Opinion: Can be hard to analyze media's credibility

Credibility. It’s something that every legitimate journalist needs, and the good ones work hard to protect it.

It’s also something citizens need to consider, because there are a lot of deceptive news sources out there. Be careful who you trust.

Of course, trust isn’t just a gut feeling, it grows through experience. If a journalist has a track record of fair and accurate reporting, along with a dedication to the facts above all else, then you’ve got a credible, trustworthy journalist.

The same can be said for the media outlets that invade our lives. You’ve got to separate the credible sources from the spin machines.

I’ve started a list:

• C-SPAN is credible media because its coverage is unfiltered, even boring at times. Covering government affairs is not always about power, sex and sensation, you know, sometimes it’s a slow trudge through meetings and hearings, something C-SPAN does quite well.

• The Associated Press is another credible source for news, by keeping its focus on big-picture news while reporting breaking news straight down the middle. That’s why other media outlets on both the right and left often cite the AP as their source for information and news.

• Newspapers, or at least 90% of them, are among the most credible news outlets on earth. We know how to separate news and opinion, and we provide depth and context to anyone willing to slow down and read. In this saturated world of news and information, newspapers are still among the most dependable sources out there.

• And I’ll add the New York Times and Washington Post to my list of credible news sources. Yes, I know my conservative friends will object to this, but just because you don’t like the news they dig up and dish out doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Fact is, they do the often-unpopular job of exposing the ugly underbelly of national and world affairs. And they’re good at it.

• • •

Now for my short list of those that lack credibility:

n Fox News, which should be obvious to anyone who followed the recently settled Dominion lawsuit. It exposed how Fox intentionally misled its viewers for the sake of ratings. If that doesn’t take away any credibility they ever had, I don’t know what will.

Some might say CNN’s credibility should also be on my list, given the network’s clear disdain for Donald Trump, but hey, they haven’t been caught purposely lying to their viewers, have they?

• Any news outlet that doesn’t clearly differentiate between news reporting and news commentary is a questionable source. To disguise opinion as fact is dishonest, pure and simple.

• And of course, social media is on my “discredited” list because of all the misinformation and disinformation they throw around. Some platforms are so succinct they’re shallow. Others are for pure entertainment, though some pretend they’re more than that. And in my opinion, they all tend to pull people apart more than bring them together.

• • •

One of the best examples of healthy news consumption I’ve found is in The Week, a news magazine of mostly aggregated content. In it, a typical news writeup starts with a straight-news summary (let’s say: “Trump is indicted”) followed by a left-leaning pundit’s commentary (“It’s about time”) and a right-leaning pundit (“It wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t Trump”). Then, to wrap up the piece, the magazine’s editors seek out a more centrist point of view, perhaps more analytical than opinion, so by the time you’ve read their compacted report, you’ve got a pretty good understanding of the issue and how the opposing sides see it.

It seems to me the biggest obstacle to a well-informed citizenry these days is our unwillingness to step out of our comfort zones. We prefer news that reinforces our beliefs and our values, not news that challenges our prejudgments and assumptions.

That’s not how the news — and our democracy, for that matter — is supposed to work.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

[email protected]