Getting your news.

[Ynna]

I thought Al Jazeera was one of those Muslim radical shows.

I think it's more along the lines of CNN or BBC world but in Arabic.

[caractacus]

The problem with things like the BBC is while they try to maintain their impartiality they will always be slightly biased because of the education and recruitment process that the journalists have been refined through even if they don't believe it themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKRPIiMhqV4

[Dreamless]

I thought Al Jazeera was one of those Muslim radical shows.

It is not. It's an Islamic media company which runs an excellent news service. It's distinguished itself as being the only media company in the Middle East willing to broadcast dissenting views, and has continuously proven to be committed to and adept at circumventing censorship attempts by certain parts of the Arab world.

[Grummgug]

The problem with most news sources is that they commit "lies of omission" which can be very tough to spot unless you are very well-versed on a subject.

Let's take for example fixing the economy. You might listen to left-leaning news outlet on the subject, and they'll discuss how some people think the answer is for government to spend more money, and others want to cut government and pay down debt. All of that is true. But what they won't talk about is cutting regulation. They edit that option out like it doesn't exist. Its a fallacy of the false dilemma. And its a lie of omission. And unless you know enough about the topic of fixing the economy to know that option is out there, you'll never even spot the bias.

That's the devious trick when it comes to media. You can fact-check them and they can be 100% accurate. Everything they told you was true. The LIE, or the bias, is found in what they OMITTED from the news report.

---------------------

Another form of bias you'll find is in usage of double standards. Let's say Obama makes a controversial remark. A left-leaning news outlet's response will be to give him multiple opportunities to clarify his remarks, and then they will report he was taken out of context. But then Rush Limbaugh makes a controversial remark, and they never him 1 second to clarify his remarks. They never claim he was taken out of context. They run with the story in the worst possible light.

That's how a media source can paint Obama as a moderate and Rush Limbaugh as an extremist. They do it without lying. They do it with how they frame the story. That's how a left-leaning news outlet can work to discredit right-wing news outlets.

[someotherguy]

I watch cnn, it seems like news.
Fox is not news, they just bash. MSNBC doesn't seem to have anything on whenever I turn it on.

[Onimi]

So, as a young person who is wanting someone strong enough to resist corruption and be a good leader of our country... Where would I get my news from to find the TRUE facts. I always see "Fox news this" and "MSNBC that" and I don't understand the hate towards either.

That's not to say I'm for any specific news cast.. I just want to know... Where do people get their facts so that they know outright everyone else is completely lying? Where would someone who wants to get involved in this type of thing to make an educated decision find the right news anchors to tell the real story?

Please no de-railing I love MMO-C mods and I just want to learn.

Lunaticoutpost.com is a great site to get news from. It is not actually a news site, but it does have lots of articles about stuff that is going on in the world.

[Adam Jensen]

I generally go to places like Fark.com and Reddit. I look at many different sources and I read the reddit and fark comments (some Farkers are surprisingly intelligent) for further insight.

Other than that, I generally scan BBC or CNN and I know CNN is biased, but I scan it for current events more than politics anyways.

I avoid Fox and MSNBC. Fox has far too much right wing propaganda and MSNBC has too much of a left bias.

[Jeina]

Comedy Central.

[NeonX]

I mainly just watch BBC news.

[Sills]

CNN is biased but when compared to the other two (Fox and MSNBC) its not too bad. Its watchable at least. You will be hard pressed to find unbiased news coverage anywhere but in the US it's impossible. All you can do is try to find a station where the bs is kept to a tolerable level.

[bekilrwale]

The Daily Show is a good recap of the days major news events, and provides some comedy to go along with it=]. It leans towards the left ever so slightly, but who really cares.

[Deleted]

as much sources as possible...

[semaphore]

The Daily Show is a good recap of the days major news events, and provides some comedy to go along with it=]. It leans towards the left ever so slightly, but who really cares.

It's kind of sad that the Daily Show is even considered a source for "news" given their self-description...

[Deleted]

Well, I generally get my news from the BBC, Sky News or the Guardian.

I take it all with a pinch of salt though, as it is impossible to present information in a completely unbiased way, particular important or contested events which make headline news. Writers will always produce articles which are coloured by their own views and perspectives, as it is a natural and inescapable human response to form an opinion and this affects how we relay information between each other, whether we mean to or not.

If you are concerned about the credibility or motivations of a specific company or outlet, do a little research into their backgrounds and try to discover their angles (eg. Daily Mirror - Right-wing, BBC - Left-wing). This will allow you to take the information you want from their stories while still remembering which party (in the broad sense of the word, not just politically) they are likely to favour and how this may affect their publications.

For me, it helps to have a fairly good idea of my own politics and ethics, as I hope it makes me less susceptible to having my opinions swayed by how the news is presented to me. For example, I am anti-totalitarian, so I will always oppose regimes like that of the Ba'athist Parties in Syria and Iraq and I am a staunch secularist, so I don't condemn the 'War on Terror' , as much as others on the Left might.

I used to like to regular read/hear Christopher Hitchens interpretation on current events, as the man had a brilliant mind and perspectives very similar to my own (probably because he shaped mine in a big way), but since he passed away, I've had to think for myself and it can be quite difficult sometimes.