Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Where is Walter Cronkite now that we need him?

 


One of our neighbors mentioned the other day that she had stopped watching FOX “news” Her decision was based more on economics than her dissatisfaction with the channel itself, since she admits that she missed the channel.

 

One of her relatives had suggested watching Newsmax – but I told her that it was not a reliable news source.

 

You’re never going to find consensus on which news source is more credible, but here’s a way to start.

Media Bias / Fact Check is an independent website that rates the bias, factual accuracy, and credibility of media sources. Media Bias/Fact Check determines the bias of media sources and the level of overall factual reporting through a combination of objective measures and subjective analysis using our stated methodology. Dave Van Zandt is the primary editor for sources. He is assisted by a collective of volunteers and paid contractors who provide research for many sources listed on these pages. Finally, MBFC also provides occasional fact checks, original articles on media bias and publishes daily, curated fact-checks from around the world.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/about/

How do we know if THIS source is credible?

Here’s one fact from their website:

The credibility of a website/media source is not determined by who owns them but rather by their track record. Everybody starts as a beginner and, through experience, becomes an authority in their field. MBFC is no different. Over the last 6+ years, we have proven to be a trusted authority on the rating of bias and the credibility of media sources. For example, MBFC is trusted by major media outlets and IFCN fact-checkers. This is evidenced by frequently being referenced by sources such as USA TodayReuters Fact CheckScience FeedbackWashington Post, and NPR, among dozens of others. We are also frequently used as a resource in libraries, high schools, and universities across the United States.

Media Bias/Fact Check has also been used as a resource for research by the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Further, we have been utilized by numerous print books such as these:

Finally, MBFC scored a perfect 100/100 rating by Newsguard, which rates the credibility of Media Sources. We believe it is significant that a competitor gave us this score.

 

I get most of my information from newspapers, and subscribe to The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe since they have earned the most Pulitzer Prizes. However, if you want to get your information from television, here’s a few ideas on where to start (the comments below are from MBFC:

 

 

Newsmax:

  

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

  • We rate Newsmax Right Biased and Questionable based on the promotion of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience as well as numerous failed fact checks.

Detailed Report

Questionable Reasoning: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Fake News, Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
LOW CREDIBILITY

 

 

FOX “news”

FOX was a little better:

These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward conservative causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports, and omit information reporting that may damage conservative causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Right Bias sources.

  • We rate Fox News strongly Right-Biased due to editorial positions and story selection that favors the right. We also rate them Mixed factually and borderline Questionable based on poor sourcing and the spreading of conspiracy theories.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

 

 

One America News

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

  • Overall, we rate One America News Questionable based on far-right bias, lack of sourcing, promotion of conspiracy theories, and propaganda, as well as numerous failed fact checks. OAN is not a credible news source.

Detailed Report

Questionable Reasoning: Poor Sourcing, Conspiracy Theories, Propaganda, Numerous Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: FAR RIGHT
Factual Reporting: LOW
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
LOW CREDIBILITY

 

 

Breitbart:

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

  • Overall, we rate Breitbart Questionable based on extreme right-wing bias, the publication of conspiracy theories and propaganda, as well as numerous false claims.

Detailed Report

Reasoning: Extreme Right, Propaganda, Conspiracy, Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
LOW CREDIBILITY

****************************************

 

Trump News:

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

  • Overall, we rate From the Desk of Donald J. Trump Right Biased and questionable based on the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and numerous false claims.

Detailed Report

Questionable Reasoning: Poor Sourcing, Conspiracy Theories, Propaganda, Failed Fact Checks
Bias Rating: FAR RIGHT
Factual Reporting: LOW
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
LOW CREDIBILITY

****************************

Apart from FOX, the most watched cable networks are MSNBC and CNN. This is how they are rated:

MSNBC

  •           Overall, we rate MSNBC Left Biased based on story selection that consistently favors the establishment left. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to news hosts and the website producing 3 pants on fire claims.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

 

CNN

  • Overall, we rate CNN left biased based on editorial positions that consistently favor the left, while straight news reporting falls left-center through bias by omission. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to several failed fact checks by TV hosts. However, news reporting on the website tends to be sourced adequately with minimal failed fact checks.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

  

To the chagrin of the conservatives in the country, the MOST reliable source of television news is the “main street media”:

  • Overall, we rate CBS News Left-Center biased based on story selection that moderately favors the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
HIGH CREDIBILITY

 


  • Overall, we rate NBC News Left-Center biased based on story selection and word choices that moderately favor the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a reasonable fact check record.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic

 


  • Overall, we rate ABC News Left-Center biased based on story selection and word choices that moderately favor the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing, and a reasonable fact check record.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: 
MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: 
HIGH CREDIBILITY

 

 

Waler Cronkite had a career that spanned 40 years, and at least 30 of those years were with CBS. His last broadcast was on March 6, 1981. The link below gives you more information on his career.



https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2022/03/and-thats-way-it-is.html

 The title of “the most trusted in America has had several contenders since 1981. In 2018, it was Anderson Cooper of CNN, who received the Cronkite Award in October of 2018.


 In 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. So, who was the must trusted man in America in 2013?

If you answered “Bill Clinton”, you would be correct.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-most-trusted-man-in-america-part-2_18.html

Today, the most trusted man in the world would likely be Volodymyr Zelensky, who is a former comedian. In 1981, the most trusted man in America was also a comedian. His name is Jon Stewart.

          https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2011/10/most-trusted-man-in-america.html

After Kellyanne Conway used the term “alternative facts”, it became more difficult to tell real news from fake news, so the article about may help you sort things out a bit.

Although my favorite news sources tend to be on the liberal side, there ARE credible news sources that are more conservative, and the Wall Street Journal is a prime example. Ironically, it is owned by News Corp, which also owns FOX “news”.

 Fox used to have “fair and balanced” as its motto, but it was dropped in 2017.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/business/media/fox-news-fair-and-balanced.html

“The shift has nothing to do with programming or editorial decisions,” the network said in a statement. Instead, the slogan was dropped in part because of its close association with Roger Ailes, a network founder, former chairman and the originator of the phrase, who was fired in August in a sexual harassment scandal.

The network said that “Fair and Balanced” was shelved as a marketing tool after Mr. Ailes’s departure. In its place is a new motto: “Most Watched, Most Trusted.”

 Truthfully, I would not consider it to be the most trusted, but here is what I recommend:

 Get your information from as many sources as you can, both liberal and conservative. Over time, you’ll develop the ability to “separate the wheat from the chaff” and decide which news (in your opinion) is the most reliable.

 Uncle Walter would agree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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