Unfair and Unbalanced

If you've been reading the news lately, you'll probably heading things like "The NY Times elitist liberal bias blah blah" or "Fox News is the mouthpeice of the GOP, blah blah blah".

Frankly, I think the scariest people are the ones who say "I get all my news from so-and-so". The truth is, there is no such thing as objective journalism. Every news organization is biased one way or the other. However, another truth is that people can't see their own bias. Everyone thinks the way they see the world is the correct way. I'm positive that people like Bill O'Reilly really think that they're being fair and centrist, and really don't understand how anyone can disagree with them.

I strongly encourage you to read several news sources. I especially recommend that you read ones that have an opposite bias to your own. If the way they're presenting the news makes you angry, then you've found a good source. Getting opposing views helps you understand the big picture, and also forces you to justify your own opinions. You can make huge mistakes when you only pay attention to information that reinforces your opinion, such as invading a country over non-existent weapons.

I regularly read the following news agencies, which would seem to make strange bedfellows:
Fox News
New York Post
New York Times
Washington Post
CBC (Canada)
Global (Canada)
Ha'aretz (English Version - Israel)
Al-Jazeera (English Version - Qatar)

Some of you might wonder "he reads Fox News and Al-Jazeera? What the hell is wrong with him?" For my answer, I say consider this: At an intersection, there is a person on each corner. Two cars collide in the middle of the intersection. If you are the police offficer investigating the accident, would you only ask one of the people what happened? No, you'd ask all four of them. All four people will agree that two cars collided, but because each one only saw one angle, you'd get four different versions of what happened and who's to blame. It's up to you to reconcile all four accounts and piece together what really happened.