Remember opportunity cost from economics 101? No? It's not too complicated. By writing this blog now, I cannot go for a walk, drive or read a book at the same time. So while we hear all about the latest covid news, Ukraine, January 6th, jobs and inflation what are we not hearing about? Well, here's one interesting list to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. "For profit" news is bad enough about limiting the discourse. They're an additional two problems as well, media consolidation and removal of the Fairness Doctrine. Here's a little experiment you can do right the comfort and relative safety of your own couch.
Channel surf the national news and watch how they all basically cover the same "big" stories of the day. You can also observe each one's particular slant on the event as well. For added entertainment, repeat the exercise but with the "local" news. With six corporations owning 90% of news outlets, we have only the illusion of choice. Less competition, less alternative views and most importantly, less questioning are the result. These companies also have a huge online presence as well. The internet can be a good source of information if you know where to look. Here's a pretty good list. How can you avoid falling down the rabbit hole of propaganda, false news and extreme bias?
Here a few tools you can use.
And for more information SpotFakeNews.
I like to look beyond US news outlets to see what the rest of the world is talking about. BBC, Al Jazeera and Asia Times are three I like to check out. It can be a way to see what our own media is not covering. If a story seems off or slanted, se what other sources have to say. No source can be 100% objective but some may get closer than others.
1 comment:
Good point. Reagan’s ending the Fairness Doctrine did a lot to open the airways to propaganda, or at least heavily slanted news. The consolidation of corporate media empires has limited the range of news that is reported. Both of those are unhealthful for a democracy. Distrust of corporate, mainstream, media had pushed many people toward fringe media, unvetted “news” that may be completely untrue. Your suggestions on where to look to fact-check is very helpful. I am a big fan of BBC. ThNks for your blog!
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