We’ve all heard the saying, “There are two sides to every story.” And sometimes, that’s true in journalism–and life. But balance is not an element of journalism and certainly not its goal. While reporters investigate both—or many—points of view to arrive at what Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel call “the most complete understanding of the facts,” giving equal time to both sides may not always be fair to the truth.
Representation is a huge challenge for newsrooms, and you’re right– they need to do better. When news outlets consult the same people, again and again, the audience is deprived of a full range of voices, perspectives and even facts. A lack of diversity and representation can also breed audience disengagement and mistrust.
That depends on whom you ask, but a lot of U.S. adults and lawmakers in Texas and Florida think so, setting up what could be a showdown at the Supreme Court.
There is some new evidence that it can, according to researchers who paid FOX News viewers $15 an hour to watch CNN for a month.
Research has shown that fact-checking is effective, but there are drawbacks to this approach. So instead of relying exclusively on debunking false claims, researchers recommend prebunking. Prebunking is a preemptive strike—a kind of inoculation against misinformation.
America’s partisan divide is becoming more pronounced, and cable news is stoking these divisions even more than social media, according to a new study that tracked the news consumption of tens of thousands of people over four years.
Chances are we all know someone – a family member, a friend, a classmate, or a co-worker – who believes in conspiracy theories. The temptation to fact-check their every statement may be strong, but it isn’t likely to change anyone’s mind.
With any human endeavor, there’s potential for error. While it is the responsibility of journalists and news organizations to deliver accurate and fair reporting, consumers should never assume that everything presented before them is the complete and final word.
News gives us essential information, while truth is complex, debatable, and often subjective.
Journalists get this question—or lament—all the time from people who think the news offers too much opinion and not enough fact. More than two-thirds of Americans say they see too much opinion and bias in news. Hence the plea, “just stick to the facts.” Here’s the problem: Serving up just the facts can misrepresent the news or even create a false narrative.
