Biased News Outlets

More often than not biased news outlets spew their misinformation, primarily via headlines that grab attention. Reading the accompanying articles broadens the details but does not change the trajectory of the piece. It intends to mislead and continues to do the job. Which print news outlets might these be? Here’s a short list. Some might surprise you.

·        Wall Street Journal: a Rupert Murdoch publication. Enough said. The WSJ has mostly been a conservative news source because of its homage to economic power on Wall Street. That power is not always in the best interest of the American people. Under Murdoch the power is manipulated.

·        Washington Examiner: the leftover news organization begun by the Rev. Moon of cult fame back in the 80’s and 90’s. Today the Examiner is a conservative, far-right rag that makes news rather than reporting it.

·        Newsweek: this used to be a highly trusted news magazine that fairly competed with Time Magazine. Newsweek, however, could be trusted to take the conservative line on any issue most of the time. Today that is still true. Headlines do not make the story, but they use headlines to steer emotional response to their bias.

·        Fox News: Rupert Murdoch owned and controlled. Their public record is clear. Enough said. Totally biased.

·        Chicago Tribune: has a long history of conservative/Republican bias. Normally more sedate and genteel so headlines are not incendiary. However, the long term bias is not just legendary. It is current as well. Not a reliable news source on national or international news. It has earned this reputation doggedly. It even toys with local Chicago news along the same lines.

·        Los Angeles Times: better than the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times is more balanced but still skewed toward republican politics and conservative views. The DNA explains it: it has long been a member of the Chicago Tribune publishing family.

This is a short list. A longer list would find national television networks shading themselves. NBC News is one. In their attempt to appear balanced they often do not tell the whole story, just the bits that make it interesting and attract viewers. The full story must be carefully told if the American people are to understand the what, who, why of any story. CBS does its homework but that is best explained by their star news program – 60 Minutes. A news magazine at its base, 60 Minutes does a good job explaining what has occurred, who is involved, and why it matters. That should be the hallmark of every news item.

Past American journalism tried to be fair all the time. sometimes their excitement over breaking news skewed their data checking, but in the main they tried to do the right job. With cable news competition coupled with the free-wheeling internet and social media commentaries, network news has less time to get the story right the first time. They also have fewer and fewer news staffers to do the research and double checking to keep the details straight. This is a lesson where more really does mean less.

If I were king of the universe, I think I would establish hard and fast rules on journalism and fund it heavily so it has the resources and time to do the job right. Like the role of a public university, expanding the boundaries of the known world and its facts is a sacred duty to remain faithful to facts and data. The what and who is mostly correct. It is the why that is in default these days.

The why. So many want you to see the why their way, their biased way.

How can we correctly fix this without becoming biased ourselves?

April 28, 2021