One Small Voice: Local journalism is best and fairest

https://www.allgeneralizationsarefalse.com/

by Lynn Mandaville

I recently saw a posting of a media bias chart from the web site All Generalizations Are False (URL given above). Depicted as a bell curve (Media Bias Chart 3.0) with color-coded boxes and grey-scale circles and ellipses, this web site has laid out a reference of sorts by which a concerned citizen can determine the type and veracity of the information he or she can expect from specific information outlets in the United States.

Put more simply, this chart lets a person know that he can trust an article to be more factually accurate and without political bias if it is from National Public Radio than if it is from Occupy Democrats on the left or Breitbart on the right.

I was particularly interested in this chart because, if I cite a source to back up one of my opinions, I want it to be reliable and fair. My opinion means nothing if it is based on rumor, speculation, pure emotion, fear or blind political allegiance. (Some might argue that my opinion means nothing regardless of what supports it, but that is neither here nor there.)

I have often used CNN as a source, so I was dismayed to find that CNN lands on this chart smack dab on the line separating fair and unfair interpretation of the news*, and, not surprisingly, skewing slightly left. As a result, anything I see on CNN from here on out will be carefully weighed and a second source sought before I am willing to use it.

But my purpose here is not to bolster opinion journalism. It is to lift up those sources of accurate, reliable, honest news at a time when the leader of our republic desires to undermine the free press, labeling it “fake” when it criticizes him, and calling it the “Enemy of the People” (his capitalization, not mine), when it is, in fact, the information source that insures an informed citizenry and under girds a democracy.

If you were to look at the chart I reference, you will see that the news sources cited as most reliable are observed to have slight leanings to the right or left, but only slightly. And you will notice, if you look very closely at the tiny black font on both sides of the Liberal/Conservative divide, that local newspapers and news outlets are included among those most trustworthy sources.

In rating our local Townbroadcast, I would bet that it falls at the top of the reliability chart, smack dab in the center for being without bias in its reporting. Its editor, when writing a news story, gives “the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” If the editor has feelings about a news story, he is blatantly clear where his opinions are concerned, and those editorials are openly titled as such. For that reason, the greater Wayland area, and communities like it, can trust that they have accurate information at their fingertips should they choose to avail themselves of it.

If readers want opinion pieces to bolster their own political leanings, Townbroadcast offers that, too. I give kudos to Army Bob who is fastidious about including facts and figures with many of his columns.  He has had a distinguished career with the U.S. military, and he stays current with his subject matter. He is also active in his local government, and keeps versed in those matters as well. And though he and I don’t see eye to eye on most things, I do pay attention to those issues he backs up with reliable data. He is a responsible, conservative opinion writer. I count on his opinions to keep my own in check.  

I’m pretty new to this game, having written for Townbroadcast for a little over a year. I have no formal training or credentials of any kind to lend authority to my writing abilities or my opinions.  But I do have what all American citizens have, the right to express myself freely. And, if I’m a responsible American citizen, I will express myself based on the facts that have been reported to me by an uncensored, free press.

My opinions will almost always come down on the liberal side of the media bias chart, and I hope in the yellow rectangle for fair interpretation of the news. But I can’t have my opinion, just as Mr. Traxler (Army Bob) can’t have his, without responsible source material from which to derive our opinions.

It is my correct opinion that we would all be wise to consult this media bias chart from time to time (it does get updated when revision is warranted), particularly when we see something on social media. And it is also my correct  opinion that the tiny black font indicating local newspapers and news outlets should appear in bold Italic font. As our major print newspapers disappear, and as print magazines become thinner and more watered down, we will be much more dependent on digital, local, responsible, unbiased, REAL news as the foundation of our free nation.

We columnists are often just a fart in the windstorm. It is the editor at the top center of the bell curve you can trust to deliver the news when a gale is blowing.

* Indicates that I do not subscribe to the notion of “Fake News.” Information gleaned from reputable news sources cannot, by definition, be fake. See the above referenced chart for at least 17 of those reputable, national news sources.