In modern society there is a constant flow of information and access to media. As such, the spread of news need to get creative, whether it be crazy headlines and stories that skew facts to attract consumers or targeting messages to what they know their target audience wants to hear. Due to this, its vital that individuals take the time to check multiple news sources in order to ensure they are getting not only the most accurate information, but also a holistic perspective.
I attempt to minimize bias within my news through receiving my news from various sources.
Here are my Top Five Sources of News and Information:
1. Instagram
2. Family & Friends/
Conversationally
Similar to my stance on Instagram, I believe talking to family and friends with likeminded and differing opinions and interest is a good way to receive preliminary news information. They can not only expand your horizons, but challenge you to think more critically about a topic than any other news source can as you are engaged with an individual who can respond to your questions in real time and either challenge or reinforce your beliefs by adding in their own opinions on the topic at hand. This form of news intake is most effective when all parties go into the conversation with open minds, otherwise it can lead to some nasty arguments... yikes! Just like with Instagram heavy bias and misinformation is common with this method of news intake. Conversations are a good way to discover what is happening around you, but it is essential to do independent research from reputable news sources following these conversations.
3. Television News Networks
My third form of news media most frequently used is television news channels. I like these sources as I know that they tend to be more reputable and have more accurate (although still biased) information, as they have journalists who check the stories and their facts. Moreover, I like that live news has the newest stories, and that newscasters try to capture them as they break to give viewers real time, accurate information. In addition, I love the visual component to television news being the film nerd that I am. I think it adds something to be able to see people and their reactions to the information they are providing, as well as see the visual components of a story as it unfolds. I also like how these channels will often interview nearby people or bring in experts/special guest to offer perspective on any given issue. For those interested in consuming television news, I recommend checking out a combination of local and national news networks. I personally watch both from a variety of networks in channels, so I can see multiple sides of one story. Some of the most popular cable news networks are NBC, Fox News, and CNN, but there are many more to explore.
4. Online Newspapers
Online Newspapers is another strong resource for receiving accurate up to date news. Like news networks, online paper have journalist who verify information for their news stories making them tend to be more accurate. Newspapers usually have people who specify in different categories of news, so the stories you read will most likely be from a well informed individual who is passionate about the subject matter, and that shows through in their work. Newspapers tend to have the most detailed stories, with multiple sources of information. The stories are also well laid out with key information easy to find. If you stumble across something you aren't sure what it means or want to learn more about, I find it easy to flip to a new tab and do a quick search before resuming reading the story (sometimes journalist will even anticipate this need and include hyperlinks to make your search easier). Another perk of online newspapers is that when you go to the news outlet's website, you can choose what category/general subject you want to read about based on your mood then find a random article from there or you can search a specific topic/article. For these reasons, I love online newspapers and its my favorite method of receiving news, despite the fact that I don't use it as frequently as the others. Popular digital newspapers include the Washington Post, New York Times, Fox News, CNN and much more!
The IPhone's News App is great in the sense that provides notifications of breaking news stories. I find the alerts very helpful for knowing what is happening and the world and what stories I should search up. Every now and then a story title will pop-up and I can't help but click to read more on the IPhone's app. However, in general I find the news stories provided to be very catered towards me in my interest (which makes sense because it stores cookies and asked me to subscribe to networks and categories I want to see more) and I am lacking an overall picture of what is really happening due to the extreme bias if content pushed in front of me.
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