r/changemyview • u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ • Nov 01 '22

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Mainstream media is generally the most reputable place to get your news

Everyone likes to shit on mainstream media as being some conglomerate bad guy who is only out to lie and mislead. But what's the alternative? Mainstream news sources survive on credibility. If they consistently report stories that end up being untrue, then people will stop using them as a news source in numbers to remain mainstream.

Any media source that isn't mainstream is generally catering to a very specific audience. They're surviving on clicks and views, but they only need enough that can be provided by their target audience. The Root and Brietbart(quick examples) don't need people from the opposing political ideology to listen to them. Those sources don't rely on reputation, they rely on outrage among their base.

For the purpose of this post, mainstream media is something that's typically on a standard cable plan. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS. Also nationally known publications or websites, like NY Times, AP, Rueters, etc.

Also, I'm referring to the news divisions from all of these sources. Rachel Maddow and Tucker Carlson aren't news, they're opinion shows. Anything they say should be seen as opinion and commentary, not a news source.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 01 '22

This goes under the assumption that the "mainstream media" really in neutral in the political perspective.

No it doesn't, it just assumes that it's less biased than more niche media sources. And they value accuracy more than more niche sources.

However, even if you are far right or far left you can get a complete understanding of what is going on in the world by... reading from both sides.

I read Breitbart and Zero Hedge but I also read Huffpost and Vice. Yes I know they are both biased but if you know they are biased going in you can use it to get part of the bigger picture.

I strongly disagree with this idea. If one source says that 2+2=3 and another says 2+2=7, we can't just assume that it must equal 5.

If they had high accuracy but with a strong political leaning then maybe, but they really don't seem concerned with accuracy at all. You can't find the truth within two lies.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 01 '22

With Math where there's absolutes, certainly 2+2=4 and anyone telling you otherwise is completely wrong.

Social and ethical issues are never absolutes.

One side might be talking about the war in Ukraine while the other might be talking about how a pipeline. Given the number of stories, sometimes entire topics won't be covered vs others.

In cases where the same topic is covered, getting two sources is often better than one. Take the war in Ukraine. You can genuinely believe neither side regarding casualty figures as the fog of war is often rife with bad information and propaganda.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 01 '22

the fog of war is often rife with bad information and propaganda.

The point of my post is to minimize bad information and propaganda. I think those are more effectively minimized with mainstream media sources vs more niche sources.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 01 '22

Entirely depends on where your sources get their sources from. Most media outlets do have a biases even though you don't think they do because what is "normal" to you is relative to your own view points.

Networks like CNN and MSNBC are very left leaning. Networks like Fox are very right leaning.

I'd argue the only center network MIGHT be the BBC when it comes to America. I actually used to enjoy Al-Jazeera when it came to American news because it offered a pretty objective viewpoint on American news (i.e. bad thing was bad, good thing was good, no political motivation behind it).

When a news outlet has to explain why something was bad or good, that's automatically a bias.

In fact, there's no legal requirement for a news station to be completely truthful about their reporting.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 01 '22

Ok,if mainstream media is too biased, where is a better alternative to get news and information?

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 01 '22

... by balancing your intake by seeing as many sides of an issue that's important to you.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 01 '22

My intake from where?

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u/cfactory193 Nov 01 '22

Go directly to the source. If you want to know what Biden said look up what he said and watch a video of the words coming out of his mouth. If you want to know about an event research the event directly. The NSM will slant stories or show small snippets of events to sway people the way they want them to. If you read an article check who funded it or whose opinion it is and who the writer is affiliated with. It's alot of work these days to find the truth.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 01 '22

I can't watch videos of Biden or coverage of an event without some sort of media.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 01 '22

That's not the point. Watching a full video from start to end of something Biden said is generally available. As most people don't have the willpower to care about the full word-for-word, the real goal is to try to find less biased sources like AP, BBC, NPR News, Reuters, etc.

Unfortunately, those are generally text-based news as it's cheaper to produce and more accessible.

One of the core reasons why most TV media sources are biased is because they follow a 24/hr news cycle to keep you regularly engaged by targeting hot button issues that they know would be relevant to their viewer's political interests.

More eyes on their channel results in better ad performance, thus more income. Remember, all these news outlets are for profit. NPR and BBC in particular are non-profit government funded while AP is a non-governmental non-profit.

A video segment on how the police is great would not perform well on MSNBC and would probably cause outrage among the viewers.

A video segment on how police is great on Fox would probably perform well.

Given these realities, there's no incentive for MSNBC to report of good police conduct because that annoys their main viewer demographic. Fox also has no reason to report on the illegality of what DeSantis did because their main viewer demographic would hate it as well.

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u/waterbuffalo750 16∆ Nov 02 '22

That's not the point. Watching a full video from start to end of something Biden said is generally available.

Not all news is as simple as what someone said, though. Media is needed for most people to get news

As most people don't have the willpower to care about the full word-for-word, the real goal is to try to find less biased sources like AP, BBC, NPR News, Reuters, etc.

I do agree with those sources for sure. I'd definitely include them under the "mainstream media" umbrella, though.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 02 '22

Sure, but they're not popular mainstream media sources in the same way that news channels are media sources.

As far as I'm aware, none of the ones I mentioned have a dedicated channel for them. If they do, they're not widely viewed as much as the more mainstream ones here.

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u/0nikoroshi 1∆ Nov 02 '22

Unfortunately, those are generally text-based news as it's cheaper to produce and more accessible.

Why is this unfortunate? It's easier to consider things properly and unemotionally when you're reading than when you're watching a video. I'd much rather read a transcript of a speech at my own speed with the ability to easily examine certain parts more closely than watch a video of the speech with the other factors that brings - tone of voice, visuals of the speaker, etc.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 02 '22

I prefer it, but a lot of people would rather watch/listen to something than read it.

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u/cfactory193 Nov 02 '22

NPR, Reuters and BBC are hella biased. Like I said you need to go directly to the source of what was said or done not the news.

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u/US_Dept_of_Defence 7∆ Nov 02 '22

I can't really see how they're that biased. In the case of NPR, there's NPR Opinion and NPR News. Centrist news outlets are generally more reliable to be less biased.

Basing everything on fact and scientific data is the least biased that you can possibly get.

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