What is the overall bias of your news sources?

[W2R]

I have been paying 3.50 a pound for pastured pork, but my usual supplier now wants 4.50. Think that is too much?

Mmmm, you got all the bacon you can handle right here, and not only that, it's 100% free!

 

[imoldernu]

I probably spend more time on news than most here on ER. With a very few exceptions, I go to all of the sources in the chart. Even sneaking by the paywalls of some.

A few that are missing... AlJazeera America, RT Russia TV, OAN One America News (TV).

To me, leaning and reading/watching are two different things.

To me, news, is "active", while other TV, is passive. It's like "being there..."

 

[Rianne]

I'm beginning to think my best news source is my neighbor. I get editorials, opinions and an entire weeks worth of news in one long walk. I don't even have to say anything.

 

[MichaelB]

Is that bacon I smell?

Perhaps the faintest whiff of tender belly cherrywood smoked first cut non-GMO organic Berkshire bacon. Surely it will fade ..

 

[Jerry1]

My focus is watching the local weather. That seems to be pretty unbiased. Not entirely accurate, but no bias that I can discern.

I pretty much avoid the news these days. I turned on the TV once and watched the same story on two different networks and it was two different universes. If you only listen to one, you’d have no idea how the other one sees the situation. It’s a shame.

My step sister is about as far as one can get on one side and I consider myself on the other side. We get along great. I believe that there’s a pretty wide dispersion on this site, but I bet if we all got together, we’d gravitate to our shared interest and common concerns and we’d get along just fine. Somehow at a macro level, at least according to the media, all we’re doing is offending each other and not getting along. I personally think the common thread is the media. Either it’s been taken over by special interests or the ownership has become too concentrated or they’ve all just drank some bad kool aide, I don’t know what, but I find it hard to trust any of them at this point.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Thanks to the graph for pointing me to Reason. Clearly it doesn't attempt to be an omnibus news site, but the stories they choose to pursue are pretty good stuff. I'm looking in particular today at a story on dairy farming that rings true. Oh, and another one delivering Kudos to Nancy Pelosi. I'm subscribing.

 

[euro]

Longtime subscriber of NYT and WSJ as I try to collect information from both sides of the spectrum. Didn't know how to reflect that in the poll, so I chose "center"

 

[euro]

This has been awful because I always envisioned retirement, as a time when I would FINALLY have the time to subscribe to and read the paper every day over coffee, something I loved to do but never had the time for when I was working.

This is exactly how I felt pre-RE but I actually managed to implement it. I spend a good chunk of time every morning reading NYT and WSJ over a couple of mugs of coffee. What a treat! I'm sad that you have not been able to realize this dream! I don't have a good local paper anymore either, but I'm sure the big ones have delivery in your neck of the woods. Don't give up! Paper subscriptions are quite pricey these days, but it is a luxury I won't soon forego.

On a more general note, I am devastated by how many people (including, apparently, many on this forum) have given up on following the news altogether due to the (perceived or real) quality issues. I think this is VERY bad news for democracy.

 

[Dawg52]

Don't watch the news anymore. Of course if there is a major hurricane, earthquake or some other disaster taking place then I will watch the evening news to see that. And other than the Weather Channel, I refuse to watch cable news channels. I do like shows like Dateline, 60 minutes etc....

 

[Music Lover]

On a more general note, I am devastated by how many people (including, apparently, many on this forum) have given up on following the news altogether due to the (perceived or real) quality issues. I think this is VERY bad news for democracy.

I haven't given up on the news but there are a lot of major news sources that I no longer trust because they've taken sides and are no longer objective...that's the real threat to democracy.

 

[Cobra9777]

I check the local small-town paper (online) for my daily update on road closures, county taxes, and the latest shenanigans at City Hall. I also scan through a few sections of interest on Google News, mainly science, technology, and a few other topics Google knows I like to read about. I also follow certain "newsy" topics on YouTube like the volcano in Hawaii, SpaceX launches, and exoplanet discoveries.

My only consumption of news (in the traditional sense) is PBS NewsHour. I don't watch, but I sort-of "half listen" to it every evening as I prepare dinner. It's definitely left leaning. But I find the reporting to be comprehensive, balanced, civil, and certainly more in-depth than anything else on TV.

I didn't answer the poll.

 

[savory]

Malcom Gladwell had an interesting podcast about how people from different political views would hear the same joke told by Colbert on his late night show and believe it was supporting their point of view. Gladwell credits Colbert for having this skill.

Makes you think about how one hears and interprets things.

 

[Moemg]

I read the local paper daily and scan the internet for top stories .I am a center of the road type person political .

 

[donheff]

I’m on the left side of the page except for the WSJ and BBC which I dabble in. I try some right side sources now and then to see what others are thinking but can never stay long. From the poll results it looks like half the forum probably mirror me from the other side. That’s one of the reasons this forum is so enjoyable. Once we cut out the divisive pure politics the diversity of opinions is valuable and enjoyable.

 

[unclemick]

I try to stick with news sources that reinforce my biases and areas of ignorance.

Al Jazeera, RT (Russia) and of course BBC. All best buddies.

Plus I worked with enough BRit, and Commonweath engineers over 30 years to form my own internally prejudiced, bias INTJ, left handed and bigoted views of the world.

heh heh heh - And then there is U Tube. Just don't talk to any 5th graders - they really are smarter than you and level headed.

 

[W2R]

heh heh heh - And then there is U Tube. Just don't talk to any 5th graders - they really are smarter than you and level headed.

At my age, EVERYBODY on YouTube seems like a 5th grader! I go there every day to get my daily injection of youthful humor and idealism.

 

[Midpack]

Like others I used to consume lots of news, even made a point of deliberately watching liberal and conservative networks in equal measure. I can’t stand to do that anymore as all my go to’s have drifted to more extreme views and less fort to be balanced. I am very selective on what I’ll watch or listen to today, and still most of the noise gets through anyway.

My primary source isn’t on the chart in post #1, so I used this one.

 

[Fishingmn]

I didn't see "America's Finest News Source" on your chart - https://www.theonion.com/

 

[euro]

I haven't given up on the news but there are a lot of major news sources that I no longer trust because they've taken sides and are no longer objective...that's the real threat to democracy.

I understand what you are saying and agree to an extent, but I think that someone who is engaged at least has a chance to overcome biased information by exploring additional sources. On the other hand, someone who is disengaged will never know...until it is too late

 

[aja8888]

I understand what you are saying and agree to an extent, but I think that someone who is engaged at least has a chance to overcome biased information by exploring additional sources. On the other hand, someone who is disengaged will never know...until it is too late

Too late for what?

 

[ls99]

...............
On a more general note, I am devastated by how many people (including, apparently, many on this forum) have given up on following the news altogether due to the (perceived or real) quality issues. I think this is VERY bad news for democracy.

May be bad for democracy. OTOH per the US Constitution:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

"Section. 4.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence."

 

[HFWR]

I suppose I’m in mild agreement with the original chart...

I rarely “watch the news”. Might catch the local weather during Texas’ tornado/hail/flood/hurricane season (Jan-Dec). Don’t have cable. I generally scan the CNN, CNBC, and Reuter’s apps for a general update, and drill down on subjects of interest. I do watch PBS programming like Frontline, American Experience, and Nova, depending on the subject matter.

There will always be bias. Which story gets covered? Who decides which questions are asked? Who edits the audio/video? Where should we set the camera? Zoom in close, or not? Etc. Having duly noted that bias exists, some “news outlets” go beyond bias into bizarro world...

 

[pj.mask]

NPR only so Center. I feel like that is an accurate description.

 

[Walt34]

The only TV shows I see are at the gym; when on the treadmill and ellipticals, they have CNN and Fox news on adjacent screens. That way I get a balanced view. Thankfully, the sound is turned off .

On the other machines, there is either no screen within vision or it is the soap operas. I'm having a hard time keeping it straight who is screwing who and why since I go at varying times and days.

I subscribe to the local newspaper because they report more on local and state news than they do on national stuff. For example, today's front page headlines above the fold are about progress on a state home rule bill, and the appointment of an interim county school superintendent, along with a photo of two kids and their dogs on sleds in the snow. Below the fold is a story about a kerfuffle in the state house (this is WV, look it up) about a poster on a wall, and all the way at the bottom is a story about the current president and a conference in some foreign country. Those are the priorities a local paper should have.

 

[Music Lover]

I understand what you are saying and agree to an extent, but I think that someone who is engaged at least has a chance to overcome biased information by exploring additional sources. On the other hand, someone who is disengaged will never know...until it is too late

I do watch them but in small doses...even if it's just to confirm that they're still spinning tales. And as you stated, there are additional sources so I'm not disengaged.