LibGuides: ENGL 01A Mumford: News Articles

Example

Reputable News Sources

publish accurate content; checks facts, and if errors are made, corrects them
use reputable sources (people, documentation) and verifies those sources
present headlines which accurately represent the article content; headlines don't play on readers' emotions
clearly identify authors of articles with bylines
produce their own content; don't merely aggregate content from other sources
clearly identify content types (e.g. report vs. editorial)
conduct reporting, not just editorializing
employ journalists who follow the profession's code of ethics

The Elements of Journalism
From American Institute Press. Selected from Kovach and Rosenstiel's book, The Elements of Journalism.
Code of Ethics
From the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

“False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical ‘News’ Sources”

Fact-Checking Sources

Snopes
Fact-check hoaxes (independent entity, founded by David Mikkelsen)
Politifact
Fact-check U.S. politics (project of the Tampa Bay Times, a company owned by The Poynter Institute)
FactCheck.org
Fact-check politics (project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania)

Sources to Help Determine Bias & Accuracy in Reporting

Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC News)
At the Search page, type in a news publication, e.g. CNN, under Dedicated Media Search. MBFC provide information on both bias (least biased, left-center bias, right-center bias, left bias, right bias, and extreme) and level of factual reporting. to learn more about its reporting and bias. MBFC explains how it determines bias in its Methodology section.
AllSides
Each news source is classified into categories: center, lean left bias, lean right bias, left bias and right bias. AllSides determines its bias ratings through blind surveys, third party data, and community feedback. AllSides also features news on specific issues from the center, right, and left.

About the Media Bias Chart
Many publishers offer information from the perspective of the editorial board. This chart, compiled by Vanessa Otero, a practicing attorney in Denver, Colorado, is her attempt to educate people about the way some popular news sources present the news. Click the chart to visit the interactive version of the chart. Use the index on the bottom to visit where individual sources fall on the chart.