MEDIA BIAS: LOOKING FOR BIAS

"The best journalists...learn to practice...'the way of skeptical knowing.'" 
News consumers today need to use similar methods to evaluate the information we receive from multiple sources.

The way of skeptical knowing--which involves asking and knowing how to answer a set of questions--is a way to verify the news we get.

1. What kind of content am I encountering?
2. Is the information complete; and if not, what is missing?
1. Do you know Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and have no Questions left in your mind that aren't mentioned?
   
3. Who or what are the sources, and why should I believe them?
4. What evidence is presented, and how was it tested or vetted?
5. What might be an alternative explanation or understanding?
6. Am I learning what I need to?

• Look for journalists who use "nuance, detail, and evidence of a certain care.....work that rises above just describing events, that adds a deeper level."
• Do you have enough information to explain this story to someone else well?
• List your top ten issues that matter to you the most.  How often do you consume information about them?
• Ask about the news you heard today:
  
  1. What news did I get on what topics?  Is it important? Do I wish I had searched for other news?
  2. Did the news significantly advance my knowledge with important details?
  3. Did the news tell me something fundamentally new, or just reinforce what I already understood?
  4. Did I learn something about one of the things that I consider most important?

*Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel (2010), pp. 30-31, 153, 166.