Are you a news skeptic?
It’s 10 p.m. and you’ve settled into an easy chair to watch your favorite local television news anchor tell you what you need to know about the world in which you live. Odds are you’re going to get a distorted view.
Reading the local newspaper the next morning isn’t going to be any more helpful. Those stories are also filled with bias.
It’s not that the people who work in newsrooms are incompetent or that there is a conspiracy to prevent you from learning about important events, it’s simply that the process of keeping you informed is flawed.
Most of the bias in the mainstream media comes inadvertently from the process of gathering and presenting information to you. Some news providers insert bias and opinion as part of their presentation. Regardless of your source of news, you need facts to make important decisions about your life.
Our goal is to make you a better News Consumer -- to show you how bias creeps into the news and teach you how to separate fact from context.
Armed with those skills, you'll have the power to find the truth -- you can control the story.
Explore news consumerism
Learn about bias
Bias comes from reporters, editors, sources and news consumers themselves. We'll take you behind the scenes and show you how it happens. [Learn more]
Ask the right questions
Once you know how bias enters the news, learn how to examine any news story, find the spin and locate the facts. [Learn more]
Help others be news consumers
Follow our blog, dig deeper in our book or bring us to your community to teach those in your group or organization to be news consumers. [Learn more]
Four questions
There are four questions you should ask about every news story that's important to you. These questions will help you identify bias and get to the facts.
- Is it journalism?
- Does this story have attitude?
- What are my biases?
- Is the story in the proper context?
The Amazing Dr. Fox
It's not just editors, journalists and sources that are biased -- news consumers can be their own worst enemy. We'll show you how to recognize your own biases so you can gain greater insights into what's really going on. [Learn more]
When stories get a bad start
It's easy to tell when some stories begin -- a plane crashes, a bank is robbed or something extraordinary happens. But what about other stories have have less obvious beginnings? Where a story gets its start tells you a lot about what forces are at work trying to twist the truth in their favor. [Learn more]
Dig deeper
Want to know more about how bias enters the news? Our book, The Story Behind the Story, gives you a detailed look at the process of bringing the news to you and how bias enters along the way. We also go into greater depth on how to question the news you read and explore other issues concerning bias and the press. [Learn more]