Some media outlets are quite obvious about their political bias while others are less so. But even those outlets that have an air of respectability can carry some bias in their reporting. We are at mercy of these sources, as they are often the sole source of most of what we know about what goes on in the world. For this reason, it is critical that we understand their bias.
Enter the media bias charts. Two that I recommend are:
Think of your top one or two sources of news, then see where they fall on one of these charts, with the ideal being as close to center as possible.
If checking these charts is all the time and effort you are willing to invest, then at least you’ve taken a very valuable step in ensuring you are getting less biased (and potentially more accurate) information than the average person.
But if you have the time and wherewithal, then there are mote steps you can take. These charts are useful, but note that political bias isn’t the only thing that news consumers should look out for. Reliability is critical, too, and the accuracy and editorial standards of organizations play an important role in sharing informative and useful news. They offer well-researched appraisals on the bias of certain sources, but to best inform yourself, you need more. This is discussed more fully here.
Another factor to consider is that these media bias charts offer a single rating for every source. This can be too coarse of a method given that most news outlets are composed of dozens of writers and editors of varying quality and perspectives. More on this here.
[Note: When I decided to put together a post about media bias charts, I asked for input from several friends and family members, so I cannot take credit for writing all of this.]