The first thing most people do in the morning is check their trusted websites. CNN, Foxnews, MSNBC, Drudge Report, and other sites where people regularly get their news of the day. The problem is that these websites are around for the purpose of making money, not informing the populace about the salient issues of the day.
As the election cycle heats up, the media, as well as the presidential candidates, will work together to influence the views Americans hold on the state of the country. The president will have us believe that the country is the path to prosperity, while the candidates, along with their media followers, will say that the country is headed for disaster. All we can do as citizens is try and be balanced and read both liberal and conservative websites, searching for the truth that lies somewhere in between.
On CNN, nearly 1/3 of the headlines are entitled, "opinion" and contain the always biased views of their mainly liberal reporters. Fox does the same. However, simply labeling an article as opinion does not take away from the fact that common Americans will still read the article and determine that the author's opinion is mainly fact. The ever increasing "opinion" pieces take away from the real reporting which used to discover facts and truths. It is very easy to sit behind a computer and bust out an opinion article in 45 minutes without doing any deep research beyond a Google search.
So how does an individual access the real news and filter out the biased attempts from the left wing and right wing media to spin the news to serve their political interests? First, when you read an article, if you look to the top of the article, below the headline, it will say who the author is. Generally, if the article says "AP" or associated press, the article is unbiased, same is the case with Reuters. If it says, Foxnews, then it is likely biased to the right, and if it says MSNBC and the respective author, it will likely be skewed to the left.
Next, try to read more than one website to obtain your news. This will allow you read both sides and make a determination for yourself. Finally, read the newspaper once every two weeks. An hour skimming of the newspaper will provide the reader with a wide range of news that goes well beyond the scope of any news websites. Foxnews and CNN only have at most 5-10 newsworthy stories on their websites per day. Yet a review of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal reveals 50+ newsworthy stories where the average citizen can actually learn facts about the world around them.
As we enter an election year, it is important for citizens to be well informed about the actual state of affairs around the country and around the world. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for citizens to access unbiased news which provides accurate information about the world. Without accurate information we cannot make informed decisions, such as electing a congress and president. If more people followed these suggestions, we would have a much more informed citizenry and a country less dominated by political extremists.
Happy reading and good luck.
