Admittedly, I'm a bit of a news junky. Seeking a variety of news sources is very important. While they all have bias, I focus on ones that are most reliable and specific journalists with the best reputations. It takes a bit of effort. Just google media bias and you can see where your news sources fall.
How do I fit it in? First, in the morning I scan the local paper and the Washington Post. Then, while I get ready for work, I listen to NPR morning edition. During the day, I don't pay much attention to news but at the end of the day, I'll watch a variety of news stations. It rotates between PBS news and BBC, CBS and ABC. Then I rarely miss Rachel Maddow as she dives deep into stories with statistics, summaries of local reporting on topics and in depth interviews. Finally, I usually turn on Sky News from the UK to get a world view.
Over the weekend, I try to catch Washington Week on PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and at least one of the weekly news interview programs.
Many sources tend to follow the same story for a few days, so rotating provides a broader view of what is happening. They cannot report on everything. And sometimes one source hits on a story that others are not talking about. My inclination when I hear, "noone else is reporting this" is to ask if they just haven't caught it yet, the story cannot be corroborated, or it isn't fully true. If it interests me, I'll dig into it as best I can. If it seems big, I wait to see if other sources validate it. If not, I just view it with skepticism.
It's a lot of news to take in and I've been criticized for it. And recently when I told someone about the variety of sources I take in, he didn't believe me. So, above, I am explaining how it is possible. I'm not an expert. I can't read every story, every day. Sometimes I don't understand what I am reading or hearing. I'm simply trying to be broadly informed with reliable information. And sometimes, I'll take an hour or two to dig deeper - look for statistics to verify a story or look for local sources that may be better and understand more.
I also listen to real people and their experiences with things that are being reported. This is where real news starts. Ask questions and listen. Think about it - process the information and fact check.
It frustrates me to see people spread misinformation often just repeating someone's talking points or re-posting a conspiracy theory. I wish people would take time to think and do a little home work. Get a broader perspective. Be better informed and when you are making an argument, use reliable statistics, facts and sources.
Yes, all media is somewhat biased. We all are and journalists are human like us. But many among us try very hard to be honest and truthful. We try to be factual. Journalists have been an important part of our democracy for centuries. It's our responsibility to seek information that is reliable. Dismissing them all and relying on a single source is irresponsible citizenship in a democracy. Not everyone will be a news junky as I am hoping people will be a lot more careful about what and whom they believe.
There are bad actors who are motivated to derail our democracy. Their first step is to have us not believe one another and question facts. We cannot solve problems, our leaders cannot govern, if we cannot even identify facts. It's going to crush us. Please turn off the shock jocks and learn to do some fact checking.
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