In a newspaper, an editorial is meant to be an opinion. That’s what this is: an opinion. The rest of the paper is filled with facts. Our reporters and editor attempt to remove as much bias as possible. Every ethical news source works this way.
But bias has crept into the everyday news cycle for all of us, presenting opinions as facts and facts as fake news. So, how do you tell if your news source is biased? Fair.org lists questions you should ask when reading the news. Here’s a highlight:
Who are the sources?
Ensure the sources in the story are appropriate for the coverage. If there is a story about the laws that will be affecting women and over half of the sources are men, it likely isn’t trying to share the news. It is pushing an agenda. Avoid anonymous sources, as well, unless the reporter discloses the reason for anonymity. These types of sources compromise transparency and truth, and most journalists are obligated to avoid them unless absolutely necessary.
Does this story include loaded language?
Sources like MSNBC and Fox News tend to use this tactic. An easy-to-spot example is use of the word “divisive” when a topic is unpopular among the rich but popular among lower classes. Less obvious is the use of “government-run” in place of “public” or “corporate-run” for “private.”
Does this story present a false balance between sides of an issue?
Giving equal weight to a side that has been proven factually wrong is not equal coverage, but rather a spread of misinformation. COVID-19 reporting brought this to the forefront. While vaccines were almost unanimously approved by public health officials, outlets giving equal coverage to those using lies or half-truths were only spreading falsities.
Do the headlines and visuals match reality — or the rest of the piece?
Some readers only pay attention to an article’s headline and visuals, so they must match the story. When reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa in 2021, The New York Times would show caskets and funeral homes, while showing hospitals and frontline workers in Asia. Asia had higher infection rates, but people believe Africa was more affected simply because of the photos used.
There’s a few more, too. Feel free to do your own research at https://bit.ly/FairMediaBias to take advantage of all nine of their questions.
Another great source is the Ad Fuentes Media Bias Chart, found at https://bit.ly/AFMediaBiasChart. Here, you can find your news source’s bias and reliability ratings as determined by independent researchers, representing the political left, center and right. The chart makes a pyramid, with the sources at the top being the most centered and reliable.
The tip of this pyramid is USAFacts.org, a data-only-driven news source. The second is NPR News Now, a podcast that recently got defunded by the federal government, along with PBS and many local public TV and radio stations.
The website for fiscal data from the US Treasury, https://bit.ly/USFiscalData, states that the U.S. Government has spent more than $5 trillion since October of 2024. $1 billion of that, or roughly .02%, was meant for PBS and NPR. That was recently cut for 2026 and 2027. That brings us to the last question to ask.
Where does the journalism funding come from?
Despite profits for news outlets hitting record lows, billionaires have made a trend of purchasing them. Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, and Rupert Murdoch, owner of the Wall Street Journal, have only taken on projects that make them money, so why would they start investing in something that only costs money?
In short, they won’t be making money purely from the news source itself. However, people need to rely on their publications, and those owners can skew the public towards information that serves them.
Previously government subsidized news sources are scrambling to replace those federal funds with additional viewer/listener and foundation contributions. The stress of this disruption will likely affect their ability to deliver news and content in the manner to which we are familiar. Because of this, billionaires have more power than ever, so checking your media bias is more important than ever.