be big enough to acknowledge it.

Wait a minute...On one hand, you bash the Media Research Corporation (sic) because of (I assume) it being a conservative media watchdog group, and on the other you lay FAIR on us? At least identify it for what it is...a liberally aligned media monitoring group. Now there's credibility for you.

qtiger

For reading about major issues I would suggest peer review journals like Foreign Affairs and the like. Only way you're sure of fact with your fiction these days.