The news media has changed drastically in the past 20 years and it can be very difficult to navigate the decentralized, democratized world of news media that exists today. How do you know which sources to turn to or trust? How do you prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed or fatigued by the amount of information, analysis, and opinions coming through nearly every online platform? This LibGuide is meant to give you strategies for streamlining your news consumption as well as tools to determine which sources are reputable and which aren't.
In general, if you're looking for a "just the facts" accounting of an event or phenomenon, you'll be looking for "original reporting." If you want someone's analysis or opinion, you can turn to sources that are still reputable but that fall more into the "analysis" category.
It's important to note that major newspapers, like The New York Times, contain both original reporting and editorials or "op-eds." If you're reading an opinion piece, the piece should be labeled as such. You can also usually determine whether a piece is original reporting or "editorializing" by the style in which it's written.
Instead of watching dedicated news channels, many people are turning to using feeds and aggregators to receive their news. Here are a few that may appeal to you:
When trying to determine which newspapers you should read, especially publications from other countries that you may not be familiar with, one technique for determining what's reputable is to look for newspapers of record. The technical definition of a "newspaper of record" is one that has been authorized to publish official government notices. However, over time, the usage has evolved to refer to a widely-circulated newspaper with an excellent reputation for reputability, in which you might expect to find all the major stories of the day.
See below for a list of some candidates for "newspapers of record" in different countries.
No matter where you are receiving news or information, you should always engage in some level of source evaluation. The Media Bias Chart (left-hand box) is a great place to start.
