Traditional newspapers are periodic, often daily, publications written by journalists. Journalists seek to inform their readers and explain events, sometimes offering commentary on them.
The majority of newspapers in the United States serve local communities. Some newspapers have a national prominence beyond their cities of publication, The New York Times and the Washington Post being examples.
The news article is the standard component of the traditional newspaper. These articles are often meant to inform the reader of events, possibly with some added interpretation of them. By creating a published account, newspapers serve as an important tool in documenting events.
The general expectation of a news article is that it reports the facts. Nonetheless, various newspapers might display bias in both the material it choses to cover (or not cover) and in the way it convers the news.
There are independent, high-quality news organizations whose coverage is syndicated. Examples include the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters.
Newspapers often have sections in them devoted to opinion. In the world of electronic newspapers, opinion and news articles might be merged. If you read a news article online, look for articles labeled "Opinion." These so called "editorials" or "Op-eds" are letters selected by the newspaper editor for inclusion in the paper. They might also be the opinions of the newspaper's editor.
Opinion pieces are meant to reflect the opinions of the people who write them, and usually do not carry any expectations of neutrality.
Certain newspapers and sources are known having a partisan slant to their opinion pages, and possibly their news coverage.
All major newspapers have an online presence. Online news sources include online-only publications, of which the quality varies widely. Just because a publication has a professional looking website does not make it a source that conforms to professional journalistic standards.
Evaluate each online source for its own merits and potential or obvious biases. There are many news websites and blogs that are intended to appeal to a particular audience rather than to the general public.
Cable News channels have a major online presence, including written coverage in addition to videos. Cable news is particularly known for political bias. Much cable news coverage freely mixes news reporting with opinion. The major examples are CNN, Fox, and MSNBC.
Prior to the cable news era, most broadcast news was controlled by a small number of broadcasters (like NBC, CBS, and the PBS Newshour) that upheld high journalistic standards and served as gatekeepers of information in a way similar to the major newspapers.
The wide availability of sources online means that there is no longer a central gatekeeper for the news, a fact that is both celebrated and lamented.
The key to evaluating news sources, especially online, is not to believe everything you read. Predatory news publishers, those who seek to mislead you, will attempt to take advantage of the human tendency to trust. The first, and most significant step, to evaluating sources is to be aware that not everything you read or hear is correct, sometimes as the result of an accidental error, and other times as a result of intentional misinformation. Some news is developing, and will change as the facts change.
Being a responsible consumer of news requires you to consider each source you encounter and to run a quick mental checklist that considers the real value of the source to your project and the veracity of the source's information itself.
One of the greatest strategies in research is convergence. Look for facts that are written and spoken about by more than one source.
The history of American newspapers has not always been one of valuing neutrality. In fact, early American newspapers were notoriously partisan. Modern newspapers normally adhere to a standard of ethics that requires an expectation of neutrality in their reporting. News sources are so varied, however, that neutrality cannot be assumed without reason. News consumers should evaluate news sources for potential signs of undue bias:
You should always consider bias in any news story you encounter. A healthy skepticism keeps you from believing and repeating just anything you read or hear.
Be aware, however, that the reason misinformation spreads is because ordinary people share it and repeat it as though it were accurate! It's just as important to evaluate the source of information as it is to evaluate your own biases!
All humans have biases to some extent. We inherit and learn biases from our upbringing and life experiences. These inherited and learned biases are termed implicit biases. Implicit biases can be difficult to spot in ourselves. They are usually thought of as unknown biases that a person holds that cause that person to favor members of his or her own group over other groups.
The opposite of an implicit bias is explicit bias, which describes a bias a person knowingly holds and acts on.
The important thing about being a critical consumer of information is being aware of your own biases while you try to detect those in the sources you encounter.
How might implicit bias impact the way you read news stories on certain topics?
Confirmation bias describes the tendency of humans to make a decision and then seek out information that supports that decision and avoid information that opposes it.
Confirmation bias is important to the spread of misinformation because people with certain political beliefs on a topic, for example, will often judge a story by how well it conforms to those preexisting beliefs rather than other facts in evidence.
Confirmation bias acts as a type of implicit bias. Try to be aware of your reasoning habits. If you find yourself dismissing sources simply because they disagree with your current beliefs, you are probably guilty of confirmation bias.
Fact checking is an important part of any legitimate journalistic operation. Fact checking websites are one place to try to find information about the veracity of a new story. Be aware that they can themselves sometimes draw controversy. Always look to where sources convergence on the facts.
Fact-checking and accountability journalism from Associated Press journalists around the globe.
"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases"
Lead Stories uses the Trendolizer™ engine to detect and debunk the latest trending fake news stories and hoaxes found on known fake news sites & networks, prank generators and satirical websites.
Known as the "definitive internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation"
