When Media Fails

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

For many years we have taken the mainstream news as Gospel truth. Assuming that whatever is broadcasted over the radio or the bright lights of television is the reality of the situation. However sometimes this source that we rely on so heavily, fails us. And it has been failing us often and widely as the events of Ferguson unfold. How do we put democracy back into a once trusted source? How do we begin to trust again? Here are a few ideas:

DON’T

Conventional news can sometimes feed off of a certain agenda. We know this because various news station have histories of either being leftist, far right conservative and much more. And as a result much of what is produced will be portrayed through the associated lense or perspective. But this is not a plea to forsake news entirely, just be aware of the bias that a station may have and discern accordingly.

CONSUME A BALANCED DIET

If you consume one thing, you lose out on the benefits of all else. The same is true with the media. Especially since different stations tend to have different outlooks, thinking critically starts with gathering a wide array of sources. It’s much like writing a critical paper, not all the sources are based from one book. I they are, it makes for a weak argument. Having a wide variety of sources allows an individuals to take into account multiple perspectives and strengthen their own view hopefully in such a way that it is founded in something closer to the truth

GO FOR THIRDS

As the events of Ferguson unroll, third party “news” has been integral in discovering the facts. With this being said twitter and other first account witnesses testimonies on social media have been able to tell us a lot more about the actual events then some mainstream news. So while balancing your diet, think about including third party sources. But be aware that the news is only as good as it’s source. And the truth as credible as the person attempting to tell it.

The New Frontier of Media has given us a chance to receive the news in new ways. But as we break more and more away from mainstream media, how will we decide which sources are worth our time? Only time will tell. But until then this break down from truth will continue to make me sick.

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