I would like advice on news sources please

[lovenhim]

Hello everyone. I am not a huge fan of the news because I feel it is biased and the news reported is based on that bias such as conservative, liberal, etc. I really do not know who the players are to be honest nor which news channel holds which views. I do not watch the news because they never have anything good to say. It is all about murder, shootings, disasters, etc. To me it seems to be about ratings and not about truth in reporting. Bad news sells and gets ratings. I am looking for help in learning more about news so I can keep up with what is going on but avoid all the name and blame and debates you see on the news. If it helps, I would consider myself more conservative than liberal. As far as I can tell the major cable news networks just seem to be in it for the ratings with Fox doing the conservative bit and CNN doing the liberal bit. Both of them have an angenda it seems and I and not sure either of them is reporting truth. I am not trying to start a news debate or a left vs right thread. I just want to know where I can find trustworthy news about what is going on in this country......real facts, not opinion. There was a song from the 80s called Dirty Laundry. It pretty much sums up how I feel about the mainstream news. Are there any news sources out there that report the good that is going on in this world?

[Sazabi]

Al-Jazeera English is pretty good, though sometimes has anti-Israeli sentiments; they're one of the better news agencies around, though, IMO.

[Steinar]

My strategy is trying to read news sources with completely different perspectives and agendas. I think that's a sound wherever you are placed in the political spectrum. If you speak move than one language, it's also very enlightening to read news in those. It's an old joke in Norway that if you want to know what's going on in Norway, read German news.

E.g. RT.com, which reads like a mouthpiece for the Putin regime, is a good addition when reading mainly Western news outlets.

It's the same as food, all of it is poisoned, so try to avoid overdosing on any single one. 

[Singh]

deutsche welle ( http://www.dw.de/ ) and MHZ Global ( http://www.mhznetworks.org/programs/global-news )

 

[mvyrmnd]

The BBC is pretty good - and if you can get it ABC (as in Australia) is good too.

[jerseydevil]

The BBC is pretty good - and if you can get it ABC (as in Australia) is good too.

+1 on the BBC.  I tend to ignore CNN and FOX, and usually check the BBC and the local paper's website for news.

[powernoodle]

Watching all news sources and then deciding for yourself what the "news" really is may be best.  I have no trust in the leftist American media, and not a whole lot in the few conservative outlets.  Consider how the liberal media has completely ignored Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who allegedly killed several live-born children after botched abortions.  Or how they are now completely ignoring the Benghazi hearings where our own government failed to protect its ambassador and then lied and spinned after the fact.

What to do?  Many take in as much coverage from as many different sources as possible, and then using our discernment skills to look for kernels of truth.

[gustophersmob]

Since I doubt I can make a post that does not veer far to much into politics, I'll just link this:

[dks]

You tend to find that most media will have some sort of protective agenda, "ignoring" certain news happening close to them or are against their views/country whilst exagerating others, to support their views/country.

I remember a few years back going from the UK to another country and finding out that there were "big" troubles in London, whereas the BBC, in the UK, did not say anything about it. Maybe the troubles were not important enough so the BBC ignored them and the other news broadcasters, in a different country, just exagerated them, or maybe something was hidden.
 By using imaginative action shots, or even shots from films you can make anything look ugly.

Generally I read most papers, in languages I can read.
For english speakers: BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Sun (similar news as the Times but free online), CNN, Skynews. The BBC tends to be the best, though you have to understand that it is not really 100% independent, though it is better (more unbiased)  than it used to be.

[gustophersmob]

You tend to find that most media will have some sort of protective agenda, "ignoring" certain news happening close to them or are against their views/country whilst exagerating others, to support their views/country.

I remember a few years back going from the UK to another country and finding out that there were "big" troubles in London, whereas the BBC, in the UK, did not say anything about it. Maybe the troubles were not important enough so the BBC ignored them and the other news broadcasters, in a different country, just exagerated them, or maybe something was hidden.
 By using imaginative action shots, or even shots from films you can make anything look ugly.

Generally I read most papers, in languages I can read.
For english speakers: BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Sun (similar news as the Times but free online), CNN, Skynews. The BBC tends to be the best, though you have to understand that it is not really 100% independent, though it is better (more unbiased)  than it used to be.

I have found this to be true in the US as well.  If you want to see the bad things happening, it is best to visit sites like telegraph.co.uk as it won't be reported here (for example, the complete lack of reporting on depression era-esque tent cities popping up all over).

[firiki]

For english I prefer the BBC, the Guardian, the Independent, the New York Times, the Economist. The flow of information is a very delicate matter, so much being said (or not). One must be able to judge for oneself but that isn't always an easy task. I can read the papers in 5 languages. It's interesting to cross what is being written on the same matter and try figure what dictates one policy or the other.

Most of the mass media here are disgustingly and blatantly sold over to their owners' interests. There was an interesting article on this not long ago, I'll see if I can find it should anyone care.

Edit: Here is that article. I think it is very accurate. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/17/us-greece-media-idUKBRE8BG0CF20121217

[nuphoria]

I guess it comes down to agenda.

If a news service has one, that's what you get.

[ryan1835]

bbc is acceptable but it always swings to the side of whatever political party is currently in charge i found

[papercut]

Honestly the best news source is the NoAgenda Podcast.  Sometimes it gets a little whacky, but it is generally pretty good.  Add a bit of Drudgereport and the NY Times and you have a pretty well rounded news supply.

Cheers