Conservatives have been bemoaning the liberal media bias for a while now. And, as much as I hate to admit it, even I can see that it exists. Now, I love watching Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC just as much as the next liberal, feminist, environmentalist hippie, but sometimes I'd like to watch someone who at least pretends to be objective. So I figure I should turn to the channel that touts "fair and balanced" journalism - Fox News. But let's be honest; within the first five minutes of Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck, I'm irate.
The truth of the matter is plain and simple; I can't watch Fox News or MSNBC and expect "fair and balanced" reporting. It takes a little more than the opposable thumb to find the truth about what's going on in our world. Instead of relying on these inevitably biased news sources, we need to do more in-depth research to find out the truth ourselves.
Maybe not all of the other forms of mass media have been taken over by the left-wing. But, as the right is so keen to point out, National Public Radio most certainly leans to the left. And what about the New York Times? Clearly the Times' OP/ED section is overrun with liberal bias. And of course we can't forget all of those left-wing blogs that spew nothing but hate and falsities (The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, etc).
But the liberals can't be the only ones to blame. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and a myriad of other conservatives host radio shows that do not even attempt at objectivity, and often times make erroneous, offensive claims. And the Wall Street Journal's editorial pages are rife with right-of-center opinions and writers. Furthermore, Hot Air and The Drudge Report represent some of the many conservative blogs available on the internet.
So it seems pretty clear to me that objectivity falls by the wayside in favor of appealing to what viewers, readers, or listeners expect to hear (and want to hear). To be truly informed citizens, we must break out of our comfort zones of MSNBC or Fox News and question the veracity of our favorite news personality's claims. But even gaining more than one perspective is not enough; we must also find objective media sources that provide citizens with accurate, non-biased information on political events of the day.
It's quite clear that the way that MSNBC presents news stories is extremely different than the way that Fox News presents the same story. Take the Healthcare Town Halls for example. Rachel Maddow's reports paint the protestors as crazy, irrational extremists. Bill O'Reilly, on the other hand, portrays these protestors as citizens concerned with the future of our nation. No matter which side you fall on politically, watching both of these personalities can prove beneficial. It's important to know and understand opposing viewpoints to better elucidate your own views, and keeping an open mind to the opposition will not only further educate you on some subjects, but may also, in some instances, change your opinions on certain issues. Finding out both sides of the story before you make a judgment is usually a pretty good policy, and this goes for political opinions, as well.
We must also research beyond opposing viewpoints to figure out what the truth of the issues really are. Web sites such as factcheck.org, politifact.org, and ontheissues.org all provide non-partisan ways to research the veracity of candidates' statements, internet rumors, and politicians' stances on important issues. Factcheck.org does the hard work for you - they fact check the president's speeches, claims (and ads) made by the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and other political organizations with clear agendas. Politifact.org has these same features, but also holds President Obama accountable for his campaign promises. The "Obameter" tracks which of Obama's campaign promises he has kept, broken, compromised on, taken no action on, stalled on, and which promises are in the works. This feature provides citizens a great way to judge Obama's progress in the White House and make informed decisions on how much they approve of the job he is doing. Ontheissues.org is yet another non-partisan Web site that provides the people with politicians' stances on hot-button issues. This Web site uses quotes and the way politicians vote on these issues to create profiles of hundreds of politicians. These sites are less biased than the average media outlet because instead of having well-known personalities putting their "objective" spin on the news, they stick to the facts; none of their writers inject personal opinion into the stories. Furthermore, Factcheck.org and Politifact.org both report on fallacious claims made by both Democrats and Republicans, making it clear that both parties are guilty of sins of omission.
So next time you settle in to watch Greta Van Susteren on Fox, Chris Matthews on MSNBC, or that Silver Fox, Anderson Cooper on CNN, take what they have to say with a grain of salt. Remember that they all have their own political axe to grind, and nothing you get from them will be completely objective. Instead, take a little more time to do some extra research and fully inform yourself from some non-biased sources.
Claire Shotwell is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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