A Nonpartisan Guide to News Consumption

The world of media consumption has become more harrowing, especially as the media cycle ramps up for the 2024 presidential election. So, how can a person find nonpartisan information to help guide them as they look for political information? How would they know if a source is a reliable one?

Margaret Talev, a professor and the Kramer Director at the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, lists out some basic principles to follow.

“You should always be consulting multiple sources … you should be aware of the emotional shock value as well as distinguishing between news and opinion, diversifying your news consumption and doing independent fact-checking,” Talev said.

Consulting Multiple Sources

Consulting multiple news sources is important in figuring out what is fact.

“If you want a single source for multiple sources that are reputable, national or local, a newsletter can be a good way to do that,” Talev said.

Some reputable newsletters are:

• Axios
• The Pew Research Center
• POLITICO

Any major news organization that offers a newsletter provides a quick and reliable way to get information from multiple sources in one email.

Fact-Checking

Another of Talev’s suggestions is fact-checking. Some websites she suggested to fact-check are:

• FactCheck.org
• PolitiFact
• Fact-Checker – The Washington Post
• Fact Check – CNN Politics
• News Literacy Project
• MediaWise Programs – Poynter
• Media Bias/Fact Check

“If you hear something and you’re like, ‘Is that really true?’ type it in there, 90 percent of the time it will be addressed, someone will have done a fact check on it,” suggests Talev.

Nonpartisan News Sources

Sources like the Pew Research Center are important for nonpartisan voters to find factual unbiased information. When looking for similar sources, identify organizations that have been sourced by news organizations on both sides of the spectrum.

“The Center’s mission is to generate a foundation of facts that informs and enriches the public dialogue and supports sound decision-making,” said Andrew Grant, a communication associate at the Pew Research Center.

Another great renowned news source is the Associated Press. Their information is often cited by organizations on both sides of the spectrum.

Social Media as a News Source

Talev also cautions consumers about social media.

“It’s very, very hard as a user if you’re not an expert in media to distinguish between what’s real news and what is someone acting the news and what is deliberate misinformation,” Talev said.

Social media can be a good start to engaging with information, but it is just the surface level.

“It’s not that I’m not against looking to reputable news organizations that are disseminating some of their information from social media. I’m just against only taking the shortest version of the story,” said Talev.

Conclusion

While it may seem hard to engage in these practices, Talev says it’s a completely doable thing.

Looking to different sources, fact-checking, and relying on more than social media are important steps forward in media consumption. It is also important to look towards sources that have missions of informing the public.

This is not a solitary effort. It is important for every voter and news consumer to find reliable information.

“Develop your own opinions based on the facts, but it’s really important for people to be operating off the same set of facts,” said Talev.