mini note: just the facts, please
finding the truth in our media stratosphere
Following my plea to encourage you to be an informed voter (and vote) yesterday, I’m following up with a mini note about where to find reliable media. I’ve got some analysis tools and a few suggestions. Also, I’d love to hear where you get your news and analysis (real news, not outrage entertainment; I don’t have time for that).
assessing bias and accuracy in your news outlets
Our media space is a mess.
Many mainstream media outlets are more entertainment than news, which would be fine if they disclosed that (but they don’t).
Too many media channels prioritize outrage over accuracy, and consumers keep falling into the flames.
AI is a beast that’s quickly coming for the truth.
Despite the muddy waters, massive lack of integrity, and intentionally hidden biases of most media channels, some news outlets still care about honesty and information. All Sides Media and ad fontes can help you navigate media and sort out the news from the faux-news entertainment.
AllSides media bias chart
The following chart from AllSides shows how many media outlets report using bias. They note that “This chart does not rate accuracy or credibility. A publication can be accurate, yet biased.”
This chart quickly helps you understand the angle of the media outlet, which contextualizes the tone and message of an article, video, or other piece of media. AllSides points out that bias often comes in the form of omission, not necessarily lies or misinformation.
AllSides updates this chart periodically; the one below was updated in 2023.
ad fontes media charts
ad fontes charts a broader spectrum of media outlets in this interactive media bias chart, including websites, TV, video, podcasts, audio, and more. I highly encourage you to check it out. They chart many more media channels behind their paywall.
I find this chart even more helpful than the AllSides chart because I want to know what is factual and what is a farce. I consume media mostly from the outlets at the top center of the chart. I don’t have much interest in the lower corners.
Sometimes, knowing the messaging on the extremes is helpful or entertaining. If that’s for you, this chart reminds you that those sources are inaccurate and biased. They’re likely full of misinformation, meaningful omissions, and sometimes straight lies. Consume them with a critical lens.
false equivalency in common discourse
These charts sometimes surprise me. Some sources are more biased or skewed than I realize. For example, I often hear among my communities that mainstream right and left media outlets are “equivalent yet opposite” news sources. “Media on both sides is equally absurd.” These charts confirm that this is not the case at all.
The chart above is small, so you can check out the interactive ad fontes chart online if you’d like. But I circled some of the most common media outlets I hear discussed as the main "news" sources for left- and right-leaning friends in my social circles. I also highlighted the ratings of bias and accuracy along the left side and top of the chart.
Fox News, Breitbart, Newsmax, and The Daily Wire skew farther right, per AllSides, and are far less factual, per Adfontes, than CNN, NPR, ProPublica, and Vox skew to the left and away from facts - in some cases by a lot!
Look at where Fox and Friends, Newsmax, and The Daily Wire fall on the chart. Then hop straight left (on the full chart) and look at their left-leaning counterparts regarding partisanship and accuracy. I’ve never even heard of those outlets!
Check out Joe Rogan and Barstool Sports (both lower middle) in the overall ad fontes chart. I find this interesting! Both are pretty nonpartisan but are more about storytelling and provocative thinking than presenting the news. That’s okay, as long as we know, as consumers of those shows, that we must be critical thinkers about what they present. It’s entertainment, not news.
As far as right and left media consumption is concerned, mainstream channels on the left (while certainly biased) provide far more factual encounters with the truth than outlets on the right. I mean this generally, not as an analysis of any channel specifically.
Everyone is free to choose their media outlets. We all like to hear things that we agree with already because that is more comfortable than wrestling with a truth or an opinion we don’t agree with and might even feel hostile. Just remember to consume your media through the lens of where it sits on a chart like the ones from AllSides and ad fontes, and consume it as a critical thinker.
just the facts, please
If you want just the facts, this section of the ad fontes chart is for you. Some of the most factual and least biased sources include (this list is not exhaustive):
Pew Research Center (an organization with a website, social media, etc.)
USA Facts
The Journal (a podcast from The Wall Street Journal)
NPR News Now (podcast)
Barron’s
BBC
Check the ad fontes interactive chart for more outlets around the center and near the top to find what suits you. You can subscribe to their service for more information not available on their free version of the interactive chart.
my favorite news outlets
I am more left-leaning (though far from extreme) and gravitate toward center-left media outlets. But I also have no interest in highly partisan material from either side. It’s just not for me. Here are a few I like:
Sharon McMahon: She has a podcast called Here’s What It Gets Interesting, a brand-new and amazing newsletter
, and you can find her on Instagram. She is straight down the center and has an audience that spans from right to left. No partisanship here!Pantsuit Politics: Beth and Sarah have a podcast and newsletter
. They also offer a Patreon subscription with additional daily news and reflections. They skew a little left, but Beth is a former conservative fed up with the Republican Party and MAGA (at least that’s how I interpret it). Both are thoughtful and make space for discussion and differing opinions.The Skimm: A daily email newsletter. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s factual with a slight skew left. It’s founded by women and written for women, so the writers and editors are not shy about their positions on female empowerment, independence, parental leave, and reproductive rights.
Emily in Your Phone: A former Senator Chuck Schumer’s staff employee, she is definitely left-leaning. Her experience gives her an interesting perspective on how Washington works and how politics happen behind the scenes. You can find her on Instagram and in her newsletter
. This recent newsletter provides much insight into what she’s doing and why. She doesn’t cover all news topics but covers certain topics in depth (especially reproductive rights, but many other things)Mo News: Pretty down the fairway. I follow him on Instagram, and he also has a podcast.
For years, I’ve sought out center-right media to hear different but reasonable perspectives (like those of everyday conservatives I’d cross paths with at sports games and the grocery store). My parents and some of my sisters fall into this camp.
I couldn’t find them. The charts above show us that there aren’t many of them, especially compared to their counterparts on the factual but slightly skewed left. It solves that mystery!
I’m unsure if center-right outlets used to exist and moved more into opinion and propaganda, carrying their viewers with them. Or if the outlets have always been this partisan and uninterested in the truth, and the right floated toward them due to an absence of center-right media. Either way, center-right outlets are hard to find today.
not mini at all + your recommendations
This was supposed to be a quick note. It was not. 🙃 At least I hope you find it useful! Please share your favorite news outlets in the comments (websites, podcasts, socials, etc…). I look forward to checking them out.
Thanks so much for the shout-out!
To add, we know it’s old school, but we do love the nightly news, USA Today, and the AP has a free daily newsletter all very much “just the facts,” and the AP does a lot of primary reporting that gets filtered to other news outlets so it’s a great source.
Beth follows The Bulwark here on Substack for some of that Center Right content and commentary.
Where we get our information is a constant conversation on our team. It’s always helpful to think about the “first job” of the news influencers you follow. Sarah and Beth were trained as lawyers. Sarah ran for and served in public office, and Beth was an HR executive. Both care deeply for conversations that go beyond the headlines.
Sharon McMahon is a government teacher, and you can see how she brings that inspiring educator perspective to much of her work. Emily has a great “inside Washington, this is how we make change” perspective. But a true journalist is going to be able to do primary research and interviews and bring different standards and responsibilities to the stories they share.
Always good to keep in mind what “section” of the newspaper we're in (especially when they are our internet besties!)
-Maggie