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Last updated: Mar 26th, 2014
Are there any unbiased news sources?
No! All news sources are biased. An unbiased perspective is an unattainable ideal; however, it can be approached through critical thinking and careful research. Wikipedia's Policy on Neutral Point of View gives some key insights about how to approach a truly neutral or unbiased perspective.
The key idea is to expose yourself to different perspectives. However, rather than overwhelming yourself with a large quantity of different sources, many of which are low-quality, highly biased, and/or just regurgitating the same stories, I find it more fruitful to focus on a few publications with a strong track record of editorial integrity and offering unique perspectives.
Know the potential bias of each source going in.
Cazort.net Recommended News Sources
- Christian Science Monitor - This is my favorite U.S. news outlet; I find it offers consistently solid journalism, with a good range of topics covered and a fair amount of depth and discussion.
- Haaretz - This Israel-based newspaper is of particular interest to anyone interested in Israel or Jewish issues; I find it offers a myriad of perspectives that are often not found elsewhere.
- Wall Street Journal - I find that this U.S. newspaper is outstanding in their coverage of world affairs and some domestic affairs, in addition to the area of business in which they are best known. Their journalism, however, reflects a higher degree of sanity than their editorial page, which often attracts far-right apologists.
- Al Jazeera - News from the perspective of the Arab world; Al Jazeera has consistently voiced a variety of dissenting views that have been unpopular both in the west and among Muslims. I find it is useful to check Al Jazeera for coverage of events in the middle east, as their perspective is often subtly different in key ways that can help illuminate the bias inherent in western media.
- BBC - British Broadcasting Coproration - This classic British public news outlet produces a large volume of high-quality journalism, and has very good coverage of international events.
Other Interesting but More Biased Outlets
- NPR (National Public Radio) - Yes, this organization does not just offer outstanding radio broadcasts, it has a very interesting website as well. I think NPR excels in many areas, not the least of which is its highlighting of interesting and quirky cultural phenomena. NPR is often accused of having a left-bias; while I do not agree with this, I do find NPR biased, in that it can be overly negative and pessimistic, which is its own form of bias, just as sinister (and often harder to stomach) than straight right or left bias.
- Xinhua News - The official media outlet of the Chinese (PRC) government. Interesting both in that it sheds light on the Chinese government's view of things, and also that they often cover news local to China in more detail than you will find elsewhere in English-speaking outlets.
- The Nation - If you want a nutcase left-wing paper, this is it. Much farther left than I would describe myself as, The Nation nevertheless offers intelligent perpsectives that, whether or not I agree with them, are interesting to read.
Non-news Sources that can be Helpful:
- Wikipedia - Although some of wikipedia's pages are more developed than others (and some are developed with a strong bias), I find that the pages which are heavily edited by people with differing perspectives are among the closest to an unbiased source that you can get.
Is this list biased?
Yes! However, I try to be transparent about my biases. For more information on my values, and where I am coming from, you can visit my political platform or read about my views on religion.
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