News Sources

Well, news organizations are my focus this morning.

Over the years I was an avid newspaper reader. Sometimes three a day. Plus, a news magazine, special interest publications on top of that, and a whole lot of interaction with news sources and writers. I knew a lot about what was covered in news outlets. I accumulated a pretty good working knowledge about many topics, understood their underpinnings, and all of that.

That background actually supported what I read in news publications. There was a resonance with the articles. They connected with what I knew and understood on the topics. Until they didn’t.

That’s when the bias of news outlets became more and more obvious. Fox News was blatant. The Chicago Tribune became somewhat blatant.  But some news retailers remained solid and believable.

With media competition over the top today, the bias is on full display. There are other tells as well. Take news headlines posted online. I receive several all day long. The New York Times is one of those. So is the Chicago Tribune. Which do I open the most? Well, let us just say it is not the Tribune.

Why is that you ask? Because the headlines provided are esoteric and unconnected to topics of moment in today’s news. I point this out not because the topics the Trib covers are not newsworthy; they are. Their connection with the larger news issues is lacking, however.

I want to know what is happening in the world of economics. Not just business news in the USA, but also globally. I want to read about political maneuvering by other countries and wonder how those moves will affect global economies. I want to understand education in connection with national competitiveness and broader quality of life. I covet news about the human condition and how well that is being governed by powers great and small.

Yes, interests are broad and at times very specific. Researching and reading about those topics are on the reader. I, on the other hand, seek relevance of each topic with a broad range of other topics. No man is an island. Neither are topics. All is related. Sometimes the reader has to be reminded of that.

Clearly the New York Times understands this. They cover most issues very well. They have become the news organization of the nation. Their closest competitor in that regard is the Washington Post. The other major newspapers are regional and not national. Even the Tribune organization, which owns many large urban newspapers, doesn’t seem to use their advantage to resonate with broader topics. It questions whether they even understand that resonance.

I have recently discovered the richness of YouTube. Their coverage of topics is nearly universal. If you know the question to research, you can find long time and recent resources on that topic. The more you search that topic, the more YouTube feeds relevant items to your streaming channel. The breadth of those topics is not related, but they do feed my other interests. That connects them for me in a way. I do not lose news of those topics because they are kept in my range of current reading.

The relevance of subject matter in the news is important. The Times gets it. I wonder if the Trib does?

Fair or not, questions remain in my mind about the fairness and relevance of news sources. Am I alone in this struggle?

October 25, 2023

 

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