I read AP, Reuters, WSJ and BBC. Follow a few local reporters on X. Follow zero pundits.
Will watch local TV news occasionally. Will occasionally read my local newspaper for (very) small town news.
I avoid all national network cable news (CBS/NBS/ABC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, Newsmax, OANN) like the plague. That shit ain’t news. It’s spoon-feeding opinions to those looking to have their confirmation biases confirmed. In other words, watch CNN/MSNBC for left-wing punditry masquerading as news, same for Fox/Newsmax/OANN on the right. The big 3 networks aren’t as obvious, but still slanted left.
I worked in print journalism as a reporter and editor for almost 20 years. I am professionally trained to spot a bullshit source from a legitimate one. (Libel lawsuits are expensive and my most important role was to edit potential lawsuits out of stories - such as referring to someone on trial for murder but not yet convicted as a murderer - and to verify questionable sources). The stuff that passes as “news” on both sides today is alarming.
I also learned that most news decisions are based on money/clicks. I can also speak to the liberal media thing from my experiences. It is true that a lot of reporters/photographers/editors are, in fact, liberal. However, most brass to include publishers, managing editors and advertising executives are conservative. The brass calls all the shots in terms of what makes print or air. Yours truly was once admonished by my former publication’s brass for running a political cartoon making fun of Trump’s propensity to misspell words on Twitter. It ran after 7 consecutive days of pro-conservative cartoons. I was taught balance and knew that 100 percent of the people reading that rag weren’t of the same political persuasion. I tried to toss everyone a few crumbs.
I was the guy who’d find liberal and conservative opinions on the same topic and run it side-by-side on an opinion page. You know, presenting both sides of an issue. (I find it important to understand opinions you might not agree with.) Got told to stop running the liberal part because we were in a conservative area and pandering for cash was more important than free exchange of ideas. Essentially, the concept of journalism is dead. It’s been replaced by pandering and confirming biases and that goes both ways.
