So, I've been talking a lot with my UVU students about understanding and evaluating sources, especially understanding a writer's point of view, expertise and agenda. Because I tend to lean left in a community where most people lean to the right, people may think that I'm just a victim of the liberal media.
Well, I don't believe I am.
I try very hard to find news sources that present balanced views (of both fact and interpretation of fact). Of course, because I lean left, I have a higher tolerance for left leaning media (we all like to hear what we want to hear, don't we?), but I make a conscious choice not to swallow it whole. In fact, I actively counterbalance my tendencies by tuning in to Fox News from time to time.
So, here is my list of my five favorite regular news sources for national and international news (which, as you'll notice, does not include entertainment personalities posing as serious editorialists at either end of the political spectrum):
- BBC News (both updates on the radio after I drop Jack off at school and as I drive home from UVU and a daily check of the website). It's especially interesting to get a less US-centric take on international news.
- Diane Rehm's weekly news roundup, one hour of in-depth discussion of national news followed by an hour of international. It is broadcast on Fridays, but I usually end up listening to the show as a podcast over the weekend. The whole show is a panel discussion format with guests with a range of political views. They often disagree with one another but they engage in civilized, meaningful discourse. Her other shows during the week are also very interesting and informative (and she regularly hosts authors of books!).
- This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday mornings. He'll push political guests from both parties, and the round table discussions include panelists with a broad range of views, including regular George Will, a classic conservative. Again, disagreements expressed, but the discourse is civil. (Note: I'm not sure why I started watching this Sunday morning pundit show regularly as opposed to any of the others, but I did. And was even happier that I did when I found out that George is married to one of my favorite funny people, Ali Wentworth.)
- The New York Times online. I know, I know. Some think it has a liberal slant. But I love reading the editorial page, which presents a wide range of perspectives, including the opinions of several regular columnists who are quite conservative. Plus I've become addicted to reading the op-ed comments! Usually online media comments are completely inane, but NYT readers are particularly thoughtful and they express their ideas really articulately. Not surprisingly, the comments are more often on the liberal side, but I have read countless well considered conservative comments.
- The quick news update on Good Morning America or the Today Show every weekday at 8:00 a.m. No in-depth coverage, but at least I'm up on the major headlines. This is a habit I've had ever since 9-11. It's been years, though, since I held my breath before turning the television on. I pray that never changes.
3 comments:
There is a theory that there is no "liberal media" at least in the main stream. All large media is owned and controlled by wealthy people and they are not liberal. The idea that the media is liberal is a marketing tool used by some media outlets to win ratings by appealing to their gullible audience.
The media marketing themselves as conservative become more and more polarized to the right in an effort to prove their conservativeness. The problem with any organization that bases its values on being more of what they are than the next person is they end up spinning farther and farther from their base. A good example of this is the liberals in Europe. There is a saying that "The greens eat their own." Anyone who leads by taking a stand is supplanted by someone who will take a more extreme stand and they criticize the former leaders for not being true to the cause. If you want to see a local example just ask someone who has been a member of the dominant political party in Utah if the party stands for and acts upon the same values it did thirty years ago. Just because a party has used the same name for generations does not mean it is the same party your parents supported.
I don't doubt at all that you keep yourself well-informed on current political noise. I consider you thorough. And just like you need a balanced intake in your news viewing/listening, we need it here in Utah in our living. Thanks for your responsible representation of the left (at least for leaning that direction). Side note... you seem to like the number 5. A liberal thing? LOL
I like the number 5 because it's very moderate on a scale from 1 to 10 :).
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